Car for extended family...

We've got a Ford Galaxy Zetec TDi, cant fault it.
With 2 children and 3 stepkids (aged from 6 months to 13 + dog) we needed something that would be spacious and reliable.
I did look at several other makes, inlcluding the zaferia, but its not a full time 7 seater, the 2 very rear seats are for occaisonal use. Also i noticed that with all the seats in use there was no leg room in either the middle or the very back. At least with the galaxy there is plenty of leg room all round!

Personally i love the car, its lovely to drive, comfortable and spacious.
You will be amazed what you can fit inside! The seats can be removed or put in any combination.

As for price we bought ours from Jamjar.com and paid several thousand pounds less than what our local Ford dealer wanted.:eek:

I would recommend booking a test drive.

Hth

Squibbs

Any huge car is going to be expensive i think - we bought a volvo 850 estate years ago, we bought a 7 seat conversion on ebay for not a lot of hundreds of pounds and had that fitted - i could still get the pushchair in the boot even though it was a squash and only really an issue if the whole family were going out, if i went out without my other half everyone and thing fitted in easily. The volvo also has it's own childseat fitted in it which folds neatly into the seat.

On the downside it is heavy on fuel but then i think that lots of big cars are - on the plus side it tows a caravan beautifully, the back seats all fold down so that we can get a sofa in there - so very handy for tip runs and we managed to get everything in when we go on holiday.

We did look at other big cars which didn't feel as safe - i'd have no problem reversing into something in the Volvo which, i do occasionally when the kids are bickering, have hit a few walls with no damage to the car, it feels completely safe to be in - built like a tank - some of the foreign cars we looked at were so tinny and felt really delicate.

It also has built on roof rails which is a plus for us and a fantastic de mist thing which is ideal - loads of kids in a car can cause loads of condensation.

On the down side as i said it is heavy on fuel but insurance isn't bad - we got a 20 valve but they do a 10 valve - they also hold their value quite well, mine is a very old M reg but doesn't haver any rust on it whatsoever, it passes it's MOT most years with no problems, the tyres are a bit expensive but they are really good in the snow - that's another plus, i can drive out fairly safely in snow if i have to - oh and the front lights are always on so i am always visible.

Actually ther only downside is the fuel costs but i think that this must be the case with most big cars. We did buy a brand new focus estate but it was too small so we lost a fortune when we had to sell it - we opted for a very old car because it is just so much more economical, we won't have lost very much money on it when we come to sell it, by the looks of it it will still be good for another 10 years, it has done well over 100000 miles but apparently they last for up to or even over 200000 miles.

saying that, if i could change the car i'd get the same car in a diesel, more expensive but over time loads cheaper to run.

If you are going to buy a car abroad i'd want to see it first and have a drive in it - you can buy almost any estate car in the uk and for under £500 have it converted to 7 seats and often find a bargain on ebay or somewhere similar, i think ours was £270 fitted, they were second hand and we did have to change the spare wheel for a mini wheel but on the one occasion that i have needed to change the wheel it has worked until i got to a garage.

maybe looking at an estate conversion might be the better option - volvo is probably the biggest but i had a renault and that boot space was pretty good - just need to check that they do a conversion to 7 seats before you buy.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=207316

We've got an Espace and its great, but expensive and uses a lot of fuel (only 30 mpg on mixed lot of journeys) and that's the diesel version! Luckily its a company car, but we had our own privately bought espaces before this one.
Lots of people round here drive the second-hand Japanese imported Toyotas...Eminas, Lucidas etc which are supplied via a local import dealer. I hear they are very good value for money. They are all right-hand-drive like UK cars, so don't seem like imports, and have quite nice interiors and levels of extras.

BernadetteN wrote:

WE own a VW Touran 90BHP 1.9 Diesel. We are a family of 2 adults and 4 children aged 10,8,4 and 1.

It's the base model diesel. However, you get umpteen air bags, ESP, cruise control, air conditioning in the base model. It has a 5 * NCAP passenger rating and 3 * NCAP pedestrian rating which makes it the best in all MPV classes in terms of safety.
Our Touran does an average 60 mpg so fuel costs are very low and it can also run on biodiesel. It costs us £250 a year fully comp with legal protection insurance per year. It needs servicing (around £180) only every 2 years and so far maintenance over the last 21 months has consisted of £10 on a top up of oil. We bought the car new in March 2006 from an internet car broker and paid 11.5k.

We fit all 6 of us in the car, plus an umbrella buggy and 2 large holdalls in the back and that is enough for us to go on holiday with. It is all to do with how you pack and what you take. The boot is a little smaller than on a large MPV such as a VW Sharan but the price difference both in purchase cost and running costs is not enough for us to justify the extra money - you just couldn't get a new and money efficient large MPV for only 11.5k.

We looked at the Vauxhall Zafira (didn't like the seats and having to remove car seats to access back seats, safety is poorer too), Renault Grand Scenic (didn't like the poorer safety features), Fiat Doblo/Citroen/Renault/Peugeot Partner series (didn't like the seat arrangements or poorer safety features). The Zafira and Grand Scenic were actually more expensive new. The Fiat Doblo was 1k cheaper but its resale value was less.

WE love our Touran and cannot see us changing car for at least the next 10 years, hopefully 15 years out of this car.

:T excellent ,im sold :rotfl: lol

seriously i love the look of the touran and its one of the few people carriers both myself AND hubby like !
i feel a test drive coming on