People carrier challange- im clueless, help

bengalknights

VW Tourans have 7 seats they are a compact mpv but spacious and you should be able to pick one up within your budget also Kia sedona and seat alhambra/ford galaxy/vw sharan these are all fairly spacious.

forgotmyname

Plenty of choice for 7 seaters but at the price your looking at reliability will be pot luck.

You may get a good one or you may get a money pit.


Try parkers.o.uk for prices & choice
and autotrader.co.uk for prices.

PsiDOC

VW Sharan? Can be bought for reasonable money and have seen them with intergalactic mileages on them and still going strong.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

something with a big boot 5 seater look at a volvo v70, 2000-2003 model range from £1800-£3000, good rear seat space.

a 7 seater without looking at vans, mm your looking at something imported (japanese) honda stepwagon. come in 2ltr petrol or diesel. reasonable boot space, folding rear 2 seats to make bigger room.

badgerhead

i reckon youre better off getting a smallengine diesel,from a reliable manufacturer.when uadd up the lower cost in fuel,tax an insurance its probably cheaper in the long run.jus means spending a bit more upront if u can. 7 seats is nice to have but theres plenty of room in some smaller mpv for 3 kids

shortchanged_2

bengalknights wrote: »

VW Tourans have 7 seats they are a compact mpv but spacious and you should be able to pick one up within your budgetalso Kia sedona and seat alhambra/ford galaxy/vw sharan these are all fairly spacious.

Not sure you would get many of VW Tourans around the £3000 mark.

Lithian

We had a mk1 galaxy and of the other mpvs of the day it was the most car-like (the sharan being the same). Didn't have zafiras or s-max at the time to compare with tho. If i was looking today i'd consider the s-max but thats out of budget i think.

Not exactly thrilling tho so remember to budget for something a bit more fun for your husband so he dosn't go mad (My dad went for an old MG for when the galaxy wasn't needed)

It will fit 7 with a bit of room to spare for a weekends luggage but mostly we went around in a 5 seat config with a large boot (for dogs) but we had space to store the seats, these are kind of heavy and clunky to fit in place. Didn't take long to do but took a bit of strength.

It'd be worth making sure you can do the seat shuffle before you buy nothing worse than leaving little Timmy behind because the seats don't want to fit in... or you left them at home

badgerhead

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/renault/grand_scenic/postcode/dl93ee/radius/1500/sort/priceasc/fuel-type/diesel/price-to/4000/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles

Remember you dont have to pay the asking price, haggle like a !!!!!

badgerhead

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/renault/grand_scenic/postcode/dl93ee/radius/1500/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles/fuel-type/petrol/price-to/3000/sort/priceasc

petrol ones too. i like the look of these cars, its just the renault badge putting me off a bit. im sure im cursed to end up with dodgy french electrics

Arfa__

We've got a Zafira and have 2 kids. The boot seats are flat most of time, giving huge boot. But as you mentioned they are handy when family or friends are about and you don't want to take 2 cars for an outing. The boot seats are a spot cramped, but the bigger issue is getting in/out of them. Fine for kids, but a right phaff for adults, especially if both seats are up.

As for different year models, pre 2003, the middle seat only folds down in 2 pieces (right seat and left/middle seat). 2003 plus, the middle seat folds in 3 separate bits, which is a bit more versatile and handy for getting people in/out back seats. Also iso-fix hooks were added to the left/right middle seats from 2003.
Late 2005 saw the mk2/B zafira, which has completely different body, although seat setup is very similar. Bit out of your budget though.

The middle seat in the Zaffy's is a bit narrow for three seats. Even with two seats, sticking an adult in the middle is cramped. Sticking car seats in the boot seats works well though.

Basically the Zafira is based on the Astra chassis (Zaf A on Astra G, Zaf B on Astra H), which ain't that big. But probably makes it easier to maneuver.

Our Zafira is an LPG one. Look hard, they are about, factory fit dual fuel petrol and LPG. Makes it super cheap to run, Sainsburys currently has LPG at 64.9p a litre! Still get 29mpg ish on my 1.6. Cheaper tax and congestion charge exempt, but this is being phased out in 2012 (no new registration now). When I looked, LPG wasn't much more cash, although many LPG models have done intergalactic miles. Got mine 2 year ago, 45K on clock, 1.6 Life, £4500. Did have to travel to get it though.


Don't have much experience of other people carriers. Had heard the Voyagers had crap rep for safety (refuse to g-cap tested), The C-Max, 5 seats too small, the S-Max & Galaxy look nice (prob be my choice for a bigger car than the Zaffy). Mate has VW, recommends it, only downside he claimed was the boot seats are either up, or out of car and in garage, so not handy if you on holiday say, or suddenly need to give mates lift back.