Buying a first car - with kids

[londoncalling80]

I'm after some friendly advice.

I've lived my entire adult life in London and not needed to drive on a regular basis. While I do follow car news, and have my favourite models and brands, I only learnt and passed my test 4 years ago.

Since then, I've still not owned a car, but mainly used Zipcar or hire whenever needed.

However, we now have two kids, and will be spending more time in the country... so buying is inevitable. I therefore need to answer a couple of questions, because all the info I can find about "first cars" isn't really suited to people in my situation. So the questions I have are...

1. Should I consider buying new? Will the fact that I don't have an insurance history make premiums on a new car ridiculous?
2. Are there any recommendations on a model that would be both a great family car, and a great first car?
3. Is there anything else I should watch out for?

I'm currently toying with the idea of something like one of the following:
- A 2015-16 Qashqai or Kadjar
- A 2014-5 BMW 3 Series Estate
- A 2011-12 Freelander

Open to other suggestions as well.

Thanks in advance...

[covmutley]

If you don't rely on the car every day I would definitely go second hand.

Maybe get a 2 year old car with a Year to run on the warranty if that gives you piece of mind.

If you are faffing with chil car seats a cross over is less hassle

[ZX10R NIN]

Why do you want an SUV? If you want a car with space then get a repmobile you'll get a car loaded with kit reliable, spend between 7-10k & you'll grab yourself a great reliable car that will transport you & the family with ease.

One of these will be a good shout:

Ford Mondeo Titanium X Sport

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

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

Mazda6 Sport

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

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

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

Lexus IS250 Smaller than the rest so take a look & see if it'll work for you.

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

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

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

Skoda VRS

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

From the above I'd take the Mondeo but the Mazda6 is hard to beat in terms of VFM.

[spreadsheet monkey]

Would highly recommend a nearly-new CRV. I bought my 2013 model three years ago and it has been great.

Excellent reliability, easy to drive, more rear seat room and boot space than Qashqai. They’re not cool, but my wife wouldn’t change ours for anything else.

Where in London do you live? Inner suburbs, or Zone 5-6 wilderness?

[londoncalling80]

Thanks for the comments... two votes for the CR-V is quite promising. I'll admit to being a bit shallow and not really liking the looks of it, but maybe I need to look beyond that for the "first car" option.

If we're taking that route, would there be any votes for a Skoda? I see they seem to win a ton of awards?

[londoncalling80]

spreadsheet monkey said:

Where in London do you live? Inner suburbs, or Zone 5-6 wilderness?

We're in North London, Zone 2.

[Mammasaid]

In that case look at petrol and auto, diesel will soon be a no no in Citizen Khan's world.

[Mammasaid]

Something like this

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

[Moonpie21]

A Skoda Yeti with a 1.2TSI has got to be a fairly good option.

I think my dads is a 61 plate and never had any issues. Nice high seating position, drives more like a hatchback than SUV, safe, frugal ish, cheap to run (2nd hand purchase, insurance & maintenance), big windows kids can see out of (very important), comes in some decent specs and well rated.

For a first car smaller engine and less "desirable", read not a target for thieves or vandals, I'd add it to my list.

[a]

ZX10R NIN said:

Why do you want an SUV? If you want a car with space then get a repmobile you'll get a car loaded with kit

I used to think the same, but our little SUV (Hyudai Tucson) has been great as a baby-mobile. Modern extended rear-facing child seats are so big that you need a MASSIVE car to keep any front seat legroom at all. But with the raised seat position of an SUV, your legs go more down, rather than stretching straight ahead, which means it's a lot more comfortable to sit further forward. Also it's nice not having to lean down to place a wriggly 14kg lump in his car seat several times a day.
There's no reason to skimp on spec - we have navigation, bluetooth, heated seats, multi-position boot with full size spare, tilting rear backrest (each side tilts independently), dual zone climate control and plenty more.
Extra speed would be pointless, it's not like I'm flooring it everywhere with a one year old in the car.

As a car, it's not my favourite. I'm not a fan of SUVs (dedicated off-roader... great! But multi-purpose family SUV... meh). But as a baby carrying tool, it has been fantastic.

