Family fleet conundrum
Discussion
This will be a long, waffling post so strap yourselves in...
I've (obviously) been aware of this for the past 9 months but here I am now with a lovely 2 week old son. My partner has another boy who lives with us (5), and I also have two girls from a previous relationship (10 & 14) who I see on a weekend. So, at times all six of us need to get about (mostly on Sundays).
Partner has a company car which she can't dictate the size of, so we are stuck with 5 seats for her car.
I have a 435d Gran Coupe, owned outright. Perhaps selfishly at this moment in time, I really want to change it regardless of the capacity situation as I'm missing having a performance car. My car is probably worth between £10-12k and I could afford to top up to £30k.
We test drove a Mercedes GLB35, on paper it ticks all the boxes as it has performance credentials and space for 7. In reality, it's a bit of a compromise. It drove way better than I expected but it's still too big to feel like a real sports car and way too small to be a true family wagon - there's not much of a boot with the third row of seats in use. They're also very rare, have no direct competition and therefore expensive - £35-40k so would need to borrow a bit for this.
Pros - simple one size fits all soltution
Cons - expensive, compromised
This got me thinking, wouldn't I be better off with a cheap 7-seater (Mazda 5, Ford S-Max or similar) for around £5-£10k, and spending the rest on a toy (Focus RS, M2 Competition). After doing the maths and factoring in forecasted depreciation and maintenance costs, it's definitely a cheaper option than the Mercedes (which kind of renders them an impossible buy). The 7-seater would keep the miles off the sportier car and preserve the value too.
Pros - get the car I want
Cons - older cars so potential unforecasted repair costs, space on drive. 3 cars feels a bit excessive as I WFH a lot.
Third option is to keep what I have and use two cars when we travel anywhere. We don't do huge trips that often and both cars are fairly cheap to run. I could potentially still change my car for one of the sportier options but that would mean using them to ferry the kids around which is fine on occasion but doing it daily will obviously result in more wear and tear and the car will invariably end up feeling less special.
Pros - status quo
Cons - taking two cars everywhere, doubling up on running costs, parking costs etc.
What would you do? Surely other people have had this conundrum. Am I just being selfish and do I need to give up and get a Dacia Duster?
I've (obviously) been aware of this for the past 9 months but here I am now with a lovely 2 week old son. My partner has another boy who lives with us (5), and I also have two girls from a previous relationship (10 & 14) who I see on a weekend. So, at times all six of us need to get about (mostly on Sundays).
Partner has a company car which she can't dictate the size of, so we are stuck with 5 seats for her car.
I have a 435d Gran Coupe, owned outright. Perhaps selfishly at this moment in time, I really want to change it regardless of the capacity situation as I'm missing having a performance car. My car is probably worth between £10-12k and I could afford to top up to £30k.
We test drove a Mercedes GLB35, on paper it ticks all the boxes as it has performance credentials and space for 7. In reality, it's a bit of a compromise. It drove way better than I expected but it's still too big to feel like a real sports car and way too small to be a true family wagon - there's not much of a boot with the third row of seats in use. They're also very rare, have no direct competition and therefore expensive - £35-40k so would need to borrow a bit for this.
Pros - simple one size fits all soltution
Cons - expensive, compromised
This got me thinking, wouldn't I be better off with a cheap 7-seater (Mazda 5, Ford S-Max or similar) for around £5-£10k, and spending the rest on a toy (Focus RS, M2 Competition). After doing the maths and factoring in forecasted depreciation and maintenance costs, it's definitely a cheaper option than the Mercedes (which kind of renders them an impossible buy). The 7-seater would keep the miles off the sportier car and preserve the value too.
Pros - get the car I want
Cons - older cars so potential unforecasted repair costs, space on drive. 3 cars feels a bit excessive as I WFH a lot.
Third option is to keep what I have and use two cars when we travel anywhere. We don't do huge trips that often and both cars are fairly cheap to run. I could potentially still change my car for one of the sportier options but that would mean using them to ferry the kids around which is fine on occasion but doing it daily will obviously result in more wear and tear and the car will invariably end up feeling less special.
Pros - status quo
Cons - taking two cars everywhere, doubling up on running costs, parking costs etc.
What would you do? Surely other people have had this conundrum. Am I just being selfish and do I need to give up and get a Dacia Duster?
I'd get a proper van, or take two cars.
The rear window always seems VERY close to the poor buggers in the back seats!!
I'm in the same position (sort of) want something to take the oldies out and could do with a six seater.
Now I don't mind a transporter shuttle or even an I800, however looking at your budget and wish list, you'll be coughing up blood considering those options
Seriously I think 7 seaters, full time, would be a bloody pain, but then again I don't know!!
The rear window always seems VERY close to the poor buggers in the back seats!!
I'm in the same position (sort of) want something to take the oldies out and could do with a six seater.
Now I don't mind a transporter shuttle or even an I800, however looking at your budget and wish list, you'll be coughing up blood considering those options
Seriously I think 7 seaters, full time, would be a bloody pain, but then again I don't know!!
