Tell me what car to buy as I'm totally confused!

Iceweasel

A big roof box is definitely the way to go.

Heavy stuff in the car and light clothes and other stuff on the roof.

Netwizard

Dont forget some ferry companies charge extra for a roofbox so if you can get it all in the car, then thats better.

Radsteral

you can get a medium size car with 5 seats .. but a thule rack and a 450 litre thule box looks smart and holds as much as a volksvagen Passat at the back we have done 3000 miles round trip with our tiny mini one 2003 and roof box on top... connect brackets and roof top in 5 minutes..remove in 3 minutes

Iceweasel

Netwizard wrote: »

Dont forget some ferry companies charge extra for a roofbox so if you can get it all in the car, then thats better.

Jamming it all in the car makes for an unpleasant journey - as my daughter grew bigger she objected to sharing the back seat with a tent. LOL.

None of the Dover to Calais charge - but they ask when you make a booking- just so they can put you along with the 4X4s and caravans.

Other routes are available - and they may charge. LOL.

I do 4 or 5 Europe trips a year and have never been charged yet.

Edit: for roof-box enthusiasts - Halfrauds are doing a special offer right now - Wonder-Wheels roof-box cleaner - 10p for a 500ml spray bottle. Yes - 10p. Gets the insects off a treat. Great for patio furniture and pva windows too.

Flying-High_2

Late Vectra C Estate... Proper space in the rear for grown ups as they have stretched floor pan over the Saloon... That kind of budget should get a decent mileage Spec'd up SRi model...

easylife73

Yes, my annual budget for repairs is £1000...and most years has been used...hence my decision not to get a Renault again! Not sure about Citreons or Peugeots?

Not too worried about the ferry charging for roof box...we've previously used a handiholdall bag on the roof anyway, and have never paid, except last year when we arrived at the dock and got told off for not having paid more, even though I booked it on the phone with one of their advisers.

At the moment, with the Scenic, we fill the boot, the parcel shelf, the space between the kids in the back, all the footwells and also the handiholdall on the roof, so I suspect we might need a roofbox even with an estate! Capacity of the handiholdall is 320 litres I think, so we could get a much bigger roofbox I presume.

scaredofdebt

As has been suggested, go for a small car and hire a large car for the annual trip to France.

You don't appear to need a large car for 90% of the year, you will save some money by having a smaller car.

We hired a Fiat Scudo last year for our 2 week holiday to the south of France. That's a huge 8 seater and it cost just over £1200. A Ford Galaxy would come in at under a grand.

If it's any consolation we own a Renault Grand Scenic and I think it's called "Grand" as that is roughly what it costs each year to keep it on the road.

:rotfl:

Got away lightly this year, MOT was only £500.

:eek:

jimjames

easylife73 wrote: »

Have just looked at those options but they seem more expensive...and the Mondeos are all diesel.

How about a VW Passat?

Ours has been fantastic and depending on age of it you may not have DPF fitted.

easylife73 wrote: »

Yes, my annual budget for repairs is £1000...and most years has been used...hence my decision not to get a Renault again! Not sure about Citreons or Peugeots?

Had our Passat for 4 years, got 140k miles on the clock and biggest year for repairs was £350.

Nebulous2

There are numerous different options for what you want to do - all of them involving compromises of some sort. I'll just throw a couple more into the mix!

If you only need the space once a year, get a smaller car and a trailer. We have a decent small trailer, bought second hand and it has been to France twice, once behind a Fiesta. That would need somewhere to store the trailer.

Buy something which is not so fashionable- you'll get a newer car for your money. A zafira for instance. The middle seats are quite roomy, so fold down the small back ones and you have a pretty big boot. Combine that with a roofbox. If you went for a basic petrol one you should get a 2010 one for your money.

Iceweasel

I used to use a small trailer - but the extra ferry charges and the extra motorway tolls made it uneconomic compared to the roof-box.

There's also the lower speed limit problem.