New baby = New car
Discussion
troc said:
You don't 'need' a 'whole load of baby crap' and I find we do perfectly well with our Mini Cooper on a day to day basis. We just made some sensible choices to do with buggies etc. people carry far more then they need most of the time.
You don't get that many choices of buggies which fit into a mini do you? We ended up with the sola from M&P and to get that in the boot the wheels have to be removed. SWMBO loves the car though so it stays for now.If it's going to be your only car. Don't let the wife force you into a cooking spec diesel coming from the M3, you'll slowly start to resent it.
When our first was born I came over all sensible and swapped my 370bhp turbocharged Astra GSi for a 2ltr tdi passat estate. It was a lovely car and did daily baby carrying dutys very well, but after a year I'd had enough of the boredom and had to get rid.
When our first was born I came over all sensible and swapped my 370bhp turbocharged Astra GSi for a 2ltr tdi passat estate. It was a lovely car and did daily baby carrying dutys very well, but after a year I'd had enough of the boredom and had to get rid.
What you need to do when considering a new car when you are about to have a baby is to take your buggy to the dealership and try putting it in the boot.
The new A-Class has a high sill and an extremely narrow opening which makes it impractical for most of the "travel system" type buggies as they are simply too big.
You could just as easily make everything fit in the M3, but it will be a faff as it doesn't have back doors.
The new A-Class has a high sill and an extremely narrow opening which makes it impractical for most of the "travel system" type buggies as they are simply too big.
You could just as easily make everything fit in the M3, but it will be a faff as it doesn't have back doors.
My daughter has a Bugaboo Bee buggy for her son, it fits easily into her Clio II's boot and my wife's C3 boot with plenty of space to spare, the reason she bought it was for the size that it folds down to, you don't need to take the wheels of either; they don't come off anyway.
In day to day moving about she has the Bee, the car seat and a baby bag, my grandson is 5 weeks old, you do not need to lug loads of stuff about with a baby on a daily basis.
I see it all the time at work, first baby is on its way and people panic and all of a sudden need something huge, you don't.
My brother in law's first baby is six weeks old, they have a current Fiesta and an Elise, they manage fine.
In day to day moving about she has the Bee, the car seat and a baby bag, my grandson is 5 weeks old, you do not need to lug loads of stuff about with a baby on a daily basis.
I see it all the time at work, first baby is on its way and people panic and all of a sudden need something huge, you don't.
My brother in law's first baby is six weeks old, they have a current Fiesta and an Elise, they manage fine.
Pints said:
tangerine_sedge said:
I don't understand why an M3 & Auris are considered impractical? The only problem I can see is getting access to the baby seat in the rear of the M3, but this is inconveniance, rather than a deal breaker. I say this with experience of getting my own babies/toddlers into the back of a saxo VTS some years ago.
I suggest you keep both cars, then make an informed decision once you've spent time carting the baby around.
Very sensible. Our Clio was adequate for when HalfPints mk1 made her appearance - which is the same size as an Auris.I suggest you keep both cars, then make an informed decision once you've spent time carting the baby around.
Although we acquired a kangoo when number one arrived, and it was very handy - but in fairness we never filled it up. at the same time we had a punto GT turbo, and a 2cv. the tin snail would not accommodate one of those 1st stage baby carriers easily, but the punto was easily able to seal with baby kit. We swapped the punto for seicento before number one was 12months. it was fine too as by this time we had figured out that you dont need to cart masses of kit everywhere and that those big (trendy at the time) 3 wheeler buggies are hopeless in town.
If your convertable has a remote roof they can be quite useful for plonking babby in the back, just drop the roof & drop him/her in, even better if you have a base & seat combo, they just click in & out.
The problems come when you're reasonably tall, then fitting even a basic child seat can be an issue, especially if you decide to go with rear facing on your next stage seat.
And again, don't discount another bundle of joy coming along in the future...
The problems come when you're reasonably tall, then fitting even a basic child seat can be an issue, especially if you decide to go with rear facing on your next stage seat.
And again, don't discount another bundle of joy coming along in the future...
Just to elaborate on my previous post as we went through this 9 months ago. At that point Mrs Herbs had an SLK whilst due to work I had a Q7. As I no longer needed the Audi for work, a couple of weeks before the little one was born we both and bought a Z4M Roadster and a 5 door Civic for her as neither of us wanted to end up with a boring baby car.
9 months on and the Z4M is going as I accidentally got one without Isofix or ability to turn off the airbags which rules it out of any baby duties. The civic has been fine although we are looking to get something bigger as it was just a bit small to do buggy, shopping, passengers etc.
Yes you can cope with a smaller car but why bother when it is just hassle you can do without. get something sensible for her instead of the Yorkshire and get something fun for yourself that can just about cope will give you the best of both worlds.
9 months on and the Z4M is going as I accidentally got one without Isofix or ability to turn off the airbags which rules it out of any baby duties. The civic has been fine although we are looking to get something bigger as it was just a bit small to do buggy, shopping, passengers etc.