We had a similar conundrum, although we had 3 children quite close together in ages and each was in a car seat / booster.
We ended up with initially an XC90 (MK1), with the built-in booster in the middle seat and then a Discovery 4, which was a great car and kept it for 4 years.
This was supported by a 2nd more fun car but still able to take the five of us on the rare occasions, previously I'd had an MR2 as the 2nd car but kept getting caught out with a request to pick up 2 kids when my wife was out in the Discovery...
Get something like a Disco 4 and then spend £10k on a toy!
We ended up with initially an XC90 (MK1), with the built-in booster in the middle seat and then a Discovery 4, which was a great car and kept it for 4 years.
This was supported by a 2nd more fun car but still able to take the five of us on the rare occasions, previously I'd had an MR2 as the 2nd car but kept getting caught out with a request to pick up 2 kids when my wife was out in the Discovery...
Get something like a Disco 4 and then spend £10k on a toy!
66HFM said:
previously I'd had an MR2 as the 2nd car but kept getting caught out with a request to pick up 2 kids when my wife was out in the Discovery...
This is the thing, if I could get away with 2 seats an Alpine A110 or Porsche Cayman with a 7-seater would be a no brainer but chances are there will be times where I unexpectedly need to pick up both boys and it would be a faff to drive home and pick up the big car first.66HFM said:
Get something like a Disco 4 and then spend £10k on a toy!
I get your logic but I'd rather put the majority of the budget into the fun car, I'd use it more like a daily driver than a weekend toy, with the big car just being used when we need the space. £10k doesn't get you very much in terms of performance car. We had a S Max years ago and it was good. 2.2 diesel I think, and it was a nice engine.
We have 5 kids and the last 2 family cars have been XC60, so only 5 seater. But we went on holiday over the summer and had a VW Touran. The 3 middle row seats were WAY better than the XC60 and other SUV's ive been in.
Get an MPV and a toy!
We have 5 kids and the last 2 family cars have been XC60, so only 5 seater. But we went on holiday over the summer and had a VW Touran. The 3 middle row seats were WAY better than the XC60 and other SUV's ive been in.
Get an MPV and a toy!
fflump said:
An S-Max is widely regarded as the best ride and drive for an MPV.
Maybe £7-8k on one with the balance on a 2+2 weekend car?
Then you get into how big the budget it and how big a brave pill do you want to swallow in terms of performance/sense of occasion vs. borkage potential.
This is exactly what I'm fancying if I can justify it to myself. A decent spex S-Max which will manage the odd trip with all 4 kids and be a nice comfy backup when I don't fancy commuting in a loud, stiff car at 7am in the middle of winter. Maybe £7-8k on one with the balance on a 2+2 weekend car?
Then you get into how big the budget it and how big a brave pill do you want to swallow in terms of performance/sense of occasion vs. borkage potential.
£7k is about the ballpark for a decent one. I'm just concerned about reliability and niggles on a 10 year old Ford that'll only see occasional use, but the mileages on some I see for sale give me confidence that they will keep going if looked after well.
The second car is like deja vu for me. In 2018 I bought an 18 month old BMW M2 after very nearly buying a delivery miles Focus RS. I still don't feel the same buzz for anything else with 4 seats in my budget so I'm looking at the same two cars again, although I'd go for the M2 Competition this time as I don't want the exact same car twice.
Last time round I was in a Focus ST diesel when I had the opportunity to swap, which is what pushed me towards the BMW. This time I'm leaning towards the RS, probably because I'm in a F-series BMW now. Not sure of 2x Fords would be a mistake though? The RS feels special but it's a mk3 Focus at the end of day and doesn't have the same build quality and feelgood factor as a BMW.
Another consideration is £25-30k would get me a very good, sensible mileage Focus RS but would put me towards the higher mileage M2 Competitions. Also think the RS would hold its value better.
If you are going down the one car route have a look at the Skoda Kodiaq vRS. Probably not the sportiest but 7 seats. Budget might not stretch to the newer 2.0 TFSI but should have plenty of choice of 2.0 BiTDI.
Another consideration is with a new born and the other children, will you have time to enjoy a more focused enthusiasts car?
Another consideration is with a new born and the other children, will you have time to enjoy a more focused enthusiasts car?
5-10k on the best S max you can find & then get the car you want.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410034...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202408193...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410034...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202408193...
magpie215 said:
I was going to Suggest a JDM.
Toyota voxy/Noah
Honda Stepwagon or Elysium some have the K20 or K24 engines....almost indestructible.
I've never connected with Japanese cars and wouldn't fancy one, but this was an interesting post as I live on a small cul-de-sac of 4 houses and one of our neighbours has a Noah. It's the only one I've ever seen, quirky looking thing and we'd be the most unusual street in the country if I got one as well!Toyota voxy/Noah
Honda Stepwagon or Elysium some have the K20 or K24 engines....almost indestructible.
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