First decent sensible ‘family’ car – should I lease? buy? Or
Discussion
skoda superb is a good shout, that extra leg rooms make the little ones alot more comfy and not able to kick the back of your seat on a long journey !
Some of the newer honda's have a design feature to allow the doors to open almost 90deg, I've not used one but it seems a jolly good idea when trying to buckle up children in the back.
Some of the newer honda's have a design feature to allow the doors to open almost 90deg, I've not used one but it seems a jolly good idea when trying to buckle up children in the back.
:thumbsup: Well done OP I doff my cap to you & your OH.
I'd say with your budget you'll be able to get a very nice car for that kind of money I'll give you some options, one thing worth noting is that having a leather interior is better for clearing up child related mess
I'd say rather than a Focus/Astra sized estate I'd say consider a Mondeo/Insignia sized vehicle as they're more spacious & practical also N/A engines will be more reliable than small engines with turbos.
Some sensible family car options:
2010 Mazda 6 Sport 64k Full Mazda Service History
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
2008 Mondeo Titanium 21k FSH
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
2009 Insignia Elite 59k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
2007 Accord Type S 44k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
2008 Accord EX GT 60k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
2007 Lexus IS250 SE-L 60k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
I'd say with your budget you'll be able to get a very nice car for that kind of money I'll give you some options, one thing worth noting is that having a leather interior is better for clearing up child related mess
I'd say rather than a Focus/Astra sized estate I'd say consider a Mondeo/Insignia sized vehicle as they're more spacious & practical also N/A engines will be more reliable than small engines with turbos.
Some sensible family car options:
2010 Mazda 6 Sport 64k Full Mazda Service History
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
2008 Mondeo Titanium 21k FSH
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
2009 Insignia Elite 59k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
2007 Accord Type S 44k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
2008 Accord EX GT 60k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
2007 Lexus IS250 SE-L 60k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
Very many congratulations and I hope the adoption process goes through ok for you both. We adopted 18 years ago and have been through very many ups and down but are still here & love both our kids (well now young adults) enormously.
We managed initially with a Golf Diesel which was great until child No. 2 came along. We then switched to a Saab 9-3 and have had Saabs ever since (9-5 plus 9-3 hatchback and then 9-3 cabriolet) until recently when we went over to the dark side (BMW).
IMHO Saabs are a good alternative to consider as they are roomy, reliable and reasonably fun to drive. Maintenance costs are no worse than any other brand particularly of you can find a good independent garage.
We managed initially with a Golf Diesel which was great until child No. 2 came along. We then switched to a Saab 9-3 and have had Saabs ever since (9-5 plus 9-3 hatchback and then 9-3 cabriolet) until recently when we went over to the dark side (BMW).
IMHO Saabs are a good alternative to consider as they are roomy, reliable and reasonably fun to drive. Maintenance costs are no worse than any other brand particularly of you can find a good independent garage.
Leasing can be OK
I leased the wife's car from VW, 1.2 polo for £120 a month, then swapped it after two years for a better spec.
It gets you a new car, you can change often and you get new car reliability (!) and warranty backup.
You don't really save in the long run, and they can be picky with damage. We did however exceed the 6k a year milage allowance by about 24k! ! But because they offered an extension and didn't query the milage, the car went back with no questions asked (though the sales rep looked a little sick on changeover day).
Current polo is two years old this month and half expecting a similar call to trade as they try to shift some cars before Christmas.
Remember, just because it's a lease, doesn't mean you shouldn't haggle for the best deal.
Oh, and nice one. The wife is a social worker for child protection, and some of these kids are so lucky to meet wonderful people such as you two.
I leased the wife's car from VW, 1.2 polo for £120 a month, then swapped it after two years for a better spec.
It gets you a new car, you can change often and you get new car reliability (!) and warranty backup.
You don't really save in the long run, and they can be picky with damage. We did however exceed the 6k a year milage allowance by about 24k! ! But because they offered an extension and didn't query the milage, the car went back with no questions asked (though the sales rep looked a little sick on changeover day).
Current polo is two years old this month and half expecting a similar call to trade as they try to shift some cars before Christmas.
Remember, just because it's a lease, doesn't mean you shouldn't haggle for the best deal.
Oh, and nice one. The wife is a social worker for child protection, and some of these kids are so lucky to meet wonderful people such as you two.
OP, congrats on the adoption.
I'll share my experience, as I have 14 moth old twin boys, a wife who gave up work and a tight budget like yourselves.
We run two cars, both second hand, both at the budget end of the market. I don't and wouldn't lease personally, It will cost me significantly more over the equivalent time period. I keep a spreadsheet for costs for both cars so I can see what they cost me as the years go by.
To give you a comparison:
My Saab 9-5 Aero estate has cost me exactly (excluding fuel) £3895.17. That's purchase price, MOT, insurance, tax, tyres, servicing (which I do myself), remap, etc etc over the last two years.
A SKODA superb (which I found on the SKODA dealer site) on a two year lease will cost me £5687 including only road tax for two years. After two years, I need to do it all again. Insurance, servicing etc is all extra
Thing with my Saab is that I spent a fair bit in the first year doing some important work, (suspension, decent tyres etc) so costs should decrease slightly, and certainly in the second year I've spent bugger all on it except an oil and filter that I did myself. The really crucial thing here is that, my wife's car (just an old mk4 golf) has cost £2128 over the last 18months (inc. purchase price, tax, mot etc but excluding fuel). So that's two cars I'm running for the price of one brand new one.
People might say, well you run two old cars and that's crap, but my Saab is such a lovely car, fast, comfy and cheap. Plus of course, I still own both cars and don't have to give them back!
You sound handy with spanners, so buy a decent second hand motor and as you have a contingency (exactly like us) you can deal with any unforeseen repairs.
I'll share my experience, as I have 14 moth old twin boys, a wife who gave up work and a tight budget like yourselves.
We run two cars, both second hand, both at the budget end of the market. I don't and wouldn't lease personally, It will cost me significantly more over the equivalent time period. I keep a spreadsheet for costs for both cars so I can see what they cost me as the years go by.
To give you a comparison:
My Saab 9-5 Aero estate has cost me exactly (excluding fuel) £3895.17. That's purchase price, MOT, insurance, tax, tyres, servicing (which I do myself), remap, etc etc over the last two years.
A SKODA superb (which I found on the SKODA dealer site) on a two year lease will cost me £5687 including only road tax for two years. After two years, I need to do it all again. Insurance, servicing etc is all extra
Thing with my Saab is that I spent a fair bit in the first year doing some important work, (suspension, decent tyres etc) so costs should decrease slightly, and certainly in the second year I've spent bugger all on it except an oil and filter that I did myself. The really crucial thing here is that, my wife's car (just an old mk4 golf) has cost £2128 over the last 18months (inc. purchase price, tax, mot etc but excluding fuel). So that's two cars I'm running for the price of one brand new one.
People might say, well you run two old cars and that's crap, but my Saab is such a lovely car, fast, comfy and cheap. Plus of course, I still own both cars and don't have to give them back!
You sound handy with spanners, so buy a decent second hand motor and as you have a contingency (exactly like us) you can deal with any unforeseen repairs.
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