Used renault espace

vikingaero

If the Caravelle/Vito are going to be expensive/have starship mileages then what about the Hyundai i800?

http://www.hyundai-car.co.uk/newCars/i800/

And the bonus is the 5 year warranty.

kateandpete

We looked at the i800 initially but now have decided we would prefer to spend closer to 6 than 12k and they are just too new to have anything close to our price range. Good size though for us. It's crazy how difficult to please we are, eh?!

Starting to think that the van based (dispatch, scudo, expert) might be the best way for us to go if they are reliable enough and we can find one for the right price.

vikingaero

How important is comfort? Is the car/van to be used for local trips only with a few holidays? If so and you could sacrifice some comfort then the best solution may be a secondhand Transit minibus!

kateandpete

Yes that could be an option too. Currently I commute quite a way but will be stopping work in dec for at least 1 year when our mileage will plummet. I do not expect to go back to the same job. Car/van will be used for local trips mostly with occasional trips to see relatives/on holiday/weekend outings. The space is really the most important thing though as we usually have the (large) dog in tow as well as all the extra kit we need (pushchairs etc). Would like to be able to go camping now and again too with all the stuff that entails!

Not bothered about it being essentially a van as long as it's not too expensive to run/tax/insure/maintain etc.

Cheers again for the advice

Visiondvd

I have had a Grand Espace 2.2 dci fir three years now, well my wife had.
Here are my pros and cons, hope this helps.
I have had every problem known to man with it, mechanical and electrical, it has cost a fortune to maintain and run, and cost a small fortune to buy.The heater switch is a common fault with them, seems to stick in on position, as was the inlet manifold, the back brakes are expensive to get replaced. It used a full set of tyres every year.
It is now for sale and even at really cheap price I cant seem to sell it, nobody wants them.

It is a far more superior car than the VW Touran I replaced it with, it is massive for room and handles the road well.
On long motorway type journeys it is good, but on short school runs not so good.
The panoromic roof is good in summer, it is top notch on safety if the worse happens.Take the seats out, you have a van.
Would I buy one again? no.

kateandpete

There's the problem... the practicality of the grand espace really appeals but the reliability/cost to maintain scares the living daylights out of me. Especially as a several year old second hand car.

MX5huggy

How about one of these

http://www.motodrome.co.uk/1988-defender-110-csw/4552540181

There are 100 reasons not to get it, but it is awesome!