Holiday Home Car

[AndrewCrown]

Hi

Some will regard this as a bit of a luxury problem.. but I would be very grateful for some inspiration from my fellow Piston Heads.

We have a home in France we visit every every month for 4 days.. It is too far to drive for the weekend so we normally pick up a hire car from the airport... I did some rough calculations the other day and I'm making Avis a lot of money... maybe £2.5k a year...

So here's the challenge... we could take the train from the airport and have a car at the house.

The car must:
1. Be capable of quick blasts of 100 miles or so.
2. Have at least 4 seats (To pick up our friends from the airport)
3. A good boot for wine excursions
4. Ok to sit outside doing nothing for almost 80% of the year
5. Have a chilled out vibe... we're not rushing...
6. LHD bought in France...

I'm open to classic suggestions... e.g. have been thinking about a Citroen DS (60's, 70's) or even an old Renault 4 Van... But also more modern 4x4's e.g. Jeep Wrangler, G wagon, Landie...

Budget is £0-£15k
I don't do white goods, girl's cars, minivans or anything from Asia.
No dramas on engine size or economy..

Over to you....

Thank you..
A

[fluffnik]

Peugeot 504 or 505?

[stormy22]

What about a Volvo XC60 D5 or D3?

[wildcat45]

Matra Rancho? Probably a bit better than a Renault 4. With the bonus I would imagine of being a "local" car. Dint know if there are any left though.

[therealpigdog]

A few friends in the same (fortunate) position each went for Dacia Dusters. Cheap, cheerful and reliable.

[TheAngryDog]

Just get your butler to pick you up from the train station in the Rolls.

[LooneyTunes]

Curious - does running a locally registered vehicle bring a load of pain with it (tax/MOT equivalent/insurance) that would be worth the current hire car fees to avoid?

[Lozw86]

There are hundreds of cars that would fulfil those requirements. Buy the one you like.

[anonymous-user]

I doubt that running a car would cost less than 2.5k a year. Plus the train faff. I'd carry on as you are!

[loafer123]

AndrewCrown said:

Hi

Some will regard this as a bit of a luxury problem.. but I would be very grateful for some inspiration from my fellow Piston Heads.

We have a home in France we visit every every month for 4 days.. It is too far to drive for the weekend so we normally pick up a hire car from the airport... I did some rough calculations the other day and I'm making Avis a lot of money... maybe £2.5k a year...

So here's the challenge... we could take the train from the airport and have a car at the house.

The car must:
1. Be capable of quick blasts of 100 miles or so.
2. Have at least 4 seats (To pick up our friends from the airport)
3. A good boot for wine excursions
4. Ok to sit outside doing nothing for almost 80% of the year
5. Have a chilled out vibe... we're not rushing...
6. LHD bought in France...

I'm open to classic suggestions... e.g. have been thinking about a Citroen DS (60's, 70's) or even an old Renault 4 Van... But also more modern 4x4's e.g. Jeep Wrangler, G wagon, Landie...

Budget is £0-£15k
I don't do white goods, girl's cars, minivans or anything from Asia.
No dramas on engine size or economy..

Over to you....

Thank you..
A

Check your calculations - you will have to either pay for parking at the airport (classic will rot) or taxis from airport to holiday home and back again, which will soon add up and, together with the tax, service, maintenance and purchase of the car, may make it uneconomic.

[smele]

loafer123 said:

Check your calculations - you will have to either pay for parking at the airport (classic will rot) or taxis from airport to holiday home and back again, which will soon add up and, together with the tax, service, maintenance and purchase of the car, may make it uneconomic.

I think he mentions something about one of Stephenson's inventions.

[Joe5y]

smele said:

loafer123 said:

Check your calculations - you will have to either pay for parking at the airport (classic will rot) or taxis from airport to holiday home and back again, which will soon add up and, together with the tax, service, maintenance and purchase of the car, may make it uneconomic.

I think he mentions something about one of Stephenson's inventions.

[ClaphamGT3]

At the moment we are facing the same dilemma. The current very utilitarian solution, whilst we are doing building work etc is a knackered old W210 240 estate that we have registered locally.

Once the house is done, I would really like a Renault 16; somehow the 'Regie' is much more subtle than anything by Citroen and probably more suited to spending 10 months of the year under a dust sheet in the barn.

[Deerfoot]

Renault Avantime would be my choice.

[BlueMeganeII]

Deerfoot said:

Renault Avantime would be my choice.

Good choice! Lots more in France than here but I would also consider a C6!

[loafer123]

Joe5y said:

smele said:

loafer123 said:

Check your calculations - you will have to either pay for parking at the airport (classic will rot) or taxis from airport to holiday home and back again, which will soon add up and, together with the tax, service, maintenance and purchase of the car, may make it uneconomic.

I think he mentions something about one of Stephenson's inventions.

Ah - I missed that!

Mind you, even a relatively short taxi ride at the other end can cost alot in my experience abroad.

[TooMany2cvs]

2cv!

[ClaphamGT3]

TooMany2cvs said:

2cv!

Likely to fail the "quick blasts of 100 miles" criteria!

[AndrewCrown]

There is some merit in this....

Jimboka said:

I doubt that running a car would cost less than 2.5k a year. Plus the train faff. I'd carry on as you are!

[GreigM]

I've done similar in the past. Stick to the hire car - a nice new(ish) car which is ready to go and you don't have to worry about the paperwork of tax/insurance/mot equivalents etc You won't run anything decent and reliable for your budget and even just one time turning up and the battery is flat will make you curse the day you didn't meander over to the avis desk.