Yes you can cope with a smaller car but why bother when it is just hassle you can do without. get something sensible for her instead of the Yorkshire and get something fun for yourself that can just about cope will give you the best of both worlds.
The advice to wait until the baby actually arrives is the best thing to do at the moment. we did this and dealerships we visited were more than happy for us to test the whole "baby and crap in and out" sequence right there in the showroom. I was a bit sceptical when changing over form a focus to a Kuga given the boot space in litres isn't all that different yet a wider opening and flat boot floor made all the difference, the pram also fit sideways in on its side which probably only took up 30% of space.
It all depends on your requirements though, we do trips over to Ireland numerous times a year and needed a boot big enough to carry all our luggage plus baby's stuff, pram, suitcase, travel cot etc. God knows how people have managed with some of the cars mentioned here.
It all depends on your requirements though, we do trips over to Ireland numerous times a year and needed a boot big enough to carry all our luggage plus baby's stuff, pram, suitcase, travel cot etc. God knows how people have managed with some of the cars mentioned here.
Seriously, you already have two perfect cars for the task at hand. There is absolutely no need for a baby to take up any great amount of space.
An M3 is more than big enough. And so is your wife's Aris (unless that's a Cockney euphemism).
I don't see how spending money to buy replacement cars that aren't needed is a way to save money?
The Auris is perfect for slapping s
tty commuter miles on. And the boot of an M3 will take a normal buggy, a travel cot and two bags for food and clothes for a weekend away.
The best advice you can have when preparing for a child to to say to yourself, every time you are looking at a baby product, ' I simply do not need this price of Chinese made, overly marketed crap. I am a free man, not a slave to weird men in polo necks with butt plugs. '
An M3 is more than big enough. And so is your wife's Aris (unless that's a Cockney euphemism).
I don't see how spending money to buy replacement cars that aren't needed is a way to save money?
The Auris is perfect for slapping s
tty commuter miles on. And the boot of an M3 will take a normal buggy, a travel cot and two bags for food and clothes for a weekend away. The best advice you can have when preparing for a child to to say to yourself, every time you are looking at a baby product, ' I simply do not need this price of Chinese made, overly marketed crap. I am a free man, not a slave to weird men in polo necks with butt plugs. '
The day my Esprit arrived she announced she was pregnant. Ended up changing the glass roof to a carbon one as it was a little too vulnerable to something dropping on it while she was strapped in.
Other than that, prams can fit in the boot, nappy changing kit takes up no more space than some people wallets and other half had a 4 door family saloon for carting us all around.
Funny how some people (wives mainly) seem to think they need 'new' cars once a baby arrives. It's only a small person after all.
Other than that, prams can fit in the boot, nappy changing kit takes up no more space than some people wallets and other half had a 4 door family saloon for carting us all around.
Funny how some people (wives mainly) seem to think they need 'new' cars once a baby arrives. It's only a small person after all.
anyideas said:
You don't get that many choices of buggies which fit into a mini do you? We ended up with the sola from M&P and to get that in the boot the wheels have to be removed. SWMBO loves the car though so it stays for now.
True, the choice is limited - we ended up with the recaro babyzen stuff which fits nicely. There's also a mini-specific one com easywalker (I think)I used a 3 door Polo as my daily driver for the first 7 months. I used my M3 when I required more room, including a week away with the largest pushchair/pram system thing known to man.
For day to day use you can get away with a small pushchair like a Quinny Zap in the rear footwell and the baby in the car seat leaving the boot free for a weeks shopping. A £150-200 pushchair is cheaper than a new car.
Admittedly I've now added a 5 series to my fleet which is brilliant for load carrying although I currently use a Yaris 90% of the time.
Not so sure about estate cars, the lack of visibility when loaded and the potential for the luggage to fly around and hit the baby in the head somewhat limits their practicality.
For day to day use you can get away with a small pushchair like a Quinny Zap in the rear footwell and the baby in the car seat leaving the boot free for a weeks shopping. A £150-200 pushchair is cheaper than a new car.
Admittedly I've now added a 5 series to my fleet which is brilliant for load carrying although I currently use a Yaris 90% of the time.
Not so sure about estate cars, the lack of visibility when loaded and the potential for the luggage to fly around and hit the baby in the head somewhat limits their practicality.
Aren't S-maxs meant to be a good steer all things considered?
Expecting our first in April so this thread is of particular interest to me for obvious reasons! Looked at a few 'travel systems'this weekend for the first time and pretty much instantly baffled. The Celica will have to go replaced by I've no idea what yet...
Expecting our first in April so this thread is of particular interest to me for obvious reasons! Looked at a few 'travel systems'this weekend for the first time and pretty much instantly baffled. The Celica will have to go replaced by I've no idea what yet...
Miocene said:
Aren't S-maxs meant to be a good steer all things considered?.
I have had a few as rentals and whilst they ride well, they are 'big' and I wouldn't want to park it nose in to anything solid as you really have no idea where the front of it ends.It doesn't do anything that a Mondeo estate wont do either unless you like wearing tall hats and need to transport 7 people on a regular basis.
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