Used family car 3.5k-ish

[Coupie94]

So there's a littl'un due in October and despite my best efforts the missus says the MX5 has to go. I've been looking at mid-size family cars like Mondeo's, Mazda 6, Octavia etc. Went to view a Mondeo fairly local this evening and just wanted some advice.

9 year old car so not expecting immaculate but am I being a bit too careful about the following that I noticed when inspecting:
Mismatched tyres on front axle- one was a michelin, didnt catch the other brand
Paint bubbling and surface rust on one of the rear arches
lip on rear discs and pads fairly low
crack in very top of windscreen allowing a bit of water between the seal
exhaust flexi pipe blowing - mot advisory

Drove pretty well -2.0 Zetec- and was actually really comfy and plenty of gadgets. Dealer offered a reasonable price on my car and offered to fix everything except the tyres. What would you do in my situation?

Appreciate I'm probably being a bit over cautious but dont want to buy a car that's going to cause issues 6 months down the line once the baby arrives. Would like to know everyone's thoughts/ if there are any alternatives I've overlooked:
petrol
5 doors- hatch or estate
4k max budget
2009 or newer
manual or automatic

[SlowV6]

A 2011 Mondeo will be a MK4.5. There should not be any rust bubbling. Personally I would look for another one and I would also try and seek out a Titanium X model for all the extras. The 2.0TDCi 138BHP with a manual gearbox would be my recommendation.

It is the best all rounder in the class.

[ChrisH72]

No way you can keep the mx5 and also get a family car?

Roll back the clock 5 years. I sold my MR2 as we had a baby on the way and bought a Honda civic. I hated that civic, not because it was a bad car but because it had robbed me of my 2 seat roadster. When my boy was 18 months old I was able to change it for an E92 325i which is nice enough. Not a convertible though and I really do miss that. It's difficult to go back now though as the wife would object very strongly to a 2 seater and it would really mean having to have 3 cars in the family which is a bit much. In hindsight I should've kept that MR2 and just got a cheap car for family duties.

[ZX10R NIN]

There should be no rust on the Mondeo so I'd probably look elsewhere.

The Mazda6 is normally a good pick as they're a nice mix of spec/mileage/price:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

The 2.5 Sport is the pick of the Mazda6 range is the 2.5 Sport 170 but it'll be a 2008:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Insignia Elite 220 a very good mix of power & spec 2008

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

2009 same drivetrain but lower spec SE 220

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Laguna Dynamique S 170

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Leftfield:

Mazda5 Furano

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...