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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To sell my 7 seater and get a little 5 seater car

20 replies

Minnie16889 · 03/12/2020 16:28

Good evening all Smile

We are a family of 2 adults and 4 children ages 3 to 15

My elder 2 very rarely come anywhere with us as a family (odd days out in the summer)

I can not remember the last time we used 6 seats.
I now have a job which involves driving to peoples homes, in a city and i am considering selling my diesel guzzling 7 seater and getting a little car.
Its a pain in the arse to park in small streets in such a busy place, and the fuel consumption is awful, its a diesel 2.2
Its 15 years old and we only paid £900 for it.

OH has a company car, so the car will always be home when hes at work for when i need it and i could then take the 4 if needed anywhere.

Anyone else a family of 6 or more with a 5 seater and regretted it? Am i mad for considering it?

OP posts:
AryaStarkWolf · 03/12/2020 16:31

YANBU if you don't really use all the seats anymore

Original poster
Minnie16889 · 03/12/2020 16:46

That's my way of thinking.

My eldest said to me the other day 'what about days out'
But he agrees with me that they hardly come places with us anymore to warrant having a 7 seater

OP posts:
Zooxanthellae · 03/12/2020 16:49

If you have two cars then you could take both for the odd day out. Makes sense to have a small car for your job.

escondida · 03/12/2020 16:51

I had similar decision, bought a 4 seater, very happy with it! Love my little car.

ChittyChittyBoomBoom · 03/12/2020 16:51

How about a smaller 7 seater? I have the grand c max which doesn’t have 3 full seats across the back but could accommodate 3 children not in car seats and 2 pop up seats in the boot which are ok for younger children. My cars gets 45mpg.

Original poster
Minnie16889 · 03/12/2020 16:52

I dont think hes allowed to use it for personal use, but at some point we may get a 2nd car which we could use for days out and just take both

OP posts:
Fishlegs · 03/12/2020 16:56

I did this, got rid of my 7 seater diesel for a 5 seater Leaf which I love. My 4 are similar in age to yours, and it works fine. We only have 1 car in the family as dh and I cycle to work. On the odd occasion when we need to go somewhere all together we take public transport (well we did pre-covid) or a taxi.

BrumBoo · 03/12/2020 16:57

On the basis that you only have one family car (work car doesn't count), I'm afraid I think you're being unreasonable at the moment. If there ever came a reason for you all needing to go somewhere, then you'd simply not have transport for you all. Either get a cheaper multi car, or I'd just review the situation in a few months/after next summer.

Fishlegs · 03/12/2020 16:59

Also, for holidays in the UK, which we mostly do, we have hired a big car previously for the week. Including this with the running costs of the Leaf, it still works out cheaper than the yearly cost of running the big car.

IndieRo · 03/12/2020 17:01

I had a 6 seater ( it was an import) and three children. I couldn't wait to get rid of it, 2 litre petrol. When my dc were out of car seats and didn't need buggy we got a smaller car. We had smaller car for about two years and it was a nightmare. Constant fighting from the kids as in move over, your breathing on me, your on my side. We got rid of it and bought a 7 seater. I agree that they are not great for parking or nipping around but for me at least I can seperate dc and when we do go away for a few days or for a day out we have lots of space. My DH has a van so we don't have the option of using two smaller cars.

Original poster
Minnie16889 · 03/12/2020 17:01

I had the zafira and hated it, so sluggish and boot was tiny for fitting a pushchair

I now have a totota corolla, nice enough but i just hate having a big car that does not get the full use.
Everyone else in my job have a little run around for work, its just ideal

OP posts:
IsFinnRogersDead · 03/12/2020 17:02

We've got a Grand c max which has 2 in the boot and 3 in the middle. The 2 in the boot slip down, as does the middle middle one. So I can take all 4 kids out without DH and with boot space, we can all cram in if necessary - but most of the time it's me plus 3 kids so it's fine. You could all go out for the day but would struggle to fit much in the boot.

MojoMoon · 03/12/2020 17:07

Lots of families manage without a car at all so you aren't somehow endangering your children by not possessing a car that fits them all.

Save the money on fuel and rent a people carrier if there are any occasions where you must all travel together in one vehicle.

Enjoy your nimble and cheaper to run little car for the 99pc of the time where you don't need a big car.

MojoMoon · 03/12/2020 17:08

Nissan certainly used to offer something with the Leaf where you got ten days free rental of a Nissan Juke each year, in the event you really were driving in the back of beyond for long distances.

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 03/12/2020 17:17

It's amazingly cheap to hire cars these days. By downsizing, you can probably save enough on fuel in a month to hire a bigger car 3-4 times a year.

GreenlandTheMovie · 03/12/2020 17:28

I have a 7 seater and the rear seats all come out leaving a massive flat storage area. The amount of money and bother I have saved in hiring vans to transport furniture and stuff I've bought off FB marketplace and the convenience of being able to stick my mountain bike in it to drive somewhere nice for a good cycle means I'll be keeping it for sure!

nosswith · 03/12/2020 18:01

I'd think you were being unreasonable if you kept it.

passthemustard · 03/12/2020 18:35

I have 4 DC and last year swapped down from a 7 seater to a 5 seater.

It is a pain when we want to go somewhere all 6 of us as we have to take the car and my DPs work van. Or going on holiday. If we're just going for a meal or something we'll get a taxi but day trips etc are a bit more tricky.

We thought we'd be ok because the teens rarely want to come out but for those times when they do or have to come it's really annoying.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 03/12/2020 18:49

How about a smaller 7 seater? I have the grand c max which doesn’t have 3 full seats across the back but could accommodate 3 children not in car seats and 2 pop up seats in the boot which are ok for younger children. My cars gets 45mpg.

My thinking exactly - maybe something like a Touran? If you're looking for a 5-seater anyway as opposed to a supermini, they're barely any bigger or less fuel-efficient - they're just like an ordinary family car with a decent boot or the option of two extra seats if you should need them.

Personally, I think it seems a shame not to have a single vehicle that can fit your whole family in (unless you're the Radfords!), even if you have a second, smaller car that doesn't.

From what you say, I think you might be introducing too many variables i.e. you have an old, thirsty car that happens to have 7 seats; but apart from the issue of physical size, a newer, more efficient car would be a lot cheaper and more pleasant, irrespective of how many people it happens to be able to seat.

Plonque · 03/12/2020 18:59

@Minnie16889

That's my way of thinking.

My eldest said to me the other day 'what about days out'
But he agrees with me that they hardly come places with us anymore to warrant having a 7 seater

Yeah but if you get rid of it then they can't ever come, which is different!

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