Cure for a bad back needed.....

[MrB.]

Don’t want to bore everyone with my life story, but things took a change for me earlier this year with a family addition. I became a stay at home dad, and so sold my beloved Saab 95 Aero as it just did the daily school run and so no need for a big turbocharged Saloon to do 6 miles a day. An Alfa GT replaced it, but lasted 6 weeks as I just didn’t warm to it. Anyway, in a moment of rational thinking, I bought a Fiat 500 Twin Air which fits the role perfectly. Small, cheeky, fun, and because it’s the second car, it costs nothing to run it. Perfect then, yes?

Erm, not quite. You see it’s killing my back. I’ve just gone too small, and leaning in through the folded front seat to get my daughter into her seat isn’t good, and she can’t get the seatbelt on herself as the buckle is tight next to the seat base, which then has me twisting around to do it, and now I’m in quite a lot of pain.

So, I’m looking for a 4/5 door car. Needs to be relatively cheap to run, will only do short journeys in the main (so diesel probably isn’t ideal, and I’m not a big lover of the black pump anyway), would prefer sub-100k miles, budget of less than £3k and must have ISOFIX and be reasonably fun to drive. Not sure I want to be sensible with a bread and butter Ford Focus if I’m honest, so would prefer not to go down that route.

I’m leaning back towards a Saab (I’ve had 5 of them) but £325 p/a RFL for doing the school run is getting harder to justify.

I’ve always said that the Golf GTI is every car you’d ever need, but can’t get a nice, sub 100k miles Mk5 for my budget unfortunately.

Thoughts?

[psi310398]

It's a bit late, I suppose, but what with all the transaction costs etc disposing of, and acquiring, the various cars, would you not have stayed ahead simply keeping the Saab for a few years?

I'd get another if you can find one in your budget - the seats are great and a delta of £400-500 a year maximum from the cost of buying and running a smaller car as the price of keeping your back in good nick seems a bargain.

[tim0409]

I can’t give advice on a specific car, but as a sufferer of a bad back I would never choose a car without adequate or adjustable lumber support. We purchased a Skoda Fabia estate and it didn’t last long as the seats had zero lumbar support and my back was agony. The best seats I’ve experienced were BMW sports seats; I could drive seven hours without any pain, it’s just a shame as I’m not a great fan of BMWs!

[irocfan]

Can't really help with the car but may I suggest that whatever you do get has heated seats (seems to help my back)

[MrB.]

psi310398 said:

It's a bit late, I suppose, but what with all the transaction costs etc disposing of, and acquiring, the various cars, would you not have stayed ahead simply keeping the Saab for a few years?

I'd get another if you can find one in your budget - the seats are great and a delta of £400-500 a year maximum from the cost of buying and running a smaller car as the price of keeping your back in good nick seems a bargain.

I hear you, and I did love the Saab, but I felt it was a waste as it never got warm. Perversely, I now travel 100 miles once a week to my new office as I’ve started work again. My only saving grace was that I made money on the Saab and the Alfa, so whilst inconvenient having to sell cars, at least it made profits!

Agree with others on the heated seats. Never knew how much I’d miss them! My wife’s XC60 has them, and she won’t do without them. And that’s whereSaab and Volvo win in my book, the seats are superb.

As you say, the extra cost for having comfort does make sense.

• scuttles off to look at Saab Aeros on Autotrader....*

[Summit_Detailing]

S60 2.0T to go back to comfortable Swedish seats? or keeping with the Fiat theme a Panda 100HP?

Cheers,

Chris

[dmsims]

Take a look at Volvo as well

the best seats of any car I have been in

Good adjustment including lumbar and heated (in the V70 we had)

[oop north]

tim0409 said:

The best seats I’ve experienced were BMW sports seats; I could drive seven hours without any pain, it’s just a shame as I’m not a great fan of BMWs!

I agree on the comfort of Bmw sport seats for my back - but not my wife’s back - she needs an upright seating position like a dining chair (so she has a freelander). Sounds to me like the problem is less the seats than getting your daughter in/out. How about a Subaru Forester?

[colin_p]

A dustbin?

[Roboticarm]

If it's the leaning in which is hurting your back why not put your kid in the passenger seat ?

Missus does it with our little one in her 500 for similar reasons.

[ZX10R NIN]

If you can stretch your budget by £500 then you can get some good cars that fit your requirements.

I'd say an Alfa Giulietta in 1.4T 170 (145 Tax) form is your best option:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or there's the Astra with the 1.4T 140 in (145 road tax) Elite/SRI spec:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Megane GT Line TomTom 1.4T 130 (160 Road Tax)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

1.0T 125 Focus Titanium

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[MrB.]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. The Volvo S60 would be good, but no ISOFIX and that's the issue with putting her in the front too. Ideally the car shouldn't be too big either as it really is just primarily a school run car.

Cheap road tax is also a bonus (of an age where insurance isn't much of a concern). I have thought about an A3 Sportback with the 2.0T engine.

Its more about having the space in the rear seat so that little one's seat belt buckle is t stuck so tight to the side of the car seat that she cant do her own belt. She manages it in the XC60, but I have to twist around in the 500 to do it for her, hence the pain in the back and arm now.

Thank you for all the suggestions chaps.

[Aiminghigh123]

Just get another Saab.

Honestly I got my 9-3 aero for £500 2 years ago as a stop gap. My back stop hurting within days and so I still have the car.
Sleeping better, feeling better is more important to me.

[MrB.]

Aiminghigh123 said:

Just get another Saab.

Honestly I got my 9-3 aero for £500 2 years ago as a stop gap. My back stop hurting within days and so I still have the car.
Sleeping better, feeling better is more important to me.

If I'm being honest, I cant stop looking at them and feel that number 6 might be on it's way.....

[ZX10R NIN]

It sounds like a Focus/Giulietta sized car fits the bill.

[Macron]

When the kid gets heavy, you'll be grateful to have a higher seat to start with. Especially with a bad back.

I'd look at a mini 4WD, fake if necessary, with 4/5 doors, for ease of access. Yeti, (Grand) Vitara, that sort of thing. Keep it tidy and sell when they get themselves in and out of the car on their own. Which is about age 6+.

Then you have 3+ more years until they're 135cm and you can bin the car seat, and get back to a 3-door.

For 4 more years until their legs are too long for the back.....

[MrB.]

So, quick update. The 500 is getting lots of interest and I’m hoping will have a new owner this afternoon, which means a purchase is imminent for me. I’ve looked a a few options, and for the money I can spend (less than 3k) I’ve narrowed it down to three potentials;

1. Another Saab, a 93 Aero It’s a known quantity. I’ve had them before, and know what to look out for. But they are a little dated, so;

2. Skoda Octavia vRS. I can get the mk2, so the 2.0TFSI engine at around 100k miles. Anything to look out for other than cambelt and water pump changes? I hear they like a drop of oil, it is that a newer engine?

3. Audi A3 2.0 Sportback. Again, I’m assuming this is the same engine shares across VAG?

Thoughts and experiences greatly appreciated.

Bryan

[stevemcs]

The A3 is uncomfortable and even worse in S line trim. The 2.0 tfsi has more issues than just oil use age. Personally i’d Look towards a Volvo s40 or Ford Focus

[MrB.]

stevemcs said:

The A3 is uncomfortable and even worse in S line trim. The 2.0 tfsi has more issues than just oil use age. Personally i’d Look towards a Volvo s40 or Ford Focus

Ah, good to hear. Looks like one to be avoided. I had thought about the Volvo (I had a C30 T5 years ago). Might sneed to have another look. My wife has an XC60, so we’re used to Volvo.