car for carrying ironing?

[pitbull turbo]

i am going to start my own ironing company and need a car that will fit quite a bit of ironing in and be quite wide so i can put a rail up between the hold on handles in the back. needs to be cheap to run and ideally look the part as i dont want a rust bucket as it looks bad on the company. it will be my normal car to so a little bit of comfort and reliablity would be great.
i will have to sell my mazda 6 mps to fund this and i recon i have about 2-3k equity in the car to buy this car with.
ideas have been;
-mondeo mk3 estate- high miles in tdci at this price and not sure in the petrols.
-e39 touring maybe 528 or 523 se but mpg will be poor and not sure there right for this.
-some for of mpv like a megane senic, not sure i could hack it day to day.
- lr freelander, mainly petrols at this price and will it be reliable and economical enough?

[ZOLLAR]

How big is the boot of an MX5?.

[Madmatt74]

Octavia Estate should cover it.

[JollyGrnMonster]

Car? Sounds like you need a van

[McSam]

ZOLLAR said:

How big is the boot of an MX5?.

Big enough

[Zwolf]

A small car-derived van I think would do the job better.

[EV11NED]

Skoda roomster or Nissan Note

[Dab of oppo]

It may not be a drivers car as such but a mates mum who does the same thing has a Citroen Berlingo Multispace - works a treat!

[SWoll]

I would suggest you are going to need something with enough height in the loadspace to hang things without them needing to be folded etc so an estate would probably be out.

How about something like a Honda CRV? Will be more reliable than the suggested freelander and cheaper to run also I would have thought.

OOI what kind of mileage and driving are we talking about? If you are going to be doing lots of short trips around town then you would probably be better off with petrol rather than diesel anyway, especially as diesel models seem to command such a price premium in the used market.

[jas xjr]

I would go for an mpv. But if I were you I would get a van and have it sign written.
A car is not going to look too professional .

[RedAlfa]

Dab of oppo said:

It may not be a drivers car as such but a mates mum who does the same thing has a Citroen Berlingo Multispace - works a treat!

+1

Edited by RedAlfa on Friday 30th December 10:04

[5paul5]

For that budget you get get a very nice Landrover Discovery 300tdi, fold the rear seats and its the size of a van, fairly economical and will go anywhere. Job done.

[pincher]

Don't forget to tell your insurance that it will be used for business as well as SD&P

[CoolC]

I'd also recommend a car derived van, a Kangoo or similar, and if you need more seats get the MPV version.

[fredbrad]

Zwolf said:

A small car-derived van I think would do the job better.

^^^ This. How about a Ford Transit Connect?

[Eighteeteewhy]

Citroen Berlingo, great little vans!

[thewildblue]

How about a mazda 6 sport deisel and a swap for your mazda 6 mps.....

[pitbull turbo]

well to be fair its only shirts that will need haning up and im sure it will be ok with a purpose made pole you can buy. i doubt il get anymore in a mpv.
i would get a van but i have a young family i also need to transport as i don't have enough money for two cars. the larger van with three seats seam really beaten up for the budget.
il look into crv's and alike! i was hoping for something a little more interesting than a van derivited car but it maybe the best option.

[SWoll]

pitbull turbo said:

well to be fair its only shirts that will need haning up and im sure it will be ok with a purpose made pole you can buy. i doubt il get anymore in a mpv.
i would get a van but i have a young family i also need to transport as i don't have enough money for two cars. the larger van with three seats seam really beaten up for the budget.
il look into crv's and alike! i was hoping for something a little more interesting than a van derivited car but it maybe the best option.

If the CRV floats your boat try and stretch to the 2nd gen model from 2002 onwards. Much better car in all respects. Might have biggish miles but they are generally bombproof as far as I am aware.

[Gruber]

Rather disappointed at the lack of ironing related puns so far. What's wrong with you all?

OP: does it need to be quick, so that you can press on? Wouldn't want you to get board in something too slow.