7/8 seater suggestions for 4-child family

[Deleted User]

They are called brat carriers or kid bus around here.

alun4

Try a Mercedes Vito Dualiner with option for third row seats - get these on ebay. This option is no longer available on a dualiner (new) but would be on a 5 year old.

With a bit of high end spec you would be pushed to tell between the Vito and the Viano ..... except by the price! For example: 5 speed auto, climate (not air con) cruise/ speed limiter, privacy glass, electric mirrors/windows, electronic stability, loads of airbags, comfort reclining seats all round, computer, parktronic audio and visual plus a whole host more for about £8000.00 if you search.

Can't think of another van that has a direct car crossover that has the same amount of seats.

taffy056

Try a peugeot expert, yes its a van but it drives like a car, its got up to 8 seats and sliding doors with room for pram and shopping at the back, you should be able to pick up a fairly good one for around £2k.

Bree

Jo_R wrote: »

Oh I'm very taken by the Caravelle spacewise... Unfortunately even secondhand are way out of our price range so will just have to leave that option:(

A cheaper option to the Caravelle is to do as we did and buy a Transporter van. Put seats in and knock out panels and replace with glass.

gabyjane

Hi another one gatecrashing as been looking at 7 seaters for ages now and still unsure whether we will get everything for what we want to spend so may have to wait and up the budget! If we traded in our current car we would be ok but we are keeping it so have to start from scratch!
I am a childminder so will use it literally for the school runs and school hoildays the odd week, hence us not wanting something that is cheap and unreliable as need it not to be in the garage every week or breaking down and the other side not wanting something really expensive as if i lose a child/ren we will sell it!

We looked at:
Grande voyager: Very nice and roomy but a little bigger than i would have liked..they are also quite big engines and will poss eat fuel? cost a lot in tax etc Plus the ones in our range look like on Ebay a lot of spares or repairs..this is not a good sign!

Vauxhall Zafira:
Love these and some arguments as to whether i will get a double buggy in it..a case of trawling some and checking but that's our one at the mo again more than we would like to spend really.

Renault grande scenic:
Really like these too but my friend said they are a nightmare fo rthe electrics and she has had loads go wrong. If we don't keep it they seem to lose a lot of value (friend bought hers 2 years ago for £5k+ and has had 3 garages say they will give her around £2k..even our MG will raise more than that so?

Other than that i don't really like the others due to the size..like i said ill be watching this with interest!
Good luck in your hunt.

Jo_R_2

Bree wrote: »

A cheaper option to the Caravelle is to do as we did and buy a Transporter van. Put seats in and knock out panels and replace with glass.

Just been looking at these - this was a thought we'd had already. I know OH would love to get his hands on doing what you mention!

gabyjane wrote: »

Hi another one gatecrashing as been looking at 7 seaters for ages now and still unsure whether we will get everything for what we want to spend so may have to wait and up the budget! If we traded in our current car we would be ok but we are keeping it so have to start from scratch!
I am a childminder so will use it literally for the school runs and school hoildays the odd week, hence us not wanting something that is cheap and unreliable as need it not to be in the garage every week or breaking down and the other side not wanting something really expensive as if i lose a child/ren we will sell it!

We looked at:
Grande voyager: Very nice and roomy but a little bigger than i would have liked..they are also quite big engines and will poss eat fuel? cost a lot in tax etc Plus the ones in our range look like on Ebay a lot of spares or repairs..this is not a good sign!

Vauxhall Zafira:
Love these and some arguments as to whether i will get a double buggy in it..a case of trawling some and checking but that's our one at the mo again more than we would like to spend really.

Renault grande scenic:
Really like these too but my friend said they are a nightmare fo rthe electrics and she has had loads go wrong. If we don't keep it they seem to lose a lot of value (friend bought hers 2 years ago for £5k+ and has had 3 garages say they will give her around £2k..even our MG will raise more than that so?

Other than that i don't really like the others due to the size..like i said ill be watching this with interest!
Good luck in your hunt.

