OK, found a lovely new nanny now need to buy her a car. What should I get?

[PrincessPeaHead]

My list of absolutes -
needs to fit four children (one in baby seat, two in boosters) so ideally roomy in the back with an air bag switch off for the front passenger seat. or 7 seats but would prefer not to go so big.
five doors
needs to be really safe because she has to drive on the motorway
needs to be really reliable
needs to have not terrible depreciation
not more than 2 years old

budget flexible but if I can do it for £10k that would be marvellous.

have found a Renault Scenic that meets the bill - anyone have one? What do you think?

[nearlythere]

renaults have reliability issues apparently but i did like mine!

[frogs]

Most of the people I know with 4 kids and a non-mega budget second car have a Vauxhall Zafira. Boring but true.

[PrincessPeaHead]

god I've just looked at the reader comments on What Car about the scenic. Everyone hates their car and has had to take it into the shop 100 times with electrical issues.

Scrap the scenic!

Zafira - yawn - I don't really need a 7 seater. She'll usually only have 2 children at once, but occasionally all 4 - I'd rather a really roomy 5 seater that can take a child (9yo) in the front seat.

What about Japanese options? Honda, Toyota? Anyone have any ideas?

[nearlythere]

nissan note's supposed to be good- someone has one around here- maybe misdee, not sure though!

[PrincessPeaHead]

Seat Altea looks interesting - anyone have any views?
Come on, where are all those men who constantly harp on about cars when you need them?!

[geekgrrl]

I've said it before, I'll say it again - you can't beat the Toyota Corolla verso. It's a 7-seater with the rear two seats completely hidden in the floor of the boot, and like a Tardis inside. you should be able to get a nice 2 year old one for 10K or even under.
It drives beautifully and is v. reliable.

[PrincessPeaHead]

yes it looks lovely - my local dealer only had one second hand one but it was £14k though!

will look around further afield to see if there are any other ones

want to buy from a dealer to px another car I have.

[mumlove]

Don't forget to check what the insurance costs would be.

[DrMarthaMcMoo]

We've just bought a Citroen Xsara Picasso (pick it up on Friday) which gets 4 out of 5 for safety from NCAP. Renault Megane gets 5 out of 5 but I didn't like its bum.

The Picasso is the most popular MPV in Britain, apparently (they're 10 a penny, has to be said - I'll never find it in the car park) and all the people we know who've got one seem to like theirs.

The Picasso has 5 seats (the middle back seat has a proper diagonal belt as well), massive boot space er...and ours is blue and I really like it. Oh and ours is 2005, has less than 5000 miles on the clock (ex Motability) and was just under £10K.

[DrMarthaMcMoo]

(That's for the Exclusive model, btw - and it's an automatic - you can get the more basic models or the Desire model, in manual, for quite a bit less).

[Booh]

The toyota avensis can fit three children in the back in full car seats, but I have no idea of the price.

Or what about a Honda civic

[donnie]

a VW touran - the best of the best with all you want!

[Laudaud]

Just bought a corolla - they rate high on reliability - don't know what the verso is like - only one DD to cater for so far.

[PrincessPeaHead]

new honda civics are a little cramped in the back I think

trouble with toyota is they have only JUST started putting airbag switch off things in the passenger seats - basically if you get almost any of their cars which are more than a year old they don't have them. which is a pain. will look at avensis but suspect that might be the problem with them (eg old RAV4s don't have them)

[geekgrrl]

my toyota is 2 years old and has an airbag switch.

[Booh]

It cost me £75 to get an airbag switch fitted - so not much and if you are buying a nearly new from a dealership they often do it for less if not free!

[bewilderbeast]

for that money you could have a brand new skoda fabia estate, they are fantastic and have loads of room and great boot space, they don't depreciate much and are safe as houses, and if you get a diesel they are pretty economical to run too

[Eleusis]

You could buy an SUV and drive it over and park it outside CD's house -- just for fun

Sorry, no car recommendations from me. Have you tried looking at that car arehouse (carland or something) in Chertsey. I know it isn't exactly in your neighborhood, but it isn't THAT far. And you could check the website first.

[Laudaud]

Bewiderbeast, I assume you're referring to the original budget of £10k and not £75

[FluffyMummy123]

Message withdrawn

[SofiaAmes]

Have to put in a big vote for Toyotas. I have owned different ones over the years and they are all super super reliable. They never break down, cost little to maintain and are just practical and more practical. Here in the usa I have an older Rav4 which I adore (I don't think there is a switch for the airbag in the front, but I would never put a child in the front, so not an issue). My dh has a new 4Runner (with 7 seats) which we love and we have a '96 Landcruiser in the uk (with 8 seats) which is perfect for lots of kids. And I used to have an '85 landcruiser than just ran and ran and I sold it for almost as much as I paid for it 10 years earlier. (They keep their value really well here in the usa) The seats fold down totally flat in most of the new ones and totally come out too if you need it for anything.

[ipodtherforipoor]

seat altea are brilliant - i've got the smaller one, but the Seat altea XL would be great for your bunch. lots of room, easy to drive. have a good look though and be sure what things come with the model you want to buy - i lost my rear electric windows when I changed from my seat ibiza and i really miss them!

[misdee]

i have a nissan tino. cant switch front air bag off, but can get baby seat + 2 boosters in the back easily. boot is good size.