First family car?

ailuro2

We have a Mondeo, yes it's a good car, yes it's very big when it comes to parking, every second year we get a big bill for rear brake disc replacement because of the type of handbrake cable - it is a spiral wrapped around the cab;e that water gets into and eventually the rear brakes stick on, because it happens gradually it is hard to notice, so when it goes in for MOT the damage has already been done. We have had the car since 2004 when it was 1 yo. Apart from the big bills for brakes it goes fine. We have had a spate of shock absorber springs and wheel bearings this year. the shocker springs I put down to the harsh winter and pot holes in the road. The wheel bearings are wear and tear, though the car has done 40K miles.

Our second car is a Peugeot 206 and tbh it has enough legroom for our 11yo for legroom. It is a 3 door which doesn't matter as it's a second car, so not used for all the family very often.

Would I buy a 206 sized car as a first family car over a Mondeo? Yes I would, because it's much easier to park, cheaper to insure and tax, and it manages fine on the motorway - OK so it doesn't eat up the miles like the Mondeo does, but for infrequent rather than daily trips it's no bother at all.

Hope this helps.

fwiw the next family car we get will be japanese and smaller than the Mondeo, there's no buggies in the boot, and a lot of the time I get a massive shop delivered from Tesco rather than dragging my carcasse round there with the crowds on a Saturday afternoon so big shops are not really in the boot anymore.
The only time our boot really comes in handy is when we go on hols, because there's plenty of room we can take an extra suitcase and leave it behind in the car with our overnight hotel clothes (we usually stay and then fly) Having said that with 2 kids there's going to be room in the middle seat for a suitcase when you go on hols, or get a shuttle with the money you saved on tax and insurance.

bigjl

Your not wrong ailuro2, just changed both handbrake cables and did the rear discs and pads at the same time, plenty of meat left but had the car up in the air anyway. Where I live, south essex, loads of the local private hire bods are driving mk3 Mondeos, usually a sign of robustness and general reliability. The wife has a Clio dci, not quick, a bit more economical than the Mondeo, though only by about 6mpg. But if I was to go on any journey with the kids I would always use the Mondeo, just so much safer and practical, loads of room for kids "stuff". And cheaper to buy and run than most cars, I wouldn't recommend a Peugeot to anybody, too many friends have had gearboxes and clutches go at relatively low miles.
One thing to consider, mine has done over 100k, and is on original clutch, gearbox, suspension, exhaust, interior is unmarked and not showing any signs of wear, no cambelt to chance on the diesels, not sure about the petrols. Buy for a good price get three years out of it, sell and repeat..............

getmore4less

If going for the smaller car think about the estate versions for the extra luggage room when required.

cyclonebri1

getmore4less wrote: »

If going for the smaller car think about the estate versions for the extra luggage room when required.

#
#:T:T:T
then forget Astra/Focus and the rest of the crap stuff,:mad:

Go Mondeo/Vectra/Octavia/PASSAT

Plus megane/laguna 11.

Decide, some crap and some good in there.,

bigjl

Don't buy a Laguna 2 or a Megane, too many issues. Vectra, nice but have some problems, avoid 2.2 petrol with chocolate cams, Passat, overpriced, but dependable, Octavia, good solid family bus, but just look at it! Mondeo mk3, undervalued on the used markets, some issues, but cheap, cheap, cheap.....
Astra estate from about late S or T reg onwards if you want a cheap estate.