Which car to buy- solo decision!

[RobertClementHughes]

This decision is too big. (I know it's not, probably a 1st world problem, but it seems big to me.)

I got divorced 5 years ago and whilst I've bought and maintain our house, taken my 3 dc abroad and on lots of camping holidays on my own, made umpteen decisions about so much and generally run my life pretty well, I am really struggling with this one. It seems huge. The ramifications of me getting it wrong and choosing something that doesn't suit us/ is a money pit and costs £££ all the time to keep going/impacts on our ability to get to work school and any social stuff are so big.

I have a VW Caravelle which I love. 7 flexible position seats, masses of boot space, generally reliable (although it is old hence the maintenance requirements, services and MOTs always end up costing £££s and I need to get something less needy)

What makes/models should I consider? Needs to cater for 4 people (me, two teens, fast growing weed of a 7 year old) dog, camping trips, tip runs and the like so it needs to have decent space. Ideally a few more seats than people as I do lots of shared runs to after school activities/pick friends up etc but this isn't a dealbreaker.

I can probably sell my T5 for about £8k. Would love another but they are so expensive at the moment so can't afford to get a newer one. And haven't any additional funds to add to it because of aforementioned maintenance using up all my sparse savings!!

Help me please Mumsnet!

No easy answers to this last time I looked. Either a 'quality make' older car, possibly with higher mileage/maintenance costs (but you already have this), or a younger 'budget brand' with lower mileage and hopefully less maintenance for a while. On your budget, I would be looking for something to.last approximately 5 years and work the costs out over time to compare different options.

Citroen C4 Soacetourer (5 seats)/Grand (7 seats), or one of the Citroen/Peugeot van type cars are good value and often lots of storage/extras. Plenty of room for teens/dogs/holidays, reasonable fuel economy and often come from Motability scheme after 3/4 years so have been well-maintained with low mileage.

Or maybe a large budget estate like the Dacia Logan. Would feel very different to your VW but a much newer car/lower mileage could give you peace of mind for a while.

Others I looked at were cars which have ceased production, so prices have dropped markedly. Ford C-Max (5 and 7 seaters) and Skoda Octavia spring to mind. Also Vauxhall Zafira Tourer?

In the slightly higher quality brands, Skoda Octavia and other Skoda estates always get good reviews.

Unfortunately second-hand prices very strong at the moment so hard to find bargains. Wgen I was looking, I definitely saw better vfm in the estate and people carrier/MPV sectors than in SUV.

Good luck!

*When!

T5s and similar are always going to be more expensive to buy and run, it's the nature of the beast.

Definitely think about whether you benefit from having a 7 seater in reciprocal running around or does it trap you into doing more than your fair share of runs because you have the big car, especially as the teens are more likely to be off doing their own thing or simply staying at home alone.

A Skoda Octavia estate will be plenty for your own family and a good value buy so you should be able to get a decent one for your £8k budget to last a good few years. Just watch out for service history and mileage although they should be good for close to 200k if looked after.

Whatever you see, check out the MOT history on the DVLA website before even going to look at it, this will confirm that the mileage is genuine, and how it's been looked after.

AS well as the Skoda, I think it's Hyundai that has a 7 year warranty, so you should be able to get one with a bit of warranty left, also Toyotas or Hondas are generally well thought of.

Thanks @Undertheoldlindentree- I hadn't seen either of the Citroens before and the Grand looks ok.

The Ford C-Max has also cropped up in other searches, I quite like the look of it.

Another option for me would be to have a car with smaller boot space (as long as it can house the dog) and buy a trailer for the camping trips and tip runs.

Will investigate more.

@BarbaraofSeville that's a really good point about reciprocal trips, also the teens off doing their own thing soon. Actually a smaller car than the T5 would be helpful as ds1 will be learning to drive soon and I think a van would be slightly daunting

Will add Octavia to the list. They are basically VWs with a different badge I think? Like Audis. That helps me feel confident- I have pretty much either had VWs or BMWs for the last 20 years, I'm comfy with German engineering!

Not aspirational, although doesn't sound as if you care about that, but I"m on my second Galaxy and I love it. I have a high spec one, has all the bells and whistles you could wish for, and is just a fabulous comfortable drive with bags of easily manoeuvrable space.

Ooh Whitney you wouldn't happen to be on holiday in Spain right now would you?

If so, I have spotted you from real life and this is a coded message:

Wurfs.

(Possibly poor MN etiquette. If you are who I think you are though, I have also just outed myself to you )

The SEAT Alhambra, they stopped making them last year so second hand only. Or the VW Sharan which is the same?

I have a Škoda superb - bigger boot than the octavia (and in fact I think it’s the biggest estate boot on the market) and it is FANTASTIC. Bloody huge inside, but not particularly difficult to park. Massive boot, plenty of space for my golden retriever and all the kit that comes with two tiny children.

An Audi A6 estate?

Would you lease ?

I don't think I could afford monthly payments to lease- if I sold my car I could pay off my credit card and a few other things which would be fab but the payments on those would only cover a lease payment of about £250 and I don't think this would cover it from what I've seen :(

I like the look of the Skoda superb @recreationalcalpol. Another one for the list.

I’ve got a Skoda Octovia Estate, it’s a great car. Loads of boot space - I’ve got a 16 month old and another on the way! Plenty of space for your dog!

I just got a Kuga - only has the standard number of seats, but the bootspace is good, and the back seats slide forward to give you a bit more space, which is nice

Friends of ours who are campers with two teens have a Skoda Superb.

Skoda is basically the same as VW without the price tag. The Karoq has a massive boot, or the Kodiaq is even bigger. The back seats in the Karoq are removable should you need the space, not just fold down. The lumbar support is good and it’s comfortable to drive and be a passenger in.

Someone mentioned a Dacia Logan upthread! I genuinely cannot recommend them enough! I bought a used top
Spec and have done 60k miles with nothing more than routine maintenance, tyres and a sensor which cost £17 including fitting… you get a lot of car for your money. The Dacia
Duster is lovely if you want more trendy/SUV style but they tend to cost multiples of what you can get a decent Logan for.

We have similar requirements and when our very old estate Ford Mondeo died (what a fabulous car - sad times) I did lots of research and ended up with Hyundai i30 estate, 20k miles on the clock, 2 years old, 3 years remaining on the manufacturer guarantee, for £9k. I intend to drive it into the ground and we are really happy with it. It’s boot is a bit smaller than the mondeo which is annoying - but matters for camping.

Also - the Skoda Octavia and Seat Leon estates always get great write ups, but I found them to be more expensive.

there are Audi A6 on lease atm for under £300 with no deposit BUT

I don't always think it's the best choice for everyone who wants to buy or have a car

What I would reccommend is a slightly older

Passat estate but don't get a dirty deisel
vw cc I had one of these it was so much fun. They can be bought for £8k
Vw arteon

I wonder if you could do a down payment then a payment for like £100 a month to keep you liquid and to pay for something over time

Ps power to the ladies I love threads like this xxx

@RobertClementHughes

Ooh Whitney you wouldn't happen to be on holiday in Spain right now would you?

If so, I have spotted you from real life and this is a coded message:

Wurfs.

(Possibly poor MN etiquette. If you are who I think you are though, I have also just outed myself to you )

I wish I bloody was LOL, but no, coded message lost on me I'm afraid.