£50k to spend on a family car. Go!

[themainline]

Anyone know anything about cars? We live in central(ish) London and have never needed one until now with the arrival of our second child.

Car needs to be big enough for 2 car seats to fit comfortably at the back plus a big boot for the double buggy and Ddog. Will probably only use it to do the weekly shop plus day trips out of London from time to time.

We are paying cash (as opposed to getting it on finance) does that give us any bargaining power when buying a car?

I’ve got a golf and you wouldn’t fit all that in.

I’d have an Audi q3 on lease, but on this forum I’d say it was a bike with trailers for the kids and your kit

I’m about to trade in my VW Tiguan, I think it was about £36k 4 years ago and that was with panoramic sunroof, keyless entry, sports pack (it really goes) and it parks itself so great for parallel parking! Plus it’s very comfy inside. I really love it but think boot would be a touch too small for your needs so would have a look at VW Touareg which is the daddy of the VW 4X4 range.

I looked at range rovers too when I was buying but you pay so much for the brand that the specs were comparatively low for the budget and I was glad I did.

That said I echo other posters to consider secondhand, we’ve stopped buying new now because life changes quickly and I am too tight to pay depreciation (my 4 yr old car has depreciated to the tune of over £20k). We’ve just paid cash for an lovely mini MPV, 17 plate, 5000 miles and was only £11k. My in laws only buy battered secondhand land rovers and have never had issues. It depends how much you want to burn your money but when I bought my last car I was doing 20k+ miles a year and loads of country roads so really appreciated the comfort. For your needs I wouldn’t spend more than £20k with the intent of keeping it years, unless £50k is really nothing to you in which case crack on with a Touareg or a big Volvo 4X4.

How many buttons can an op press in one post I wonder?

50k

I'd buy a 1 or 2 yr old Skoda yeti, and use the other 35k for a holiday, a cleaner, a piano and a horse.

HtH

PS can’t recommend the auto park feature enough for London. It measures spaces and parks itself perfectly - either bay or parallel- which is just glorious.

You won't get a discount for cash. This is something you got years ago when the person you bought from provided the finance. All the garages use finance companies these days, which has turned the tables considerably.

Audi A6 avant estate
Skoda superb estate

Both these vehicles are quite long so watch out if your drive/garage/whatever is short.

Not sure why people are being so rude. I couldn’t afford to spend £50k on a new car but I can still provide decent advice to the OP.

£50 in London? It will be dented within the year. Don’t do it! Even if you don’t have off-road parking, you will have to park it on the roadside sometimes. People are mad drivers in the city, scraping through gaps in the traffic and the roadside parkers.

£50k obvs 😁

Oh yes and the garages prefer you to buy on finance. They get a commission and the finance company make money.

I am assuming that OP probably has good holidays/cleaner etc if she can afford £50k on a car. There are a lot of wealthy posters on mn but people umm rarely dare to ask such questions demonstrating their comparative wealth because of the reactions on this thread.

I have a Skoda Fabia estate, which would fit two car seats. My dog goes in the boot and there's plenty space left so a double buggy would fit too. You'd get a PCP very cheap due to your low mileage- that's what I'd do instead of paying cash in your situation.

Ffs why are people with money not allowed to post on mumsnet? She asked advice on a car, it’s not bragging to do that. Pathetic

Love my Mazda 5. But wouldn't buy new if you barely use it, cash means nothing these days they want you to have a pcp. Buy 3 years old ex pcp from the dealer.

I assumed this was a typo. I'd just get a 2nd hand Berlingo and spend the rest of the money on something more useful/fun (mortgage paid?).

And avoid lease with a dog!

Definitely consider something electric or at the very least Hybrid to take advantage of the ultra low emission zones in London and for all the environmental reasons. Check out Volvo, Jaguar and Lexus who have great hybrid ranges and Tesla for pure electric.

Hyundai Tucson, I have the 1.6 petrol 177bhp premium model, lots of room, leather seats so wipeable with children, excellent safety features, reversing camera, back & front sensors, overtaking warning, lane assist, satnav & infotainment system. Brand new are around £28k.

If it's just for the weekly shop, plus days out I would invest the money and use a car club. It will cost considerably less than depreciation, wear and tear, tax, insurance, cat parking and congestion zone charges (if applicable). You are basically paying to block your drive/road for most of the week.

It also has the advantage that you can pick the best car for the job - so a small car for a quick shopping trip or a 4x4 to cram everyone in for the weekend.

If I spent £50K on a car, I’d be so worried about it getting scratched/dented I think it would take a lot of enjoyment out of it

My “dream” family car would probably be a new VW Touran.

In a similar position OP - although wouldn't dared have asked you'll get crucified!

Im just about to trade my BMW saloon in and was planning on getting an Audi Q5 but was outraged that even on the top of the range model you still need to pay an extra £1500 for electric seats

If I had that budget, I wish, I agree a XC60, I have a V40 Cross country and the safety and seat specs are highly rated on all Volvo cars.

I would look at a Tesla on that budget. If you really don’t care about the environment then a Porsche Cayenne is a pretty good family car. Although to be honest, any decent car you buy is going to be wasted just being used for a weekly shop. As many pp have mentioned, you might be better off saving the money and just get yourself a little 10k runaround, any estate would do the job and be suitable for family and dog.

Not sure why OP is getting so much hate, she just asked a question. People do spend a lot of money on cars, some people don’t. That’s life.

if you have that kind of money go for quality like bmw a estate will fulfil all your space requirements.

something like this

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201905298433040?onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&fuel-consumption=OVER_60&seller-type=trade&radius=15&advertising-location=at_cars&sort=price-asc&postcode=ha97fa&maximum-mileage=30000&make=MERCEDES-BENZ&exclude-writeoff-categories=on&body-type=Estate&page=1

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201908221402508?fuel-consumption=OVER_60&sort=price-asc&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&body-type=Estate&radius=15&maximum-mileage=30000&advertising-location=at_cars&postcode=ha97fa&seller-type=trade&page=1

I have a couple of friends with the Tesla X and they both complain it leaks. Not what you need in rainy UK.