Car to fit 3 child seats in please help!!

steph7163

Hi

I am looking to replace my car Nissan Mistral as it is 17yrs old & is costing a small fortune to run.
My needs are that it has to be able to fit 3 car seats across the back for a 1, 2, & 3 yr old & have plenty of boot space for pram, shopping, luggage, dogs etc... i am thinking that i would perhaps prefer an estate over an mpv style car - mainly because of boot space but am open to suggestions budget is around 4k

thank you

steph

Flyboy152

Citroen Picasso. You can pick up an 05 2.0 HDi Desire with less than fifty thousand miles, for under five thousand.

mambo69

agree, fit 3 seats across the back boot is a good size. if you dont need the diesel go for a petrol and get the highest spec you can

JQ.

Ford C-Max fits the bill. We've 3 forward facing child seats in ours (1yr, 2yr 3yr olds) and the boot is enormous.

bigjl

I would go for a Sharon/Galaxy, my sister bought oe for the very reason you are buying one, three full size child seats in a row.

If you go to Addison Lee car sales you have a choice of several VW Sharons, all well serviced with the 115PD engine and an auto box, yes they all have high miles, but you are looking at a 57 plate one owner MPV for between £6050 and £7400 depending on mileage, only buy on condition though. And they may negotiate on these prices aswell. These may be a little bit above your budget, but sometimes it is best to spend a little more, especially if it gets you into a 3 yr old vehicle that has has two MOT's a year since it was a year old. They are also serviced more often than the manufacturers specification.


http://www.addleecarsales.com/browse-cars/?cbf=2849
A lot of these vehicles end up back in the Private Hire trade in London and surrounding areas, or being used as cheap family vehicles by those that realise a high mileage well maintained fleet car is a better prospect than some may think.

Remember that one with 50k on would be more like £10 or £11k.

If I was in the market then that is where I would go.

joncarpet

if you can put up with the odd looks, a Fiat Multipla!!

Flyboy152

bigjl wrote: »

I would go for a Sharon/Galaxy, my sister bought oe for the very reason you are buying one, three full size child seats in a row.

If you go to Addison Lee car sales you have a choice of several VW Sharons, all well serviced with the 115PD engine and an auto box, yes they all have high miles, but you are looking at a 57 plate one owner MPV for between £6050 and £7400 depending on mileage, only buy on condition though. And they may negotiate on these prices aswell.


http://www.addleecarsales.com/browse-cars/?cbf=2849
A lot of these vehicles end up back in the Private Hire trade in London and surrounding areas, or being used as cheap family vehicles by those that realise a high mileage well maintained fleet car is a better prospect than some may think.

Remember that one with 50k on would be more like £10 or £11k.

If I was in the market then that is where I would go.

But unless you take out the rear seats, no boot. The newer ones don't even have that option anymore. The rear seats of the new Galaxies are not removable and they don't fold flat into the floor.

JQ.

Flyboy152 wrote: »

But unless you take out the rear seats, no boot. The newer ones don't even have that option anymore. The rear seats of the new Galaxies are not removable and they don't fold flat into the floor.

My mates got the older one and with the rear seats out there is no load cover for the boot, so you've got nowhere to hide stuff of value, such as buggies and other kiddy stuff. The boot of our car's always got a few bits and bobs in it that I wouldn't necessarily want passers by to see.

benjus

I'd vote for the Picasso as well. There are loads on the market and they are cheap; mine was very reliable and I didn't have to spend much money on it in the time I had it. The use them as police cars in Spain, so they can't be bad... I can't comment on the petrol version, but mine was a diesel and I've heard lots of good reports about Citroen diesel engines.

Flyboy152

Mrs Flyboy had one for eight years. One hundred and twenty thousand miles and the only thing that went wrong was the rear offside door lock kept tripping; resolved with the minimum of fuss.

steph7163

Hi

Thanks for all the replies & advice we are goig to have a look at the citroen & the ford for starters & see how we go

thanks again

steph