New parents fun car

[braddo]

fastgerman said:

newboy997 said:

fastgerman said:

Current no.1 is a 2009 E63 at Bristol Mercedes for £30k and would hope I could get 22k in 3 years time.

Edited by fastgerman on Tuesday 30th September 12:39

I'd guess more like £15k I'm afraid.

can't even see the previous version of the E63 for that. Dont think it will half in 3 years but then I don't have a crystal ball. £500 road tax and 20mpg isn't great. My 997 averaged 26.7 to Denmark

It might be what you are offered by a MB dealer though, if the dealer wants to sell it for £22k in 3 years. I wonder what Bristol Mercedes paid for that £30k car?

[RichB]

shoestring7 said:

ORD said:

shoestring7 said:

Its not clear why do you think you need to change the Golf? Its plenty big enough for another 9lb person, even if the mother insists it needs 100kg of survival kit.

Have you seen the size of a pram these days? I think my wife and I will need 3 cars for every journey, as a minimum.

First world bks; find a more compact pram.

When my first son was born bqack in '82 we had an MGCGT his carry cot went on the back bench perfectly. When No.2 son came along I had a Capri as my company car which got changed for a 924T then a 944. That was amply big enough until they were 6 or 7 years old.

Edited by RichB on Tuesday 30th September 18:19

[ORD]

It's a different world these days. You need a rear-facing child seat or you are, in essence, a baby-murderer.

[RB_987s]

Keep the cars you have and buy a used saloon. No one wants saloons as they all seem to go for people carriers (sounds so communist) or 4X4s so are cheap as chips.

I bought a 3 yr old Mazda 6 when I became a dad for just over 7K and it's astonishingly cheap to run, fits the enormous rearward facing car seat (I highly recommend the brand Be Safe) and I don't get stressed when my children vomit all over the interior (you will soon be well acquainted with this aspect of motoring!). Makes trips in the Porsche that much more special, if less frequent.

[geresey]

We had a 205 GTI when mine came along, was a squeeze on long trips tho, once you add weekend luggage to pram etc. Had a 535d tourer recently, plenty of oomph despite being diesel. Plus you can shift a sofa or half the garden in it. Next door have 2 small kids and a d3 alpina estate... could be a good option on the resale value, if you can get one. Or a b3....

[Dave Thornton]

From my experience, what you will need is a 4x4, a 911 and if you want to keep the mileage off the 911, a cheap runabout. It's not the pushchair you need to worry about, it's items like a travelcot if you choose to have one. Also, you'll need a 4x4 to keep up with the Joneses. Having said that, took my 8 year old to Theatre Group last week in the Discovery, only to find that no less than 2 other Dads arrived in 911s so I'm in a dilemma for this week. Also used the 911 for a family holiday to Italy last year, though I did cheat by putting wife and youngest on the plane and set off 3 days earlier!

[thegoose]

fastgerman said:

No space for a 3rd car and appreciate the Golf is big enough for my wife, but what do I use?

If I keep the 911 it won't get to stay in the garage overnight if it's my daily, it might get left at the station or it might be subjected to 80 miles per day.

All of which I'd probably still prefer to a saloon/estate/SUV but not ideal

If you'd prefer to keep the 911 then just do so

Sure, it'll depreciate more for doing more miles, but if it's used for quite a few miles this'll be offset by not losing on the trade/retail deal you're contemplating and it being cheaper on fuel than your other options. Logic aside, you'll be driving a 911 every day - what's not to like?!

[fastgerman]

Thanks for all the comments and it's back to the drawing board for a bit :-)

Maybe I'll just leave it till March and see what happens

Kind of feel like Hugh Grant in the 9 months film where he has to sell his red 911 3.2/SC

[braddo]

And take a look at the Bugaboo Bee for the baby - it is about the most compact buggy you'll get (folds to the size of a medium suitcase) as well as being light, stylish etc. It means you can easily use the Golf as the family car while you decide what to do.

Apparently the Quinny Zapp fits in the boot of a 911. I have to get me one of those.

[Actus Reus]

I'll become a dad, all being well, in about a month. At the time of finding out we had an old Corolla for running around in, and my Cayman S. I was already thinking that, for such an expensive (to me) car as a Cayman, it wasn't being used enough, as we often took the Toyota as more economical, more room and less of a worry when leaving it parked anywhere.

Thus I sold the Cayman, and the Corolla and am now leasing a Golf R as the price was excellent. I'll be in the market, I hope, for a fun car early next year, but I'm going to see how much free time I have. No point having a £40k Porsche sat in the garage depreciating (I hardly ever drive in the week).

As to pushchairs - the tip about the Bee is a good one if you live in town - they won't work so well outside of town. We've gone for an iCandy which will, just about, fit in the boot of a Mk.7 Golf R when folded and leave room for shopping and luggage. A friend of mine has twins and drives a Mk. VI GTi and everything goes in the boot for short trips, or a roof box for longer journeys.

