Car dilema

[AmaSco12]

What do I go for?

5 doors, 5+ seats, £35 road tax or less, euro 6. 2 kids in car seats (both under 5). Scottish A road driving with a bit of town to mix it up. Hate the s-max type mummy cars (no idea why, just do). Heart says BMW 3 series, head says Dacia Duster - £7,000 max.

However, the cousins come up about 3-4 times a year (1 mum & 2 kids - 1 in a car seat). Do I stick with my original choices (BMW or Dacia) or go for something else? I have a Transporter but my insurance is going up massively and I’m on a single mum budget.

[fflump]

Annual mileage?
Do the relatives come with their own transport or do you have to ferry them round ?

[AmaSco12]

16,000 average.

No transport and no good public transport here (3 busses a day which don’t really connect with the trains)

[LuS1fer]

2 adults and 4 kids in seats then.

Dacia my be the best fit but have a look at the Mazda CX3 and CX5 which have 35 quid tax options and reasonable mileage.

Edited by LuS1fer on Tuesday 24th September 10:23

[Jag_NE]

3 series will be a high miler at that budget

[fflump]

AmaSco12 said:

16,000 average.

No transport and no good public transport here (3 busses a day which don’t really connect with the trains)

It really is essential you decide whether you want to accommodate your relatives (i.e. 6 of you in total).

[AmaSco12]

This is what I can’t decide. Cousins aren’t up that often but for a 7 seater I’d be better off keeping my van. The insurance is going to double, fuel is about £60 a week and it’ll need its cam belt and water pump soon.

Or do I go for the Duster and the cousins can just deal with not coming up?

[LuS1fer]

AmaSco12 said:

This is what I can’t decide. Cousins aren’t up that often but for a 7 seater I’d be better off keeping my van. The insurance is going to double, fuel is about £60 a week and it’ll need its cam belt and water pump soon.

Or do I go for the Duster and the cousins can just deal with not coming up?

A Mazda 5 (up to 2015) is a 6 and a half seater but then you're looking at £190 a year "road tax" but then that's only £16 a month and they are cheaper to start with. The Dacia Jogger is also £190 a year.

To be honest, if you're going to settle for 5 seats, there are better cars than a Dacia Duster.

Go on Autotrader and don't select a make or model, select the options for £35 tax, 7 seats and manual gearbox and you'll see the choices though they are probably diesel.

[AmaSco12]

Diesel is fine but my van is currently £140 tax so that rules out the Mazda as I’m not spending more. 7 seats brings up picasso’s and a zafira and I’m really not liking those.

[LuS1fer]

There was a BMW 2 series in there but maybe not nearby.

[RizzoTheRat]

AmaSco12 said:

Diesel is fine but my van is currently £140 tax so that rules out the Mazda as I’m not spending more. 7 seats brings up picasso’s and a zafira and I’m really not liking those.

The VW Touran is one of the better looking 7 seater MPV types. If you're considering a Duster, you might also want to look at the Jogger, or it's predecessor the Lodgy

Is renting a 7 seater for a week when the cousins visit a viable option?

[AmaSco12]

Renting would probably work. Shall look at jogger