Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

not to want a volvo estate...

61 replies

moulesfrites · 22/12/2009 16:37

To give you the background, dh and I have no dcs, but are planning to TTC in about a year. I am 26 and have a small car to get to work. DH has a pick up he uses for work(self employed). However, if we go on long journeys - holidays to France, Ireland etc, we generally go in the pick up as there is no room in my car for all our stuff, but this costs a bomb in diesel. We are also looking after my PILs dog on an increasingly regular basis, and it can't go in my car either. DH think we should trade my car in for a bigger "family" car and want a Volvo V50. I am a little bit reticent about the idea of going from a little run around to something so big, especially as we don't have a family yet, but dh sees it as planning for the future, whilst I think of it as tempting fate, and I can just imagine the suspicious looks i will get if I turn up to work in a volvo estate.

I'm not sure what the problem is really - if it's that the volvo/or estates in general have "old" / "soccer mum" connotations - (sorry to volvo drivers!!). I think we should get something "in -between" and then get a family car when we actually have a family!?

I know you will be thinking it's just a car, but i fel like part of my identity is sort of bound up in this decision!!

OP posts:
sarah293 · 22/12/2009 16:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

ScreaminEagle · 22/12/2009 16:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

AKMD · 22/12/2009 16:48

I love Volvos! They are great to drive, I definitely wouldn't be saying no to one. (You can swap it for my Fiesta if you like )

lolapoppins · 22/12/2009 16:48

I have got a Volvo estate. I didn't really want one at first, but its the best car I have ever had. It's quite old, over 10yrs but is so reiable, parts are cheap, engine really easy to work on etc. I am now a convert.

sb6699 · 22/12/2009 16:49

I drive a Volvo Estate. I am not old or a soccer mom.

We got ours because we wanted a safe, practical family car which is exactly what it is. Probably one of the safest cars on the road.

We can fit everything in it when we go visiting our family 450 miles away and it is ultra reliable.

Agree with screamineagle, babies can be expensive (esp first ones) and you may find that when a lo arrives you might not be able to afford to upgrade.

In saying that, I dont really think you need anything that big to fit in one child if you dont want to. Until a couple of years ago, my 3 dc's fitted in a Corsa!

potplant · 22/12/2009 16:50

I'm with Riven. I have no idea why people get so worked up about cars.

Estate driver her btw, but not Volvo)

octopusinabox · 22/12/2009 16:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AnyFuckerForAMincePie · 22/12/2009 16:57

I have one

fab for the dog, fab for shopping bags, fab for throwing all sorts of crap into

crap in the snow and ice, however, but hey, how often does that happen ?

why should you give a shit what they think at work about the car you drive ?

I think your DH is being very sensible

ProfYaffle · 22/12/2009 16:59

I know I'm getting old as I now covert a Volvo Estate! Are they easy to park?

peacocks · 22/12/2009 16:59

Be common, get a Ford Mondeo estate, they have huge boots, they're cheap, easy to maintain and reliable as hell.

WorkingItOutAsIGo · 22/12/2009 17:01

I used to drive 'fun' cars and when I had DS1 found that as soon as I had to take this tiny, precious bundle home, I wanted to buy the safest chunk of metal I possibly could to wrap him in. So we bought our first Volvo then.

Then we had DD and had to trade that for a small Volvo estate so we could fit the pram and bags.

Then we had DS2 and had to trade that one in for the large Volvo estate, with two seats in the boot for friends.

And now they say they are too big for the seats in the boot so have had to trade that in for the Volvo XC90.

I may be a cliche, but I just want my babies as safe as possible. And they are really good solid cars and we love the heated front seats, especially in the winter.

But no, YANBU now. But in a year's time you may be saying 'oh i so wish i'd bought the volvo then'.

Good luck with TTC!

AnyFuckerForAMincePie · 22/12/2009 17:01

easy enough prof

easier than a big fuck-off 4X4, for example

Hassled · 22/12/2009 17:01

We used to have a Volvo Estate and I miss it - they last for ever and feel like being inside a tank.

CMOTdibbler · 22/12/2009 17:07

I have an estate - but not a Volvo. I have a Mazda 6, which was a very good price, huge inside, gets a very good safety score, but drives very well and economically (I drive a lot for work so really notice that).

When we decided to TTC, we did change the car then to something more practical than my little Saxo, but have worked up sizes as we find more stuff to schlep around

JeMeSouviens · 22/12/2009 17:07

We drove a V50 until we moved abroad. We loved it, reliable, sturdy and functional. We bought it before we had DC.

I am neither a soccer mom, nor old

AnyFuckerForAMincePie · 22/12/2009 17:09

our V50 runs on LPG, too

it is fab

MrsBadger · 22/12/2009 17:17

I drove dd around in my hot hatch Saxo for two years until the head gasket went

replaced it with a 2l diesel Focus estate which is actually faster, pokier, more fun, more economical and more practical, even if dc2 had not been in the pipeline

you don;t need to go all out for a Volvo if you feel it's too mumsy

but fwiw I reckon estates are a lot less mumsy than mini-MPVs (Picasso, Scenic etc) - no childless men drive Scenics IME, but hundreds drive estate cars.

Original poster
moulesfrites · 22/12/2009 17:31

I know it may seem strange AnyFucker but my boss at work drives a two seater convertible and it is very much a statement that she is childless and intends to stay that way, whereas i think us getting this car will be like me announcing that we are TTC!

OP posts:
MrsBadger · 22/12/2009 17:40

...or that you have a dog

AnyFuckerForAMincePie · 22/12/2009 17:40

I will say again, moules, who cares

I will see you back on this this thread in 5 years time, MF, posting "wtf was I thinking ???..."

HowTheGibbonStoleChristmas · 22/12/2009 17:46

I love cars, I truly do but you are thinking far too deeply into this.

Really, it's a car and as long as you are happy driving it, bugger what John on the 4th floor will say about it to Linda in accounts

Metatron · 22/12/2009 18:25

our v40 gets 600 urban miles per tank.....

they are great really! agree with mrs b re estate versus mum mobiles too.

serinBrightside · 22/12/2009 18:42

I love my V70, great for camping trips, very nippy and very safe, which is why the police use them as armed response vehicles and traffic patrols (they love camping trips do the police).

Don't know what previous poster is on about saying they are crap in the snow and ice, they are made in Sweden!

BellasSparklyBaubles · 22/12/2009 18:46

don't get one!!!!

I've just got rid of mine.

Crap in snow and ice and heaps of problems including the brake shoes falling off, ffs.

dodgynoodles · 22/12/2009 18:50

I absolutely love my volvo V70, it's not difficult to park at all cos visibility is pretty good.
Apparently they are very safe if you are unlucky enough to have a crash... really it's like driving a fast, spacious tank!

Swipe left for the next trending thread