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Family car?

Not talking about cars, but woman here:
Get what she says. Or, bring up a totally different third option by surprise, and let her decide if she wants it. With a bit of talent you can steer matters in that direction.
 
We have a friend that bought a Qashqai, and then last year when it snowed they found it was a not a four wheel drive and got stuck in the snow. We have a Freelander with big BF Goodrich tyres that we use to go everywhere - Devon last week and up to the axles in mud and river, and we love it as a family car. Such fun. We do a lot of rural stuff and although we don't deliberately go off-road, the recognisable road often runs out and turns into a rutted track. I'd like a newer one, but my wife won't part with it.
One of the very few cars we've had where we would replace it with the same thing - and we don't say that very often. Totally love it.
 
I don't get the CashCow but they do seem to be very popular with women. Its an ugly car but 'looks' tough, maybe that's its appeal.

I would also go for a Focus based car; suggest a Volvo S40/V50 which gives you reasonable space and Focus handling with a softer feel.
 
avole said:
A Skoda. Wonderful, practical cars that drive well, are extremely well built, have bags of room (mine is a Roomster), decent ergonomics and good performance. They're a bit of a bargain in and outside of the VAG world.
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Skoda Octavia Diesel - unbustable, efficient engine and loads of room for people and luggage

A two year old 1.6 diesel would be about £8.5K

http://www.skoda.co.uk/used-cars
 
I think Fords are brilliant VFM, and nice cars too. I'd like a Ford Kuga, but it isn't big enough for a family of five - it's a bit wimpy too after the Freelander.
 
If you are/were happy to rattle about in a 15yr old car until it reached the end of its life why do you now feel the need to spend as much as £8k? I don't think that any of the cars you mention have temptingly low tax disc costs compared to a slightly older version of the same thing, so I'd be thinking older, unless you have good reason not to. After all, any car halves in value every 3 years, give or take. Spend £8k and in 3 years you have something worth £4k. In another 3 years, 2k. The lesser depreciation pays for a lot of repairs, road tax and fuel, and if your mileage is low then fuel and repairs are no big deal.
 
flatpopely said:
Get a Ford a Focus 5 door hatch.

All the car you'll need plus it is actually fun to drive.
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I did this - as I have had a couple of primeras - and the focus is in a different league imo...tho, the focus is a much smaller car which I'm not entirely sure it's suitable for a family with kids etc...
 
Not my sort of thing but if looking at a Qashqai then consider the Mitsubishi ASX.
My wife wanted a Qashqai for a little while but ended up with the ASX.
No idea why a normal size hatch wouldn't suffice. Would certainly have handled better than either but she insists that she feels safer in these pumped up, fake 4x4 things.
 
Honda Civic 2008, check for rust at roof/windscreen interface - hard rubber strip digs into paint on some. On 2 door check for rust at top of doors under seals. Plastic cabin trim rattles. Suspension is too crude and hard. Front sub chassis can come loose, easily fixed.

On a Type R this does not matter at all, the big motorbike type engine is ridiculously good/bonkers. (Completely different engine than the 1.8 though).

New Type R out soon. :)
 
avole said:
Good to see another Roomster fan. They are quite ugly, but you get an awful lot for your money. They are built like tanks. Extremely flexible, too, as the rear seats can be either folded or removed entirely.
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Yep, another Skoda/VW fan here! Seriously considering a diesel DSG Roomster/Yeti or VW Tiguan for myself given my mobility issues. I'm still unable to drive as of yet but when I'm fit I will be investigating them and finding out which is most practical for me. I have driven all of them before and they are fantastic cars.

I will never get rid of my golf but I have to face the fact that I'm not always going to be able to get in and out of it that easily and when I need a wheelchair it is not all that practical because it wont fit in without one of the rear seats down because their isn't enough height in the boot for it to go in upright :(. The golf will have to be my play thing for when I'm well enough.