Yep the Grand Voyager looks very spacious, I too was worried about the fuel consumption - I gather there's the 2.5 engine then the 3.something (escapes me at the mo) so would be interested to know how they fare fuelwise.

I mentioned previously I've had a good experience with Renaults... I obviously forgot the one we had not too long ago where it cut out driving along the M1:eek:

Zafiras I've browsed but we are more keen on the fixed seats, also as you mention the boot space is minimal. The buggy issue is one that would potentially come up for us as DS will be 18 months when baby is born so more than likely we'll have a double buggy to contend with also.

Also I like the look of the Kia Sedona but OH just says they're "rubbish" - no explanation but I am sensing he's not keen! I don't know much about them tbh but keen to explore as many options as possible.

Rolandtheroadie

We done 120 miles today in a 2.5 crd Grand Voyager with 2 adults and 4 kids in it and averaged 37 MPG. Mainly A roads with around 30 miles in 70 zone.
The CRD is more expensive to fix than the TD. We've just spent around £1400 on ours but that included timing belt and pulleys (£150), tensioner(£60), water pump(£185), 8 rockers and tappets (£185) (timing belt had snapped this was the damage), rear discs/pads/shoes, handbrake cables (3), brake kit (£150), MOT, 2 tyres and all labour costs.
There can be problems with the gearboxes. Ours can crunch going into 2nd coming down the gears, but thats over a year now and its never got any worse.
As I said previously, you can fire the veg oil into the TD. I get it from local businesses for my own car for free (grand voyagers the wifes) and filter it, buying from Tesco's without a deal is around 87p a litre. With a 75/25 mix in the summer (50/50 winter tho) thats about £1.02 a litre.
I think there seems a lot of them on ebay spares or repairs because people realise ebay gets you a wider audience. What would previously have been scrapped, gets put on ebay. Watch the money they get "spares or repairs".
If I could do it all again, i'd go for a 2.5 TD (y reg or older). Check the gearbox during the test drive for crunching, if it does, use it for bargaining but if it's not too bad, dont let it put you off the car.
Appparently the TD doesnt have a timing belt or chain (its internal gears) so thats not a worry. Then it's just down to what you think of the car.
The TD is also a lot cheaper for parts.
They DO suffer from a poor NCAP score, but I get round this by not crashing.

Snapdragon

scotsman4th wrote: »

The guy I use to fix my cars has one sitting just now waiting for spares. He said they're murder to get parts for.
Now the voyagers not got great spares avaliability either, but once you know where to look, it's ok.

My experience was quite different. I have had 3 toyota previas over a period of 17 years, absolutely love them. Always found them extremely reliable and so convenient in terms of transporting just about anything, including half the kids football team! We managed to take family plus camping equipment plus 4 bikes (inside) on holiday to lake district. I got rid of mine 2 years ago as kids now grown up and replaced it with a VW golf which I am already looking to replace as it is such a disappointment.

The toyota isn't great with regard fuel economy but I never did a massive amount of miles per year so for me the other advantages outweighed this. Also despite its size, extremely easy and comfortable to drive with a lovely high driving position which gives a great view of the road. Could park my 'bus' much easier than the golf which has no visibility!

Good luck with your hunt.

gabyjane

Hi typing in Renault grande scenic on ebay brought up the espace which i hadn't thought of, this looks nice and loads of room in the boot. Wouldn't buy off ebay but good for the pics!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2000-X-REG-RENAULT-GRAND-ESPACE-2-2-TURBO-DIESEL-/160418908599?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2559b649b7

Bev_B

I currently have a VW sharan as I have 3 in car seats and didn't want to squash them in one row as there should be 6" clearance either side of each car seat for safety purposes.

I have been looking for a similar spec car with same budget as you for over 18 months

My search has resulted in these vehicles:
Nissan Serena
Fiat Ulysse
Peugeot 807
Citroen Synergie

go for the HDI model not TD for fuel economy and once you have your eye on one check the guide price at https://www.wisebuyers.com