ETA: just been reading about the new Jag XE with the supercharged lump from the F-Type. Sounds rather appealing to me...

Edited by Actus Reus on Wednesday 1st October 12:23

[jonny996]

Actus Reus said:

I'll be in the market, I hope, for a fun car early next year, but I'm going to see how much free time I have. No point having a £40k Porsche sat in the garage depreciating (I hardly ever drive in the week).

For me that was the crunch point, if you dont want to take the 911 to work or station, then when else will you use it & would you be happy when baby is sick on your leather or kicks the back of the seats. I stepped away from nice cars for a while, role on the empty nest thing. Now how do I get a 911 up those stairs :-)

[Actus Reus]

Yep - and will you really benefit from a 911 with the kids on board? A diesel with about 180hp is probably the most shove you'll ever need or use with very young kids on board.
I looked at the Ghibli a little while ago and it's very nice, but I came away wondering what the point of it would be when a Skoda vRS Estate is £30k cheaper and more useful more of the time.

I'm actually quite looking forward to choosing a budget fun car and getting back to basics for a while. An MX5 would probably make a decent station car too.

[jonny996]

I went for an early Cayenne, ticks all the boxes, Big safe tank like so misses happy & still a porsche (Just) plus they are very cheap.

[pete]

I sold my 997 GT3 soon after our first child came along. The proceeds paid for an extra bedroom and a 996 Turbo S :-)

Whereas the GT3 was being used for about 100 miles a month in the end, the 996 gets a lot of use. Not so much while the boy was in a Group 0 car seat, but as soon as he was old enough for a front facing seat we used it every week for days out. A Quinny Zapp fits beautifully, and once kids are a year old you can travel with only a fraction of the kit. We had a BMW 335d Touring for practical duties as well though.

Now number 2 is due, we have the perfect combo: a Cayenne diesel with loads of toys, space, and a 700+ mile range for family duties, and the 996 for when we want to travel for fun without so much luggage. This will be a quiet year for it, again, but its time will come!

We also have an ageing mx5 which I can leave anywhere or take to sensitive clients, so I wouldn't rule out the 3 car option. Having said that, I use the 911 a lot for work and nobody has been offended yet...

Good luck!
Pete

Edited by pete on Wednesday 1st October 20:48

[fastgerman]

Slight change of plan....

Many thanks to all the comments :-)

It seems the Golf wasn't 'nice' enough for being the weekend family car and when we are going on Euro trips. So, I'll swap the Golf for an S4 Avant (2011) and keep the Porsche!

Lets see how long this lasts but I think I' could park the 911 at the station and keep it in the garage at nights.

Still no space for 3 cars though.

If the engine does have problems in the 997 then I could go to 3.9 and near 400 bhp, so maybe I'm looking forward to this happening (warranty expired 5 days ago and it's 2005)

[monthefish]

ORD said:

shoestring7 said:

Its not clear why do you think you need to change the Golf? Its plenty big enough for another 9lb person, even if the mother insists it needs 100kg of survival kit.

SS7

Have you seen the size of a pram these days? I think my wife and I will need 3 cars for every journey, as a minimum.

...yes, they fit nicely into the front boot of a 911.

[newboy997]

[quote=Dave Thornton]From my experience, what you will need is a 4x4, a 911 and if you want to keep the mileage off the 911, a cheap runabout. /quote]

Discovery + 911 is where I'm at but often thinking about whether I need cheap runabout as well.

For now, the combination of the 2 though is ideal

[Mr Ping]

The Quinny does fit nicely into the boot of a 911 with room to spare (in my 996), tried it with one from mothercare (their own brand) and that was a tiny bit too long.

Currently running 996 and a aging honda jazz (dubbed "The crapmobile"), feel like going boy racer route and importing a Honda Accord Euro R for the family car as not sure I can get away with an Integra.

[shoestring7]

newboy997 said:

Dave Thornton said:

From my experience, what you will need is a 4x4, a 911 and if you want to keep the mileage off the 911, a cheap runabout. /quote]

Discovery + 911 is where I'm at but often thinking about whether I need cheap runabout as well.

For now, the combination of the 2 though is ideal

The answer for any young urban couple needing to transport a baby around always seems to be a 3 tonne off-road vehicle, although I'm damned if I know why.

SS7

[newboy997]

shoestring7 said:

The answer for any young urban couple needing to transport a baby around always seems to be a 3 tonne off-road vehicle, although I'm damned if I know why.

SS7

yes, but it's the answer for a borderline middle aged country couple with 2 dogs and 2 rapidly expanding boys

seriously, my point is that the D3 is a perfect foil for a sports car...doesn't go fast, doesn't go around corners but still feels like a bit of an event to drive