What Family car to buy?

Scorpio33

Wife has been on maternity leave and will be going back in April, so we need another car for when she goes back. The idea is that she has my current car (1.4 VW Polo 02 reg) to go to and from work, and I buy a car for me to get to and from work and for use for family outings.

So what I have been thinking is:

- Less than 10 years old
- No more than 60k on the clock
- 5 doors (For baby to get in & out)
- Reasonable size boot (For baby stuff)

The problem I have is not knowing which car to go for. Parking is a mare near us, so the smaller the car the better (for parking), but we need something with a reasonable boot to fit all the baby stuff in for when we go visiting friends.

The other issue is budget. With a baby, we can stretch to £3k, but preferring to spend nearer £2k.


Does anyone have any suggestions on make / model of a family car that would suit our needs? I heard the japanese cars (Toyota etc) are more reliable, but I could be wrong?

forgotmyname

How about another polo? Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo.

Discounting the tinycity cars, Virtually every other car fits your needs.

Smaller cars tend to cost more. I paid just over £2000 for a 2004 Mondeo in 2009.

With £2000 now i would be looking at a 2007 car, One of the last MK3's probably.

Your buying a cheap car, Its pot luck. Personally i look for cars that are not run to the last mile before the service. every 12,000 miles is a maximum not a target. My current car had lots of miles but serviced every 8000. And i service it every 6000 now. because my journeys are short.

oliverr

A car like the C-Max would fit your requirements quite well. Its got more boot space than the Focus and more space for passengers inside (a bit taller).

Not sure on your area, but one like this http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201212144617732/sort/default/usedcars/quantity-of-doors/5/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles/price-to/3000/maximum-age/up_to_10_years_old/model/focus_c-max/make/ford/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/postcode/bn17he/radius/100/page/1?logcode=p

Decent mileage, decent price but has space and isnt too big so it becomes difficult to park. Would look at the Scenic, but I'm unsure on the reliability of older Renaults.