Discussion
I know this has been done a few times, but with a growing family, I'm looking to replace the car and considering if i should buy 1 "do it all" car or split my budget and buy two cars more purposeful i.e. one practical and one fun.
Criteria for one car would be:
- Budget up to £25k
- Comfortably fit a family of 4 (2x car seats)
- Fit dog AND pram in the boot (can get a boot divider but needs to have enough space)
- Powerful enough to overtake without worrying
- Outgoing car is 2016 circa 54k miles so newer with less miles would be preferred
- I don't do a lot of miles so running costs aren't my biggest concern but needs to be reliable as a daily and would be doing one "big trip" a year taking the
family on holiday
Criteria for two car would be:
- Same as above really just on a lower budget and something more fun to drive if it was just me on my own or that I could take to a car show etc.
I do have a couple of ideas in my head but id like your opinions
Would you go 1 car or 2 and what would be your pick in BOTH scenarios
Criteria for one car would be:
- Budget up to £25k
- Comfortably fit a family of 4 (2x car seats)
- Fit dog AND pram in the boot (can get a boot divider but needs to have enough space)
- Powerful enough to overtake without worrying
- Outgoing car is 2016 circa 54k miles so newer with less miles would be preferred
- I don't do a lot of miles so running costs aren't my biggest concern but needs to be reliable as a daily and would be doing one "big trip" a year taking the
family on holiday
Criteria for two car would be:
- Same as above really just on a lower budget and something more fun to drive if it was just me on my own or that I could take to a car show etc.
I do have a couple of ideas in my head but id like your opinions
Would you go 1 car or 2 and what would be your pick in BOTH scenarios
I'd have said F31 340i as a solid all rounder, but you have a reasonable load space requirement.. which I think pushes you into something 5-series size.
IMO, unless you're going for the halo AMG/M/RS model when looking at 5 series/A6/E-class segment cars, then you're likely to struggle to find a 'do-all' <9yr old/sub-50k mile car which can do fun at that budget level... and even then, they're big old implements to throw down a B-road. Also if you managed to squeeze a halo model into budget, then the bork potential would be a real concern for me if it's the only transport available.
I'd keep the current daily if it's suitable and running fine, then get yourself something fun to drive on the side.
If you want/need to change the daily, then I think I'd go for a Skoda Superb Estate for the daily churn with an S2000/Boxster/Z4/MX5 sitting ready to give you some fun when you have time.
But it's all subjective.. fun to me may not be fun to the next person.
IMO, unless you're going for the halo AMG/M/RS model when looking at 5 series/A6/E-class segment cars, then you're likely to struggle to find a 'do-all' <9yr old/sub-50k mile car which can do fun at that budget level... and even then, they're big old implements to throw down a B-road. Also if you managed to squeeze a halo model into budget, then the bork potential would be a real concern for me if it's the only transport available.
I'd keep the current daily if it's suitable and running fine, then get yourself something fun to drive on the side.
If you want/need to change the daily, then I think I'd go for a Skoda Superb Estate for the daily churn with an S2000/Boxster/Z4/MX5 sitting ready to give you some fun when you have time.
But it's all subjective.. fun to me may not be fun to the next person.
I only ever had one car at a time for ages until I bought my first ever 2 seater in 2014 and needed to get a practical daily driver.
The 1 car solution worked fine when I was young and practicality didn't matter, but once it did every car was a compromise and I much prefer the 2 car solution.
The 1 car solution worked fine when I was young and practicality didn't matter, but once it did every car was a compromise and I much prefer the 2 car solution.
I would suggest you want two cars. I had the exact same requirements and ended up with Skoda Superb and MX-5. Ubiquitous but solid solution.
Looking at your budget, maybe consider something like this as a daily:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501218...
Then depending on your budget for a 2nd, maybe look at something like this:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503250...
Looking at your budget, maybe consider something like this as a daily:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501218...
Then depending on your budget for a 2nd, maybe look at something like this:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503250...
I've almost always been in the 1 car camp, hot hatches etc for fun & family uses but I recently moved to a two car set up for a couple of reasons. I didn't think the hot hatch did anything particularly well, and also felt that having a dog and children in it was ruining it somewhat (hair / sweets / mess).
I much prefer the two car set up, which also keeps the 'toy' car feeling much more special.
I much prefer the two car set up, which also keeps the 'toy' car feeling much more special.
I briefly did the one car thing for a while when my first child arrived. Ended up in a 435i Gran Coupe which was a good allrounder but ended up feeling compromised in all most all scenarios, particularly on the "fun" element.
I recommend two cars.
