AIBU to think DH should buy a bigger, more practical, car?

[BoomChickenSoup]

We are a family of six and obviously my car is big enough to seat all of us. DH is looking to replace his car, which is currently a four seater, and wants to replace it with a five seater.

Am I being unreasonable to suggest that it would make more practical sense to buy a car that can seat all of us as a family? He reasons that we will never be in a situation where we would all need to be in his car rather than in my car or a courtesy car if necessary.

We have done the research and the cost difference between the two different options is approximately £1,000 and the insurance cost is practically the same.

I know this is a comparatively small problem to have btw but would be interested in others opinions, especially as I really do think I am right here.

Has your current set up (where only one of your cars will take all 6 of you) really been a problem? Have there been lots of times where you really needed DH to have a 6/7 seater? If so then YANBU. But if it's only an occasional issue then YABU.

Of course, once you agree to the Focus RS, then whenever there is some difficulty created by the fact that he had the fun choice rather than your practical suggestion, it will be his problem to deal with won't it?

sorry, I'm with your DH. my car is the 7 seater and he has a 5 seater. If we all need to go somewhere we go in my car (where the car seats are - couldn't afford a second set of seats of his car and its a faff to move them).

no point in the extra running costs of 2 big cars IMO

although yes I'm secretly slightly peeved that he gets his dream 4x4 and I'm stuck with the mummy waggon but I'm a SAHM so it makes practical sense.

I would add that if I'm going out on my own I take DH's car - supposedly so he has the car seats and car in case he needs to take the DC anywhere. really I just like the excuse to drive his flashier car!!

A standard Ford Focus would be fine - and would resent a much more professional appearance as a company car than an RS would. Also much cheaper on fuel, and probably tax - both of which you will pay.

Depends a little - if it is e.g. a small company of 'lads'. then he may need the RS to 'fit on'. In any other company, it would be rather ... sad.

The other thing you need to think about: if you have the 'big' car, does that mean that your DH can mentally 'check out of' family taxi duties? "Oh, it needs your car / that car has the car seats in / the car'#s not really suitable for family driving / I need to keep it clean for work so you do it?". Or is he willing to drive the family car in equal shares with you as soon as he returns home from work / at weekends?

Map out your family driving requirements,. Who carries who, when? How often are all 7 seats needed, and when in the week / year does that happen?

[We did that exercise, and moved down first from 2 cars suitable for carrying all of us - an estate + a Focus - to just the esatate, and then very quickly to a single small car - i10. We worked out that the cost of renting a larger car on the few occasions it was really needed was MUCH lower than the cost of running a larger car]

I also agree with your dh.

We are only a family of four but we have one seven seater (with the two back seats flattening to make a humungous boot) and one four seater.

Family days out are done in the big car. The small car is only ever used by the one of us that doesn't have the dc, to get back and forth to work. Occasionally for a school pick up/nip to the shops. In fact, I don't think we've ever (all four of us) actually been in the small car together - there's just no need.

I would see having two massive cars as a waste tbh.

That's a focus RS for anyone who thinks it might not be a boy racer car...

As long as he can fit all the DC in so can't shirk out of that sort of running about, I still say he doesn't need more seats than that.

It's all about "his" car and "your" car, isn't it? Rather than "family" car and "adult" car.
You really need just one big one that fits you all in and a smaller (more exciting ) one for either of you to drive when not with kids.

It depends on what you do I suppose. Both our cars seat all the dc because dh and I are in different directions for work and sometimes one of us drops off and the other picks up but one fits us all comfortably and the other only fits driver plus the dc as I don't see the point of having 2 big cars.

I'm with him. I think if it's a company car and there's already a family car that's big enough he should get what he wants.

Ah well if he's volunteering!!!
We lost the use of our galaxy for 2 weeks over the summer holidays 1 year. If we'd hadn't have had the touran as an alternative we would have been stuck!!!

Im with your dp, sorry, as long as both of you are insured to drive both. When would you need two cars to sit aml of you at the same time?

poorbuthappy that's the kind of situation I'm worried about but overall the consensus here is that IABU so I think I will have to admit defeat graciously I'm still right though obviously

If you sort the right kind if breakdown insurance you would get 7 seater courtesy car in the event of a breakdown

Take off the spoiler in back, Tabulah, and chance the wheel trim. It's just a small sedan. Meh.

