Clueless - need a bigger car - what car do you drive?

[Summerdaydreams]

Hoping someone can give me some ideas/recommendations. We need a new car don't know where to start . Dc are 2 and 5 and am wanting one that will fit grandparents in too at the same time, is good ish with petrol, not too high on tax and insurance or heavy to drive. I dont want much I know

I've just got a Volvo XC60. I like it so far. It sounds like if you want to fit in 4 adults and 2 children, you might need tolook at the XC90.

What's your budget? Also, as eurochick says, if you want to get you and (presumably) your OH in there, plus two children plus two grandparents you're going to need to look at seven-seaters. Is that what you need, do you think?

it depends if you think you need a seven seater or a 5 seater. We have recently bought a Citroën xsara Picasso (5 seater) which is really very spacious, good on petrol and very easy to drive and park but we did also look at a vauxhall zafira (7 seater) which was also very comfortable to drive but not quite as economical on petrol.

Crikey - that's a lot of wants! :)
Yes you need a 7 seater or people carrier - but you need to tell us your budget and whether that is for a new or used car. No point recommending you a Ford Galaxy if you want a BMW X5....

We have a Volvo XC90.
Love it, it has so far been indestructible, dream to drive (once you are happy driving a vehicle higher and longer than most common 5 door saloon/estates) & for a car of that size & with the load we frequently carry good mpg. Even with all 7 seats up has a good boot.
However that's a bit pointless without knowing budget.
I would trust it to give you good service second hand but insurance and fuel, even with good mpg, servicing etc is going to be more and although good value, value doesn't magic away a bill.

Wow thanks for the ideas.

Yes I think a 7 seater is going to b the way forward. Mmore often will be me, oh, 2 kids and mil.
Thinkin of a nearly new car, budget is about 15-17K.
Looked at the Volvo - looks great but not in budget sadly.

On your budget you will have to look at a people carrier rather than a Discovery or X5 or Volvo. Therefore the best 7 seaters are probably out of range. I find recommending people carriers difficult because they mostly seem like vans with seats. You will need a larger one to have any boot space at all so maybe a Renault Espace or Galaxy could be the answer.

look at Citroen c8 I love mine!

Mitsubishi do a. 7 seater as do Hyundai. They are small 4x4s and are very fuel efficient.

They are sort of one band down from the Audi q7 and Volvo in terms of size.

Have a look at Mumsnet's expert reviews of seven-seaters or our selection of the top ten seven-seaters. If you only want to transport grandparents occasionally then you'll probably do fine with some of the slightly smaller people carriers, and even these often have enough space for a slim-folding pram in the boot when all seven seats are in use.

You don't have to get a people carrier - you will still get a really good 4x4 for that budget, they are so dependable now (if you get the right one) that you won't have any untoward mechanical issues. Plus you can get good after market warranties or extended manufacturer warranties.
I have a 114,000 mile A6 estate (4wd) and it is like clockwork.

Thanks for all your tips. We test drove a ford s-max yesterday. I really liked it and today we are test driving a Citroen and a Mitsubishi for next week.
Now another question,
What really is the best way to buy a car? Is it outright? Or is it on the monthly payments and then after 3 years you can Get a new one or buy it? So confused. DH reckons the is no point buying something that will depreciate in value and may be hire lease thing is the way forward.
I don't like the idea of monthly payments but may be I should change my mindset and its not such a bad thing??
What are your opinions?

I've a Vauxhall zafira but its diesel its very economical to run. But we are thinking of getting something smaller in the new year my DCs are getting older and we all don't go out together as much now.

I have just seen zafira are doing a deal at the moment if you order before Christmas. Decisions, decisions !!

I recently got a Renault Grand Scenic and love it. Renault not to everyone's taste but I've had several over the years. You could probably get a very nice nearly-new one for that budget. Vauxhall have been offering deals on the older style Zafiras for several months and that may well continue after Christmas...although don't quote me on it!

S-max. Brilliant. I absolutely love mine.

We bought our one 3 years ago. It was 6 months old, ex demo, top of the range with 1400 miles on the clock. Was quite expensive, but still didn't take the hit for the instant depreciation of new cars.

Haven't had an issue at all with it (touching wood). We have 3 dcs, one in proper car seat and two in high backed boosters, and they fit fine along the middle row. If we have extra adults, then the 2 eldest dcs go in the back and then have 2 adults and youngest dc in his car seat in middle row. Still room for a pushchair in the boot with the seats up (just). Used to have a honda FRV that was a 3/3 set up.

Also had a toyota verso, but that had practically no space in boot if the back seats were up.