My best mate has the top of the line 170bhp superb, and it's well.... Superb, beautiful car!
 
david ellwood said:
I really like the bmw 120d hatchback.

Like a really nicely made golf.
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A Golf is really nicely made anyway, brilliantly built cars!

I do like the 1 series though and BMW in general, I have had my share of BMWs and never had any issues whatsoever, Just sold my Z4 to my brother to raise cash for a practical motor.
 
d m butcher said:
I don't get the CashCow but they do seem to be very popular with women. Its an ugly car but 'looks' tough, maybe that's its appeal.

I would also go for a Focus based car; suggest a Volvo S40/V50 which gives you reasonable space and Focus handling with a softer feel.
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Re. the Qashqui I thought it was just me
 
Robert M said:
Hi, I'm looking to get a new secondhand family car as my 1998 primera is starting to disintegrate from the rust.

I love the Honda Civic 1.8i (2008) and the wife loves the nissan qashqai 1.6 petrol.
She says the honda is too small, I'm saying it's got 100ltr more in boot space.
She thinks the nissan is a bigger car all round, I say that nissan is a Renault and comes with trouble.
She says nissan is safer?

All opinions welcome on the above and others.

Cheers.
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Does your wife ask for your opinion before she buys a handbag?
 
Forgot to say we have two kids one is 3 years and the other 3 weeks.

Above my budget a bit is the avensis estate 2009/2010 model, very nice.
Good to hear about the skoda being a strong car as I've heard a few bad story's about vw reliability lately.
 
Robert M said:
Forgot to say we have two kids one is 3 years and the other 3 weeks.

Above my budget a bit is the avensis estate 2009/2010 model, very nice.
Good to hear about the skoda being a strong car as I've heard a few bad story's about vw reliability lately.
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You'll hear them about almost any car but they are unfounded in most cases. I, my family and several mates have owned many VAG vehicles over the years, I got unlucky with a DMF and a turbo on an Audi A4 but it had done a lot of miles. Otherwise they have all been pretty bulletproof.

You get a lot of car for your money with the Skodas and Seats as they are based heavily on VW and Audi models but at a much lower price, they give nothing away in terms of build quality, the styling is just a bit more humdrum.
 
I have had several big Volvos, E class Mercs an Audi and 3 Series BMW. Last year I bought a 2010 diesel Mondeo Titanium auto for your budget and it gives nothing away to any of them. If anything it's a bit big although drives like a smaller car. 44MPG massive boot and good space in the rear seats.

I considered it because my mate is a car nut (4 cars) and this is what he bought as his daily workhorse.
 
Re VAG reliability, my experience is the opposite, such that I will no longer even consider anything from their stable. I bought an 18 month old Audi A2 in 2005, very low mileage. 9 years and 90000 miles later, I have spent an average of well over £500 per year on unscheduled maintenance. That's in addition to the £2-300 p/a on scheduled servicing, cambelts etc.

The majority of that has been a couple of very big bills, for things which I'm told I've been unlucky to experience (blown turbo at 40k miles, trashed engine at 93000) despite religious adherence to servicing (including an annual service at every MOT approx half the scheduled interval) and the use of fully synthetic oil since new.

Enough is enough and I'll never believe the hype about VAG reliability again.
 
MVV, I've said it on here before as well: we've an old workhorse Mondeo (new type but 57 plate) and it's a great drive. I'm sure other cars are brought in preference, but the Mondy handles really well, huge space and comfort. Shold definitely be in anyones top 5 list to look at.
 
I must admit to being impressed with mine. I bought it cheap as a Get Out Of Jail Free car when the Saab handed in one too many faults, and other than it having rather modest performance from its 1.8 petrol engine it's been great. 6 months, the only fault has been a leaky heater that a can of Radweld has fixed. Fingers crossed, that might be a scary bill if it needs replacing, even terminal. The other thing is that it's got a fair bit of corrosion, it is 10 years old but normally cars are better these days.
 
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