Advice needed - I have to change my car

[happygal]

We have outgrown our car and need to replace it with something a bit larger. At the mo we have a Fiesta but baby no 3 is due soon and we are going to need something big enough for 2 babies one toddler in a booster seat and my partner and myself as well as buggies etc. We have around £2000 to spend and aren't too worried about looks or age as long as it sops and starts! Is it best to buy form auction, garage or private also?

Thanks for you help.

[rdwarr]

I'd advise a Mitsubishi Spacewagon. Not as big as a fully-fledged MPV but flexible enough to do what you need. £2000 should get a reasonable example; if you spent the same on something French you could be buying trouble.
There's a nice example of an imported one on eBay here (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1998-MITSUBISHI-SPACEWAGON-CHARIOT-MPV-GRANDIS_W0QQitemZ4619474274QQcategoryZ18230QQssPag eNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem).

[burbs]

We have outgrown our car and need to replace it with something a bit larger. At the mo we have a Fiesta but baby no 3 is due soon and we are going to need something big enough for 2 babies one toddler in a booster seat and my partner and myself as well as buggies etc. We have around £2000 to spend and aren't too worried about looks or age as long as it sops and starts! Is it best to buy form auction, garage or private also?

Thanks for you help.

Depends on what you fell comfortable doing. If you want to go to the auctions then obviously you are going to get a lot more for your money. The problem is that the risk is obviously higher, however most cars that you buy from your "local dealer" would probably have come from the auction anyway. If you know someone who knows a bit about cars then i would get myself along to the auction.

Dealers will not have a huge amount in your price bracket to be honest that will satisfy all your needs.

[tomstickland]

Buy privately. You can pick up tidy Mondeos etc for £2K.
Dealers are more expensive, and the implied warranty etc they buy off the shelf anyway.
Auction can be cheap, but there's a risk associated with it, more risk than buying privately.

[Mookfish]

Don't be fooled by the modern trend of needing a people carrier, we manage quite comfortably with our three children in a H reg renault 19. For the money your looking to spend it would probably be worth looking for an estate, as I am guessing you are looking to be able to fit a double pram in the boot. It is possible with most hatchbacks, but we have to take the wheels off the pram to do this (this pram is a three wheeler where the babies sit one in front of the other).

[Chris_VRS]

Don't be fooled by the modern trend of needing a people carrier, we manage quite comfortably with our three children in a H reg renault 19. For the money your looking to spend it would probably be worth looking for an estate, as I am guessing you are looking to be able to fit a double pram in the boot. It is possible with most hatchbacks, but we have to take the wheels off the pram to do this (this pram is a three wheeler where the babies sit one in front of the other).


I agree!....any medium size family cars should do the trick...vectra, mondeo, avensis, octavia, primera, 406 all good options worth considering :smiley:

[Mookfish]

Also it's worth remembering that there are car seats for babies over 9 months that are safe to use with a lap belt, so you don't need to worry about having 3 full seat belts in the back yet.