What Family Car?

Burger

Hi All, I know this question has been asked umpteen times, but I need some advice for my personal circumstances.

right, at the moment my wife and I have two very practical cars as we both work in very different locations. My commute to work is about 30minutes drive away and therefore I have a 2002 Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi diesel. My wife has a short commute to work, so she has 2005 Ford Focus 1.6 petrol.

7 months ago we had our first child and unfortunately, my wives maternity pay will be running out soon and she will not be returning to work. Therefore we are going to have to cut our costs, so we will be getting rid of the two cars and coping with just the one.

My main question is, which car should we get for a 1 car family? We won't get a lot for our cars and we don't want to take on any more debt, so we will have a budget of around 4k.

The main things I am looking for are (in order of priority):

1. Reliability
2. Running costs (so possibly a diesel)
3. Space (as well as the Little One we have three little dogs (Bichons))
4. Looks/Style
5. Performance

Any advice or suggestions will be gratefully received :beer:

Cheers

Paul

mrmechanic

A newer focus 1.6 petrol 5 door

Would do everything you need it to do, without worrying about DPF issues on a newer diesel.

Ultrasonic

With a MSE hat on, is there anything wrong with the current diesel Focus?

NeededToChooseAUsername

Would help if you could give us a (rough) idea of your location, however found these as examples of what is out there. They are a pretty random selection but may give you some ideas.

2008 58 Citroen C4 1.6HDi 16v SX
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-58-Citroen-C4-1-6HDi-16v-SX-74900-Miles-Full-Service-History-/191012123269?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2c7935b285

FORD FOCUS 1.6TDCi 90ps 2008 Studio Estate
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-FOCUS-1-6TDCi-90ps-2008-Studio-NEW-SHAPE-ESTATE-/191040361481?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2c7ae49409

Oh, and just as a disclaimer, i'm not affiliated with any of these garages/sellers.

Also worth a try is the RAC Cars website (www.raccars.co.uk/Used-Cars‎). You usually get more reputable cars on that site. HTH.

Burger

Cheers for the quick reply mrmechanic, I bet your the best person to ask as well . I know what you mean about the DPF issue, I've never had a problem with my diesel, the cam belt has been done and the DMF and clutch so it's good to go on for another hundred k, but it is getting to that age where if things go wrong, they will be a fortune to fix and more than the car is worth. It does need a new cat soon as well .

One option that was suggested was to sell my 02 focus and use the money to treat my wife's newer (well, 05) focus to a cam belt change and anything that may need doing in the future (as it has done about 70k now). My only concern about that is the fact that I will be using the car quite a lot going to work and back and though that the fuel consumption compared to my diesel would be astronomical, let alone the tax.

Burger

@Ultrasonic:
To be fair to my 02 focus, its been a great car. As said I have had the Dual Mass Flywheel and the Clutch replaced (£700) and the cam belt changed, but in my last MOT the cat will need to be replaced and the two suspension arms. It also makes a really strange "hooting noise" when accelerating in low gear when the engine is hot. Everything else though is honky dory . BTW it has done 135,000 miles now.

@NeedToChooseAUsername
Cheers for those links mate. That focus estate looks superb thats a good find, and the milage isn't too bad at all! My mate had a Citroen, and the electrics were a nightmare. I have been scouring auto trader as well . I live in Redditch in Worcestershire so pretty central really.

NeededToChooseAUsername

@NeedToChooseAUsername
Cheers for those links mate. That focus estate looks superb thats a good find, and the milage isn't too bad at all! My mate had a Citroen, and the electrics were a nightmare. I have been scouring auto trader as well . I live in Redditch in Worcestershire so pretty central really.

NP, yeah shame it's the other end of the country. Will have a look later to see if I can find anything else.

Yeah maybe not the Citroen... although Pug diesels tend to be ok not sure if that extends to all cars in the PSA group!

daveyjp

Ford C max will give you more interior space without being much longer than a Focus.

forgotmyname

I would keep one of the cars you already have. If the cost of fuel is an issue then keep the diesel. Well maintained it will do at least another 60,000 miles without major work.

If the cost of the fuel isnt so critical then keep the petrol car and drive it economically.

JonathanA

Another vote for keeping one of the cars you have. Someone mentioned a CMAX above and they are very good (we're on our second one now), but depending on how the dogs travel, it may not give you the space you need. We have a Beagle which is transported in a crate in the boot and when she is in there, there isn't any space for the stuff you'll have to cart around with you like a pushchair, changing bags etc, though they could of course go on the spare back seat.

I think if you do change, you may be looking at the next size up like a Ford Mondeo estate or similar size!

I'd be tempted to at least try to manage with one of your existing cars before taking the plunge and spending on a newer one, which at that budget may have issues and costs that you haven't budgeted. Better the devil you know and all that!

anotherbaldrick

Keep the existing cars, start a dog breeding program to fund the cost