Need a family car and don't know where to start

[misskatamari]

Hi all, any help and advice would be very much appreciated!

I currently have a Nissan micra which is quickly becoming too small. I have a 14 month old DD and am due baby number two in September. Currently we have to keep our pram in the boot as our house is too small, and this means when we go shopping we end up with it piled all over the back seats as well as the boot. Obviously not possible when we have two kids.

So, we need a new car, and I have no idea what I should be looking for. The biggest priorities are a big boot (so the double pram can live in it and accomodate shopping/holiday stuff etc), roomy enough inside, and ideally not too costly to run as I'll be a sahm for a while after we have dc2.

So, any suggestions of what to have a look at would be much apprecaited!!!

Any idea on budget? Something like a Ford Focus or VW golf should be big enough. Any preference on brand? Would you fancy an estate car or MPV or happy with a hatchback?

I have a ford focus which is very economical to run (both fuel wise and £30 tax). Boot is big enough for pram (silver cross wayfarer that is in 2 parts) and some shopping. If I do the big shop it can't all go in boot with pram but around 6 bags of groceries not a problem.

Budget and how are you going to pay for it?
What features matter to you - eg: automatic, DAB radio, sport performance, MPG, acceleration, safety? What do you want in terms of warranties, servicing etc?
Do you want new, nearly new or properly used?

Typically you get more for your money with far eastern cars - so Nissan, Toyota, Hyundai, Honda etc. they all tend to do well in reliability scores as well.

I think thr Nissan qashqai is the best selling car in the UK (and everyone I know with one is v happy with it)so to narrow your options you might look at that and see if there's any reason you don't want one!

Thanks for all the advice. Budget is around £8000 and we're looking at used, although hopefully something not too old, or rather something without really high mileage. Boot space really is the main biggie as we want plenty of room. Our pram with have two pram seat parts, along with frame, and we also need to be able to fit a big shop/enough room for luggage going on holiday etc.
From having a look online it seems that an mpv might be the way we should go. I do like the quashqai although they are really pricey so might be out of our price range. We definitely want something bigger than a normal hatchback though, but I don't want to go as big as an estate.

I guess I need to get out to some showrooms and have a look in person as I really know nothing about cars and find it all so daunting and confusing!

We're not fussed about fancy features either, I guess good fuel efficiency, safety, low running costs (tax, insurance) and as low a mileage as we can afford are probably the key things were after.

I went from a Micra to a Focus when DC2 was due. The boot is massive!

Oyrs was 8k, 2008 plate with about 30k on the clock.

We recently had to get a new car, although we are not still at the pram stage, we needed something big enough to transport DD off to uni. We went for a Ford C-Max in the end - based on a Focus, but a bit taller. A cross between a hatchback and an MPV really. You can remove and change the seats around, although this is not something we have needed to do yet. Space is great, its pretty comfy and nice to drive althougn compared to our old diesel Peugeot, it is a bit thirstier on fuel. I've seen 10/11 plate ones for around your budget.

How about a Nissan note?

Dh has a focus st3 and it's huge, if it wasn't for the fact that I'm too attached to my mini I'd have his car. We fitted out pushchair and a weeks worth of food shopping in the back

I'd suggest something petrol and Japanese.

fab, thank you! Gosh I am obsessed with checking out cars rear ends at the moment, everything I pass I am like "HOW BIG DOES ITS BOOT LOOK?!?!?"

I've seen a few c-max's about and they look like the kind of thing we're after. Also interested in the Note Pottering as they seem pretty roomy inside as well. I've only ever had Nissan's too and it's a make I've always found reliable. I'll add all these to my list and get researching! Thank you again!

When we had the same problem we went to one of those car supermarket type places with the pram and tried it in every boot we could. I wanted a boot where the pram would fit lengthways, still leaving half of the boot for shopping/luggage etc.

I think that's our plan for the weekend Tranquility as that's pretty much what we're after too!

Good luck - hope you find it!

Look at the Citroen Berlingo / Peugot Partner (2008 onwards) if you want a huge boot in a meduim sized car at that price. They're good cars - basically the same vehicle as the Pug 5008 / Citroen Grand Picasso. Nice to drive, very comfortable and suprisingly refined. Comes with sliding rear doors (which you'll love when you have to get the DC out in a narrow park space) and there's enough width for 3 child seats across the back row (forward thinking). Only downside is low spec on the basic models - I wouldn't want one without aircon with that much glass area in the summer.

The latest Fiat Doblo is similar, with an even bigger boot and cracking good 1.6 and 2.0L diesels, but much rarer, and not quite as refined as the Peugot/Citroen.

If you're looking for a bigger car but not much bigger than your Micra then have a look at a Honda jazz. They're incredible for what's essentially a supermini and won't break the bank either.

Failing that, if the styling is OK then the civic boasts the largest boot in its class. I've owned one and with the magic seats it was great.

I have a 59 focus and don't find it that spacious or economic

I'd look at a hyundai Ix35 or Nissan qashqai

I have bought a 5 door Citroen C1 for DD1 on the way and its tiny but does the job for me with our small folding pram.
But when I was looking I discovered buying new and getting a new car every three years made more sense than buying used. My cars worth around 11k and I'll only pay about 7500 in the end then will probably trade it in for a ds4 or ds5 in three years. Perfect if you feel the need to downsize in three years or go a size up!
My aunt has a Qashqai and loves it! She has two LOs and fits her donkey in the boot with plenty room for shopping and my uncle has a Kia Optima and is the exact same

My cars worth around 11k and I'll only pay about 7500 in the end then will probably trade it in for a ds4 or ds5 in three years.

How do you figure that? Usually buying a new car every 3 years is a pretty expensive way to own a car.

Just had a look at the Citroen finance examples and I don't understand your figures.

I am on a PCP plan, I have a 5 door Citroen C1 Flair. I'm 140 a month over 3 years then i can either hand the car back, pay my final payment or trade the car for another car.
I'll probably always be paying for cars, but it means no MOTs, most likely no tax, always under warranty and the up to date safety.

It also means you won't be paying for up keep of a used car (we all know it happens) and the money you can save on petrol since cars are getting better with MPG.

My OH does the same thing with his Audi and prefers it to financing a used car because she knows his cars never been damaged and there will not be anything possibly wrong with it.

I had a Citroen Picasso when DCs were younger, brilliant and spacious. Prams and shopping were just swallowed by it

Hmm April, that does sound a pretty expensive way to own a car. When you say trade it in there won't be much equity in the car over and above its guaranteed future value. Effectively you're paying £2.5k per year to rent a C1. You'd have been better buying a year old Kia or something on HP with the balance of the 5 year warranty remaining and when it's 5 years old you still have value remaining in the car. I suspect over a 4 year period it would cost you about £1.25k per year, a significant saving. Savings on fuel and road tax are negligible when compared to depreciation which is effectively what you are financing at the moment.