*CHANGE

Also, poorbuthappy, the cost of running 2x 7 seaters for the remote chance that one may break down is DEFINITELY more than hiring one in an emergency or buying better breakdown insurance!

However, the sums are not as clear when the alternative 5-seater is a gas-guzzling boy racer - I presume, OP, that you will also be insured to drive - as it is when it is a cheap-to-run 'ordinary' family hatchback e.g. a normal Focus.

Of course an RS is a boy racer car! If he says it's not tell him just to get a big standard focus then!

But that argument aside, I don't think you need 2 large cars, sorry

I think he should get a two seater sports car:-D when are you going to have both cars filled, for goodness' sake? A waste of money, diesel, damaging to the environment - need I go on?!

ragged
A small sedan that's capable of 162mph, 0-60 in 5.9seconds, standing to 1/4mile in 24 seconds and is called Ford Focus RS (Rally Sport)

How does the tax cost of the two compare?

Surely you have 1 family car, and he has a company car?

We are a family of 6. DH has the boring 7 seater. I have a porsche 911

We have 7 children (2.at uni and 5 teenagers) so HE has the boring 7seater whilst I have my lovely fiat 500. Can't remember last time we all went out together.. for holidays we just hire a 9 seater. I see no reason why he can't order what he wants as long as you get to use whenever you are out in own or with a couple of kids (don't know about dcs carseats and if this is practical - but definitely if out on your own )

We have the standard one bigger car for family and trips (not totally boring - a 2l Golf - but we only have 2 kids so we can), and one little one (polo) for commuting - but we freely swap depending on who's doing what - they're only DP's and My car on the title papers.

The Golf is getting aged, and we're looking at what to replace it with when it finally pops its cogs, and we'd like something nice for the both of us - DP wants a pickup, I say that we should get something sporty with those tiny back seats before the kids get too big to fit in them (but while they're big enough to be out of baby seats).

I see what your DP is saying - one car for fun, one for practical, but if you never get to have the fun, and you get all the drudge because the practical one is yours, then that's just not fair, and you should both have practical ones so the drudge is shared. If you both get to drive both, then I say go with the fun one.

My husband has to choose from a list for his company car. All cars have to have 4 doors and obviously a price limit. This car has always been the big family car although he has it all the time as it has to be available at work.

I have always had to ferry the DC around but I decided there was no point in having two big cars and for the most part had teeny tiny cars - I am more interested in a car that is easier to park. I only have 2 DC so seats weren't such an issue and it was fun the year I had a convertible!

I am inclined to agree with your DH but on the other hand I don't have loads of DC

Sorry, but your husband is being EXTREMELY unreasonable, getting a Ford Focus RS as a company car.

This has a CO2 value of 175g/km, which as of April will mean 32% of the value as tax, and subsequently 34%.

So on a 2 year lease you are going to be taxed on 2/3 of the value of the car (including options), i.e. AT LEAST £20,000, based on a £30,000 list price.

This results in an £8,000 tax bill @ 40% tax.

Let's say this car costs the company £400 a month = £9,600 over 2 years. As a cash allowance, I assume he would get less, maybe £8,000, which is £4,640 after tax.

So this car is costing probably around £12,640 (£8000 tax PLUS the lost income) over 2 years, which is £527/month, which is TOO MUCH to pay for this type of a car.

If he doesn't have a cash alternative, then he MUST choose a low CO2 car.

For comparison, a Ford Focus Titanium X (top spec) 1.0 Ecoboost would result in a tax liability of only £3,000 over 2 years.

So it's costing an extra £5,000 of TAXED income (£8,620 before tax) to drive this toy, over the same model of car without the boy racer engine.

For a company car it makes no sense to go for performance petrol engines, you need either very small petrol engines, hybrid (the Prius+ is a 7-seat petrol hybrid), or diesel engines.

If he wants something vaguely sporty it would need to be something like a BMW 320d.