With 25K across two cars I would make the daily boring but practical. I really rate the Rav4 and their cousins, the PHEV versions have 300hp so are swift yet economical. The Suzuki Across is a bit of a bargain and if you have a drive and commute within the 40 mile electric range it will save you a fortune in fuel. They even do 40-50mpg with a flat battery and the boot is uncompromised by the battery like most other PHEV.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504141...
For the second car - if it's truly just yourself in the car the Mx5 is the best answer at the bargain end - loved mine dearly. BMW Z4 are also well priced and a little more GT, but I preferred my MX5 as my fun second car. If more practicality is needed then a hot hatch is likely the answer. A 208Gti is often overlooked and looks a good choice.
I recommend two cars.
With 25K across two cars I would make the daily boring but practical. I really rate the Rav4 and their cousins, the PHEV versions have 300hp so are swift yet economical. The Suzuki Across is a bit of a bargain and if you have a drive and commute within the 40 mile electric range it will save you a fortune in fuel. They even do 40-50mpg with a flat battery and the boot is uncompromised by the battery like most other PHEV.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504141...
For the second car - if it's truly just yourself in the car the Mx5 is the best answer at the bargain end - loved mine dearly. BMW Z4 are also well priced and a little more GT, but I preferred my MX5 as my fun second car. If more practicality is needed then a hot hatch is likely the answer. A 208Gti is often overlooked and looks a good choice.
SWoll said:
With a growing family you need to be realistic about how much time are you going to have to enjoy a second car. Sounds great in theory but 2 lots of insurance, servicing, maintenance, MOT's etc. can quickly become a chore to support a car you barely use.
Absolutely. I've had at least two cars since our daughter was born 3 years ago and the 'fun car' spends most of it's time sat in the garage not being used. My daughter and I managed one trip in it (not helped by the fact it was only a 2 seater). I recently bought a track mini with the expectation I could do a few weekday track days. I managed one and now we're expecting another baby....
I'm going down to one car for the next few years, which necessitates a new (bigger) car.
SWoll said:
With a growing family you need to be realistic about how much time are you going to have to enjoy a second car. Sounds great in theory but 2 lots of insurance, servicing, maintenance, MOT's etc. can quickly become a chore to support a car you barely use.
This is a very good point and is where I'm trying to find the balance/cost of justifying those couple of fun miles a year Any more suggestions from my criteria from above. I'll should also add that my commute is short and I will only be doing the school run 1 or 2 times a week and my wife does also have a car. My head is saying the one do it all probably makes the most sense but my heart wants a RRS and a Boxster 
Actual said:
We could easily manage with only 1 car until it needs a day, week, month in the garage. With 2 cars we are better able to deal with emergency car and life events.
This.By the time you've spent £££ on hiring a car as and when required, you might as well have bought a cheap runaround and have it available all the time.
RSTurboPaul said:
Actual said:
We could easily manage with only 1 car until it needs a day, week, month in the garage. With 2 cars we are better able to deal with emergency car and life events.
This.By the time you've spent £££ on hiring a car as and when required, you might as well have bought a cheap runaround and have it available all the time.
RSTurboPaul said:
Actual said:
We could easily manage with only 1 car until it needs a day, week, month in the garage. With 2 cars we are better able to deal with emergency car and life events.
This.By the time you've spent £££ on hiring a car as and when required, you might as well have bought a cheap runaround and have it available all the time.
Better to spend the money on a better example of one car if that's your reasoning IMHO.
pti said:
RSTurboPaul said:
Actual said:
We could easily manage with only 1 car until it needs a day, week, month in the garage. With 2 cars we are better able to deal with emergency car and life events.
This.By the time you've spent £££ on hiring a car as and when required, you might as well have bought a cheap runaround and have it available all the time.
In which case, the obvious answer is two cars
SWoll said:
RSTurboPaul said:
Actual said:
We could easily manage with only 1 car until it needs a day, week, month in the garage. With 2 cars we are better able to deal with emergency car and life events.
This.By the time you've spent £££ on hiring a car as and when required, you might as well have bought a cheap runaround and have it available all the time.
Better to spend the money on a better example of one car if that's your reasoning IMHO.
If you can find a low-owners, well-maintained 'old' car owned by someone of a certain age through word-of-mouth, and avoid the hell that is Facebook sales or eBay chancers, it should possible to get such a car bought, insured and taxed for well under £2k.
justin220 said:
I've almost always been in the 1 car camp, hot hatches etc for fun & family uses but I recently moved to a two car set up for a couple of reasons. I didn't think the hot hatch did anything particularly well, and also felt that having a dog and children in it was ruining it somewhat (hair / sweets / mess).
I much prefer the two car set up, which also keeps the 'toy' car feeling much more special.
Similar here. I just wanted something more special and an event to drive when driving just for kicks. The hot hatch was actually very good (RS Megane).I much prefer the two car set up, which also keeps the 'toy' car feeling much more special.
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