IF I get a new car, which one should I go for?

[ppandj]

I am 2 years into a 5 year HP finance plan and have started to think my car is not big enough. I have looked into changing cars and extending the finance plan or increasing monthly payments, I have an appointment on Monday at a dealership to discuss this and obtain a settlement figure. I know it will not be the best option financially but I'm not sure how bad it could be? The value of the car when I bought it was £7500 and I pay £160/month. I don't remember the interest rate exactly

The main reasons for changing cars;

1. boot space is not big enough in my Corsa for my work equipment and the buggy, or for buggy and shopping, or any luggage so I am forever moving stuff around from boot to back seats
2. we plan to have more DC in next few years (currently have one 11mo) so extra car seat space would be good

I want my most sensible head on before I go to look at cars and the numbers so that I avoid getting too excited about a new car. Am I being silly to want a new car? How bad will the financial loss be? The model of my car is Vauxhall Corsa SE 5 door 13 plate, around 31k on the clock. Do I need some sense talking into me?

Forgot to ask;

If I DO get a new one is a Juke better than a QAshqai?

May be worth waiting a little while and looking at voluntary termination. Once you have reached the point where you have paid 50% of the total amount payable then you can just hand the car back. At the moment you are likely to be in negative equity.

A few rough calcs suggest your settlement figure could be around the £5k mark, the half way point will be reached around month 30 and the part ex value of your car will be £3-3.5k. Obviously these are just rough without know the full details of your agreement but will be in the ballpark.

Thanks SimpleSimon that's really helpful. From very limited google searches, i think you are right about waiting a while really. At the midway point when half the balance has been paid, is it likely I will still be subject to an early settlement fee or anything like that?

It's part of consumer law as I understand it that you can hand it back and walk away, as long as there is nothing outside of fair wear and tear then there are no charges that they can make.

What buggy are you using? If your dd/ds is 11 months a maclaren style umbrella stroller might solve your space issues and enable you to put off the need for a bigger car straight away? Sorry if this isn't very helpful!

I've been looking at the juke and they are actually really small inside. If that is what you want you might as well stay with the corsa.

Ickle I did think about that as an option. It would certainly help in the short term. We have a silver cross wayfarer and I love it so would definitely be using it next time with the carrycot and newborn car seat etc. I'd have to test out a stroller with all my work gear in there too.

Almostthirty you are right, I discovered this over the weekend. Absolutely no point switching to a Juke!

We have a Qashqai. Plenty of room without it being too big and its nice to drive.
Id have preferred a Juke for the look but it was too small for us.

SimpleSimon don't suppose you know if it's possible to renegotiate the length of the agreement. Could I pay the remaining balance in a year?

Qashkai looks really difficult to fit into a supermarket parking space imo. If I were you I'd go for an Astra, maybe an Estate one if you want a big boot.

Merry when I was choosing this car it was between the corsa and Astra. I went for the corsa and was unexpectedly pregnant 6 months later. I'm now kicking myself for not getting the Astra in the first place.

My parents have an Astra Estate and the boot is HUGE.

We got a new qashqai this week and plenty of room inside and boot, the camera makes it easy to park. Love it
We had a hyundai i30 before and that is a tardis inside.
Hyundai will give you 5 years warrenty whereas nissan is 3 years.
You can get 0% interest on ppc depending on deposit. Alternatively they do affinity which will get you a discount if you or a close relative works for certain companies.
However the interest rate for hyundai on that isnt as good as nissan.
Nissan will give you £2000 if you already own a nissan.

I think if you take it on a test drive you should go to a carpark and park and then try and open the doors. It's not just the actual parking, but whether you can get young kids in and out. I had sliding doors at the back when my kids were little which was a lifesaver for me, but failing that, I would always go for slimmer, longer car rather than wider. Spaces everywhere in car parks (apart from Costco) are small. We recently got a new car and I have found it quite difficult to get out of compared to our old car (it is a VW Touran, so it's not hugely wide). I think Corsa to Qashqai will be a difficult move, but, as I say, do try it out as it depends on the height of the doors etc.

Merry I don't mind parking with kids so much, as where we live most of the car parks are pretty sprawling and I am not averse to parking further away if necessary . However, for work I don't have a choice about where I park (community nurse) so the Qashqai, or any other car, can't be like a bus.

We've just got a hyundai tucson and it's fabulous. Similar size to qashqai bit honestly is nowhere near as tricky to manoeuvre as I thought it would be. The other family car is a corsa and honestly other than the turning circle I don't have to think twice when I change between driving the two. It has a massive boot and is good on fuel consumption

I'm looking at getting a Hyundai Tucson as well having done a lot of comparing between that, a qashqai and a Kia Sportage.

i work for a hyundai dealership and ended up with a qashqai. Basically you get more for your money with a qashqai over a tucson except the warranty.
Nissan has better interest rates and if you go for pcp the mileage cost is a lot lower. Even getting affinity for working for a hyundai dealer didnt really make much difference as we were given a loyalty bonus for showing a nissan log book registered at our address.. We also looked at sportage, but the finish looked a lot cheaper.
Nissan through in free servicing for 3 years, spare tyre, lifeshine as well

Ok I have all the figures. I am in negative equity SimpleSimon but only by about £300, the bloke at dealership said they will knock that off the price of the new car.

So I am choosing between a Nissan Qashqai (old style pre-2014), Hyundai ix35, Kia Sportage or the smaller Peugeot 2008. Does anyone have a Sportage or 2008? Or anyone with a Qashqai?

I've got an Insignia Tourer. The boot is huge.

The ix35 will have a warranty upto 5yrs and the kia for 7yrs.
I think the older qashqais are smaller inside than the new ones.

I'd go for the Qashqai, it's better than the Juke for what you're after.

Don't know if this is useful but the boot space is 1,585 litres, 114 litres more than the Ford Focus.

Plus it's cheaper and easier to drive than others that you have listed :)

My new Quashqai is going back. The cruise control caused the brakes to fail and nearly caused a crash

bruffin I've no idea what really happened but I'm pretty sure that your CC did not cause brake failure!