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Advice please on which car to buy!

6 replies

sunshinegirl28 · 28/06/2014 10:41

I am 16 weeks pregnant and have to sell my vauxhall Tigra convertible as no where for baby to sit! Just wondering if anyone has any good suggestions for a car to look at? Either second hand or new - my budget is 8k max. I want a safe car with room for the buggy in the boot! Any ideas would be much appreciated as I am hugely lost

OP posts:
AddictedToRadley · 29/06/2014 02:43

Are you wanting another convertible? We have just bought a new car (April 2014) and have another one on order which we should get on 1st Sept 2014. We had a big Nissan NV200 which was a grata practical vehicle, nice and high, sliding back doors to easily get little ones in and out of car seats in tight spaces, loads of floor-ceiling boot space (even when using all 7 seats), reverse camera as standard, all 7 seats are full size seats (in fact the rear most 2 seats in the boot are the same size as driver seat!), last 2 seats fold down then up so they're stored away above the wheel arches. All in all it was a very big/roomy vehicle with bags of space everywhere yet it was no bigger than a standard estate vehicle. The driving position was great too as it was nice and high up. The downsides were that it was a very 'practical' car without great luxuries. The only big feature really was the standard reverse camera - a must with a big vehicle! I also loved the 60/40 split opening rear doors. Much easier to load vehicle than having a boot door that lifts upwards like cars do.

We have just got rid of the NV200 and got an Astra Sports Tourer. It is lovely to drive with a great boot size, however it is very thirsty in an automatic. Vauxhall quote 39.4mpg so I realistically expected about 32mpg but we're only achieving 16mpg!! I'm a pretty standard driver. I'm not a racer who over revs the engine, but I'm far from a Sunday driver who annoys everyone by driving ridiculously slowly

Because of the thirsty engine of the Astra we've decided to get a second vehicle (order before we knew we were expecting another baby!). We have a Mini Countryman 2.0 sports diesel automatic on order and cannot wait to get it. It is extremely fast with it's 2 litre engine but also economical as it's diesel. I must admit that I'm very worried about boot space now we have another baby on the way and doubt very much that my big silver cross coach pram will fit Hmm So we may need to use the Astra whenever we go out with baby but use the Mini mostly for things like the school run or shopping when baby won't need a pram as s/he can go straight into a shopping trolley.

We did also look at the Renault Clio but weren't impressed with what we'd heard about safety and the VW Golf but we wanted a bit more 'luxury' after the NV200! Lol The VW Golf does have fantastic safety records and a great size boot. You're best bet is to go found a few showrooms with your pram/buggy and try them out.

Oh just thought. What about a Nissan Qashqai or Juke? Both have new models out or coming out shortly and therefore the older models should be a little more economical.

Hope I've been of some help probably not much but it really is very much how long is a piece of string. You may hate the Mini Countryman (chunky 5 door mini) for example whereas I love it Grin

WMittens · 29/06/2014 11:11

"Vauxhall quote 39.4mpg so I realistically expected about 32mpg but we're only achieving 16mpg!!"

It's broken, get it looked at.

I have 2tonne 4.0l exec car and average 24-25mpg, and it gets a minor Italian tune up on most journeys.

BTW, it's practically impossible to over-rev an engine, and completely impossible in a car with an automatic (torque converter) gearbox.

AddictedToRadley · 29/06/2014 20:41

wmittens I totally agree with you it was actually a Vauxhall dealership that told us we were getting 16mpg after we'd provided receipts for our first 250 miles as we seemed to be constantly refuelling. They now say it's my driving and that there's nothing wrong with the car. We've gone to another dealership now and are waiting for the results (they've asked us to tank it and empty it 3 times and record the mileage per full tank). If it shows again 16mpg Vauxhall will replace the vehicle as 'unfit for use'. Just annoying we have to spend another £200 or so to prove it again :(

WMittens · 29/06/2014 22:59

What sort of journeys do you do? Are they all city-type journeys in heavy traffic? Does the engine have stop/start capability and if so, is it working? Are the journeys shorter than, say, 10 minutes?

Not that I can diagnose the problem, I'm just interested/nosy.

ruthmontes · 11/08/2014 11:55

The best car for you would be bmw occasion that is completely safe and comfortable for you and your new born as it has some really wonderful specifications. You can also opt for a four door sedan or an SUV as they too would be worth your money.

prettybird · 11/08/2014 12:09

If you're wanting a larger car I can heartily recommend the Mazda6.

£8,000 should get you one later than 2008/9, which is when they started properly sealing the undercarriage, which was the only reason we had to get rid of our 2003 Mazda TS2 I'm still in mourning The engine was still running really smoothly and sweetly and its petrol consumption was really good. It was a delight to drive - really responsive and its road handling was great. The boot was like a Tardis - really broad, so there would be no problems getting a buggy in (we could even fit a gazebo widthways in the boot) and if you need to, the seats will lay down really flat for extra space (split seats, so you would still have a seat for the baby with a proper seat belt). There is also loads of storage inside the car.

We've had a Vauxhall Vectra Insignia for 2 months now (we needed to get a tow bar fitted and the Mazda's undercarriage a) would have disintegrated if we'd tried to but one on and b) wouldprobably have failed the MOT due in 6 weeks time Sad) and at the time the 2nd hand Vectra was the best option around but I still want a Mazda6

I'm still very meh about the "new" car as soon as we can afford it we're getting a Mazda6 again - I'm really not warming to it and it is nowhere near as capacious, economical or fun to drive as the Mazda6.

Did I mention I was missing my Mazda? Wink

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