Is there any point in us changing our car(s)? Advice appreciated!

[DitaVonCheese]

At the moment we're spending more on fuel than we are on food, plus hikes in car insurance have hit us really hard as well, so wondering whether it would be worth trading in one of our cars. Both also have large-ish engines so paying less road tax would also be nice.

DH only really drives ten minutes to work each day, about 7 miles each way. He drives a diesel VW Polo, think it's a 1.9 engine, poss 1.6.

I drive a diesel VW Golf estate, again either 1.6 or 1.9 litre engine. I drive 40 mile round trip to work twice a week plus 60 mile round trip to visit aging granny plus probably at least another 40 miles on top of that. Jeebus, no wonder that's costing us a lot in fuel. Ideally I would get something small and nippy (like a scooter!) but have to fit in toddler DD plus have DC2 on the way so will also need room for other baby seat plus mammoth buggy.

Ideally we would just ditch DH's car altogether I suppose but I suspect logistics of driving him to work would be a nightmare plus fact that I am often back later than him in the evening; also he occasionally needs to pick up colleagues or do site visits so does really need a car I think. Smaller one would be cheaper in terms of tax/insurance though.

My car is more of a problem. Would be happy to switch to a bloody hatchback and just take the wheels off the buggy every time I got it out were it not for the fact that all the ones I have looked at so far (Fiestas etc) are less fuel efficient than what I'm currently driving. Are there any car buffs out there who can recommend something really fuel efficient? Don't mind it being old (or is that a false economy?) but it does need to be cheap :( Large boot would be a bonus.

Thanks for reading if you got this far. Any advice/suggestions gratefully received.

Because (1) I have tried a million different ones and only like ginormous 3-wheelers and (2) have just bought a new (second-hand) one ready for DC2 so bit reluctant to get rid without having used it! :)

Your DH would definitely be better off with a petrol engine. He could go for 1l, 1.2l no problems if he's just driving to work for 10 minutes. Diesels really are only more economical if you're doing over 10k miles a year.

Mpgs it's difficult to say, as newer engines will get better economy.

Maybe for you, you could look at the 'van' type cars- berlingo, partner, multipla, multispace etc so you can get that big buggy in?

Do you do all your daily driving with kids in tow or is it work related? We have a small car & a big car. The small car( v economical yaris) fits 5 of us + buggy but not comfortably to go far so is mainly used for my work( lots of miles) and dh uses it for work on my days off. Thebig car is used for shopping, family trips & dh work when I'm working.

Can you do similar?

If your dh's main use of the car is for a 7mile commute, could he not cycle to work?

Does he pick people up because he is the one with a car? Is it strictly his job, or is he 'convenient'? Similarly, for site visits, would the company send him in a cab or hire-car if he did not have a car of his own available?

Even if these are trips he has to do at his own expense, is it really worth running a car all year just for these trips? Although getting a cab or hire-car may be more expensive on a trip-by-trip basis, it may work out cheaper in the long run. Worth looking at?

Thanks for all the replies :)

Just been looking at a Smart car for DH - might be a solution. He could cycle but his bicycle got nicked in autumn last year and tbh he has been talking about cycling to work more or less since I met him and it hasn't happened so I'm not holding my breath! He is concerned that there isn't a shower at work so he'd be smelly all day.

I think it was a condition of his job that he had a car but I can't remember now. The office is out on an industrial estate thingy so I think they all drive - would be good if he could car-share imo but he says they all tend to start work at slightly different times

The vast majority of my driving is with toddler DD and from July will be with baby too. Only exception is that days I work I drop her at pre-school v close to our house, then my mum collects her, but my mum lives next door to my work so I then do the 20 mile journey back with DD in the car. Tbh I'm struggling to find a car more economical than mine anyway so solution really is to drive less or suck it up! Though I guess from July I won't be going to work any more (:(). Tempted by LPG but don't really know what it is!

I'm not sure changing cars is a good solution for you. Selling yours and buying new(er) will cost a lot more than any potential savings plus there's the risk that you have problems with the new car. TBH, a diesel Polo is a small economical car, you won't do that much better. Similarly, a diesel Golf estate sounds pretty ideal for your needs.