First decent sensible ‘family’ car – should I lease? buy? Or something else?

mjgreen81

Hi all,

First of all, a little bit about our situation….

My wife and I are going through the adoption process so in about 6 months time we will have 1 (or possibly 2) children who will probably be aged between 2 – 4. My wife is no longer working (and will be staying at home to look after the kid(s) for the foreseeable. She will be having the new family car.

We currently have 2 x cars: an old Astra (mine) worth about £400 and a OK’ish 2.0L Turbo Astra (my wife’s) which is fun to drive, but not a sensible family car. It’s probably worth around £1800. I live very close to work (and cycle most of the time) and probably do about 2000 miles a year. My wife probably does around 8000miles a year (when she was working).

Financially we are very stable and have a decent amount of savings. We don’t like loans and the only debt we have is our Mortgage. If I purchase a car outright I am thinking of spending around £5000-£6000 (maybe would stretch to £7000) which would leave us plenty of rainy days. I want us to be secure with plenty of savings as we move into family life, but also conscious that as our income has decreased and our outgoings will increase how much we can save over the next few years will probably decrease significantly.

What we are thinking is to sell/part exchange the 2.0l Astra and replace with a decent family car. I have only ever bought second hand cars and have never leased or bought on credit. However, I quite often see good deals for lease’s and wonder if I would be better off leasing our next car?

We look after our cars, but they are practical objects and we don’t keep them in “showroom condition”. I think my main concern with leasing is the possibility of getting hit with a big bill at the end of the lease if there is a small dink or the kids have spilt something on the upholstery.

I am also fairly handy with cars and can service them myself and do the basics like change brake pads etc which is an advantage if we go for the second hand option, but I am also wary of the lack of spare time to do this sort of thing when we have kids. Having to pay out for expensive services on lease cars is a bit of a worry (but then there is the advantage of having a warranty for the big issues)

I am trying to balance it all and work out what would be the best option for us. Any advice appreciated!

Thanks all, I am a bit lost with my options!

phoenix_w

Personally, I'd stick with the Astra - kids of that age love it when you give it a bit of beans, and it'll be plenty big enough to fit in a couple of car seats in the back and all their crap in the boot - hell, I used to fit two young kids and all of their crap in a Fiat Panda.

Like you mentioned - lease a car and the moment one of your angels spills milkshake on the upholstery or scratches the door - you'll be paying through the nose.

Once the Astra goes to the great scrap yard in the sky, at that point you'll have had kids for a few years and know more accurately what your priorities are and be in a better position to make an informed decision.

mjgreen81

I should have said, there are other things to consider with the Astra....

1.) The fact it is 3 doors and not easy to get in/out of the back. It will be very difficult with kids seats.
2.) £400 a year tax
3.) Fuel Economy

phoenix_w

At 3-4 (15Kg) they should be able to sit in booster seats with backs on them, which means no fiddly harnesses, just the normal seatbelt - they should be able to get into the seat themselves and only need your help with clunking the seatbelt.

At 2, however, you'll be using a car seat with harness, and they can be a serious PITA so I am starting to see your point a bit.

£5-7K should give you quite a few choices for some 3-5 year old 5 door motors.

mjgreen81

Thanks for the advice guys. I have doing some sums and I think it will definitely work out better in my scenario to come down on the purchase second hand option. I guess the draw of the shiny new car with the warranty if anything goes wrong is tempting, but you certainly pay for it.

I guess buying second hand there is always the gamble of something going wrong and handing me a nasty bill, but thats the risk which means we pay less.

gabitzul

Kia Ceed estate
Ford Focus estate
Mondeo hatchback or estate (latter is huge in terms of storage space, might come in hand later!)
Skoda Octavia

All petrol, unless you can find an unmolested and not clocked Octavia 1.9 PD?

Many other choices but I like these and are simple and relliable in general.

mjgreen81

thanks for the advice

gord115

Skoda are doing some great deals at 0%