Good second hand family car for under £15000

[Mauket]

We are expecting our second DC soon and looking to upgrade to a family car. We currently have a small really old car which seems to be constantly breaking down and all of the boot space is taken up by a stroller.

Any recommendations for a second-hand family car with a large boot space for under £15000? Are 7 seaters worth purchasing?

We've just bought a Skoda Karoq and are really pleased with it. Do you need a 7 seater for a family of 4?

Nissan Qashqai (SP), Skoda Yeti, Kia Sportage? 15k is quite a lot . Mine was 8k for a 7 yo Yeti.

Seat Leon - surprisingly good boot space too. You'd def get a buggy in there.

Not sure I would bother with a 7 seater for 4 of you & all little children. We are a family of 5 and I find the 7 seater (pop up seats in the back) useful for if we’ve got granny or a friend along, but you’d struggle to fit a large pram in the boot if you’re using the extra seats etc.

Actually its most useful for being able to fit in 6 of DS’s U9s football team!

We were thinking that the 7 seater might be handy for when DH’s sister/ my mum come to visit (both don’t drive). Can you fit an adult at the back with 2 car seats in a 5 seater?

Loved our Honda CRV, purchased for exactly 15K second hand. Huge boot, far far bigger than a Qashqai. Loads of room in the rear seats (and no annoying hump in the floor). Great car.

My brother has the Peugeot 3008 which is 7 seats I think, also very happy with it.

Ideally looking to spend around £10000. But given that our current car has broken down so much recently, thought it might be best to invest a bit more so we don’t have to worry about another car for another 10 years.

Depends on the car unless you’ve got a slim adult. You need one with 3 full seats across the back. We have a Renault Grand scenic (7 seater) which has 3 full seats across the back, but the Vauxhall Zafira (7 seater too) doesn’t have the 3 full seats across the back IIRC.

We had a 2nd hand Skoda Octavia for 7 years, great reliable family car

We have 3 kids and have only just upgraded to a 7 seater because they outgrew their original car seats, if I had 2 we'd have kept the Skoda a other 7 years!

I've got an Octavia which is a great fsmily car, i have the VRS version so it does well on motorways. Very spacious inside

A relative has just bought a Skoda Octavia second hand for £11000. Great car and fits lots of stuff in the boot.

The Renault grand scenic are a great 7 seater family car and I used to be able to fit the pram in even with the boot seats up. It was a great car and I miss it it a lot. We had to sell our old one due to ulez and got the quashqai +2 to replace it which is a lot smaller inside even though it looks bigger on the outside.

We bought a 3 yr old second hand Hyundai Tuscon for £13k just before Christmas. I have 2 DC, aged 6&2. It’s so roomy and will be as they grow and the boot is huge.

We absolutely loved our old Tuscon and you could easily get one for that money.

I could fit in the back of our Ford Focus between two high back boosters. Although it wasn't particularly comfortable and I wouldn't choose to do it for a really long journey, it was fine for a trip to the pub or wherever for up to half an hour if we wanted to give someone else a lift. I definitely did it a couple of times giving DB a lift back from relatives an hour and a half away.

I don't think I could do it if one of the car seats was a proper rigid seat for a 3 year old.

Have you considered an estate? They are better value that SUVs and make great family cars with plenty of boot space. I have had a Kia C'eed estate for the past 7 years and absolutely love it. For £15k you should be able to get one that's only 2-3yrs old with around 20,000 miles on the clock

Toyota Verso? 3 full size seats in the back and 2 fold down ones in the boot for occasional lifts. Good amount of boot space when they’re not in use. Not the most glamorous of cars but Toyotas are reliable!

I have a Skoda superb, it's the best car ever! So much space everywhere. The back fits a car seat and two adults.

My husband has a Skoda Octavia and I prefer mine.

Thanks all. These are really helpful suggestions. My DH and I don’t know much about cars so really starting from scratch here.

Octavia... we're on our 4th. Not because they keep breaking, but because dh gets a car with his job and we can never find anything better for his car allowance.

We have 2 dc, now teens, have never felt the need for 7 seats.

Lots of recommendations for an Octavia here. Were you able to fit an adult at the back with two car seats (for short rides)?

Another Skoda Octavia vote, but no, no adult between the two back seats. I don’t know what car could fit an adult between.

Actually, my DF’s landrover discovery (2) might fit an adult in the middle. But you still wouldn't want to.

My DB currently has a Volvo estate and size 8 DSIL can very uncomfortably sit in the back in the middle. My size 16 arse cannot, no matter how much my DNephews scream for it.

When the dc were smaller (as was I) I could fit in the back between 2 HBB. I was a size 12 in those days. I wasn't comfortable, but it was doable.

My Mondeo estate has a massive boot, and my fairly large arse fits comfortably between the two car seats.