can i have some advice on picassos, scenics and tinos please?!

[frazzledfairy]

baby no 3 is due in nov so we need a car that can fit 3 car seats in the back. we are looking used car cos only have max of £3000 to spend.

my brother (who is reasonably knowlegeable) is recommending the nissan tino but they are proving hard to find in our budget. he is fairly negative about the picasso and the scenic (particularly the pre 2000 scenic) saying they are unreliable and not very well made. however there are sooo many of them about (and no tinos!) that i find it hard to believe they are not so good cars.

what car have you got and are you happy with it?

(i hate this car shopping malarky )

we have an x-reg scenic (is that pre 2000?) and are v happy with it. but you will struggle to get 3 car seats in the back we have 2 boosters (dd's are 6 and 4) and can't have them next to each other cos it's too difficult to undo them.

like my picasso have had it 6 years we now fill it as ds 3.6 and dt's 10 weeks.

picassos are a bit run of the mill and dull to drive but they are competitivly priced, prob get a better deal on a picasso than the others.

I love scenics because they are so versatile!

Good luck, autobuy is a good place to start looking!

have look on honestjohn.co.uk

We've got a Picasso and love it. You would easily fit three seats in the back, it's dead easy to drive and has loads of storage. They are good value for money and the insurance is reasonable too. Bit dull maybe but ours has been very reliable and is extremely comfy.

We had a 1997 Scenic for almost 10 years. No major problems with it until it had done over 100k and the cylinder head gasket went (as it will on most cars eventually) and we decided to get a new Scenic. We do have a good local garage for servicing so may have avoided some problems because of that.

wouldn't recommend the scenic, i too would go for the nissan as it's japanese and they're supposed to be more reliable, though i have no personal experience of the tino.

however, i do have a grand scenic, a nearly 3 yo one and it's always in the garage. was in a week and a half ago and it's going in again this friday too! but it's been in loads and have had the AA out to the house 3 times. so not a scenic unless you have the time to hang about the garage though and it's local to you. my problem is mines about 15 miles away and i need a 7 seater for work and the best courtesy car i get is a 3 door clio!!

We've got a 2001 Scenic which cost about 6k 2 years ago. Had one major problem , which turned out to be a common fault and if you search on MN you'll probably find details, and have replaced brakepads etc but otherwise it has been ok. We have had 3 seats across the back , the main difficulties are that the middle seat is slightly narrower than the ones either side and the buckles are deep set between the individual seats so it is best to keep ones which are static or boosters on adjacent buckles to avoid inadvertently undoing a static one. hth

did have a look at honestjohn but tis all like a different language to me

will look at autobuy later, thanks (brain can't cope with any more car searching at the mo!)

has anyone else got any thoughts on these cars?

Thread about my Scenic problem