Would anyone else consider doing this?

[theindecisive]

We use our car mostly for short journeys - taking kids to their activites and for me to get to work 10 miles away 3 times a week.
It is only about once a year that we go away with much luggage (camping). We can only afford to run 1 car and our current one is 10 years old and nearly done 150,000 miles so getting to the end of its life.
My DH is keen on getting a small car like a Picanto (prob about a 5 year old used one) and then buy a trailer for when we go camping. The thinking being for most of the year we are saving money on tax/ petrol so no point running a bigger inefficient car for the sake of 1 trip a year.
To me it makes sense but seems a bit ridiculous as never seen anyone attempt camping in a tiny car before.
Is it doeable do you think? Would anyone else consider it?

I'd be concerned that the car you're buying wouldn't be powerful enough to pull a trailer and that it might be difficult to secure your luggage. Other than that it sounds like a great money saving idea.

Are your camping holidays UK or abroad? If it's UK only, you could always consider hiring a bigger car on those occasions rather than towing a trailer?

Was coming on to say what the previous poster has said - worth hiring bigger car when you need it?

It depends how far you drive for your camping trips. Would go for a roofbox over a trailer if possible.

However, depending on how long you expect the next car to last, think if there will be enough leg room for your DCs in a few years time. Larger vehicles are getting more and more fuel efficient too.

I think the cost of hiring a bigger car would be too much - a large car is about £50 a day so would be too much.
Are trailers not very secure then? I guess we would put the tent, sleeping bags and maybe our suitcases in there. And would probably be doing the journey in 1 go. We only camp in the UK at the moment, though I guess may venture further within the 5 years we would hope to have the next car for.
Can anyone recommend any larger efficient cars? Top budget would be £2000 and would want something reliable, thanks

I assume you can secure trailer contents (otherwise no one would use them) but don't know how. If you're going stright to your destination it shouldn't be a problem in any case.

This article has the most economical under £3000 so might be a good starting point.

A roof box is my first choice, but they wont carry a lot of weight.
A good trailer will cost you about £200 secondhand, we have had one for years and its paid for itself loads of times just on trips to the tip with out having to hire a skip. Infact its up for sale as we have bought a bigger one.
Storage can be an issue, but if you have a garage store it inside with all your camping gear in ready to go, thats what we did.
Just look at the MPG and tax figures to help you decide. A tow bar will be £100-200, unless you can fit it your self.
I am all for a trailer as ours has been so useful, very few cars wont tow them, our old one I often forgot we had it on the back, you are limited to 60mph on the motorway but to be honest this has never been an issue.
Its very easy to make a trailer secure, just fit a ply wood lid and lock it then ft the rain cover

Our Kia ceed is fantastically economical. About 47 mpg round town. 52 at 60mph on motorway driving.

If you can get a diesel Octavia for your budget, I would highly recommend it. We have had 2, v efficient (high 50s on mway ). Or a Fabia estate (little car, big boot- perfect! ) - also efficient and low tax and insurance. We have been on a camping holiday in mine when DH didn't have a car. But Fabia estates are highly sought after and hold their value a lot, so may not find one in budget.

I'd also question if a Picanto would pull a trailer. They really are tiny.

We no longer have a big, big car (DH has a company Golf). We don't have space for a roof box, so we have a roof bag instead. Big robust waterproof bag with a stiff base, fits on roof bars. Much smaller to store than a roof box.

So it looks as if we will be getting a new car in the next few weeks. Have shown DH cars with over 40 real mpg and he now seems keener to get a slightly bigger car that will be more versatile. We don't have a garage and only have a small garage so storage of a trailer would not be easy.
For our budget (about £2,000) the main contenders are the Kia Ce'ed or Fabia estates.
Either would have to be high milers of approx 100,000 miles but would try to go for one with a full service history.
Do you think this is sensible? Love the look of the Ce'ed but not sure if buying a high miler is a good idea or maybe better to get something older but less miles?

Ceed is guaranteed for 7 years. My DH's is a company car and has high mileage, but its very reliable. (It's a 1.6 diesel estate). We live it.
Good size boot, and will take a full boot and enough camping gear for 2 weeks in Europe no probs. it's been to Rome, via Switzerland, Prague via Bekgium and Germany, and several times to French Riviera.

Meant to add full boot and camping gear in top box no problem, with 2 adults and 3 kids.

I am a fan of high milage, my Peugeot has done almost 200,000, the good thing is dealers dont like it so they are often cheaper, but the people we know with high milage cars have no more issues than people with low milage, personally I am not a fan of the Kia but I do like the Skoda.
BIL had an old Volvo estate, got it on classic car insurance as it was 10 years old, paid £500 for it it drove like new, only did 24ish to the gallon but he only used it for family days out and several camping trips a year, sold it three years later for £500

Can I ask why you don't like Kia, Zumo (in a non confrontational way)

Yes no problem.
The depriciation is high as far as I am aware.
I have a few friends in the motor trade and they have mentioned a few issues, we looked at the big people carrier before we bought the Mazda Bongo as they are very cheap, but warned off by the man who does our servicing
The bottom line is what ever you buy its a lottery, some vehicles have known issues but these are often solved for example the Mazda Bongo water level mustnt be allowed to drop or you could damage the engine, but some one makes a very good simple to fit alarm (£75) Constsntly monitors, if the alarm goes off, check the water simple cheap fix to avoid a £1000+ bill.