[ilikejam]

a said:

I used to think the same, but our little SUV (Hyudai Tucson) has been great as a baby-mobile. Modern extended rear-facing child seats are so big that you need a MASSIVE car to keep any front seat legroom at all. But with the raised seat position of an SUV, your legs go more down, rather than stretching straight ahead, which means it's a lot more comfortable to sit further forward. Also it's nice not having to lean down to place a wriggly 14kg lump in his car seat several times a day.
There's no reason to skimp on spec - we have navigation, bluetooth, heated seats, multi-position boot with full size spare, tilting rear backrest (each side tilts independently), dual zone climate control and plenty more.
Extra speed would be pointless, it's not like I'm flooring it everywhere with a one year old in the car.

As a car, it's not my favourite. I'm not a fan of SUVs (dedicated off-roader... great! But multi-purpose family SUV... meh). But as a baby carrying tool, it has been fantastic.

Couldn't agree more with this. Crossovers win hands down when it comes to comfort and practicality of dealing with kids in the back. I also could not recommend a rotating child seat enough (for younger kids). We used a standard seat for a while then bought a Britax Romer and it was the single best thing we got. On the dear side but worth it 100 times over.

We've had a 2012 Sportage and just today took delivery of a Peugeot 5008 to replace the current CR-V. Not trying to sell you mine but for pricing info I'll be selling a March 2015 CR-V 1.6 diesel EX Manual, 21.5k miles for around £18k. Sat nav, front & rear sensors, reverse camera, electric tailgate, pano roof, leather heated electric seats, etc. The Jap/Korean crossovers are usually loaded with kit.

That's not to say family saloons/estates aren't great family cars (also have an A4 avant) but for sheer practicality we'll be using SUVs as buses for the foreseeable future

[Actus Reus]

A nice, used, Skoda Yeti would be my pick. Wonderful little motors.

[ZX10R NIN]

a said:

I used to think the same, but our little SUV (Hyudai Tucson) has been great as a baby-mobile. Modern extended rear-facing child seats are so big that you need a MASSIVE car to keep any front seat legroom at all. But with the raised seat position of an SUV, your legs go more down, rather than stretching straight ahead, which means it's a lot more comfortable to sit further forward. Also it's nice not having to lean down to place a wriggly 14kg lump in his car seat several times a day.
There's no reason to skimp on spec - we have navigation, bluetooth, heated seats, multi-position boot with full size spare, tilting rear backrest (each side tilts independently), dual zone climate control and plenty more.
Extra speed would be pointless, it's not like I'm flooring it everywhere with a one year old in the car.

As a car, it's not my favourite. I'm not a fan of SUVs (dedicated off-roader... great! But multi-purpose family SUV... meh). But as a baby carrying tool, it has been fantastic.

The Mondeo estate has more legroom to a Sportage (I was surprised by this too) with two rear facing seats, I was looking for a client who was 6'6 so we tried a few options but ended up with two that stood out & they were a Skoda Superb/Mondeo Estate.

He went for the Mondeo (which is 40cm longer than the Sportage) but both suited his needs, they have everything you list with slightly lower running costs but I accept people want what they want.

[londoncalling80]

ilikejam said:

for sheer practicality we'll be using SUVs as buses for the foreseeable future

That was my original thinking on the SUV / Crossover options... is there any risk to servicing / maintenance of the Yeti as it's been discontinued by Skoda?

[oldcynic]

I can’t imagine any problem getting the Yeti serviced for the foreseeable future- it’s not like skoda’s gone bust.

For what you need and where you live it’s a good compromise on size - something like a mondeo estate will be noticeably longer and harder to park

[TonyF55]

My vote would be one of these for a family carrier and hassle free motoring. I also think they are better looking than a Nissan Qashqai and maybe roomier. You also gain over 5 years of manufacturer warranty remaining so as an ownership prospect, you just pay your insurance/fuel and not have to worry about big bills.



Link

[kieranblenk]

100% for the Yeti, I love them.

[GreatGranny]

Hard to look past the Sportage for value and ease of ownership with the 5 year warranty.

IMO they also look ok.

Yeti is a good shout if you're ok with no warranty.

Definitely go for petrol auto.

Have you off road parking? If not then I wouldn't spend a huge amount. It will get parking dings/scratches etc...

[londoncalling80]

Thanks all for the comments - really helpful.

[ilikejam]

Would you consider leasing? Can be a cheap way to get into a new car if you do low annual mileage and not bothered about your name being on the V5. Check out the 'Lease Deals' thread on here (although there's not a great deal of offers right now). It pays to not be too fussy about exactly what car you want though.

I just took delivery of a Peugeot 5008 GT Line that was on offer and worked out around 1 x £1800 + 23 x £190/month for 10k miles p/a. Deal's gone now but a decent example. When I went into a local dealer and asked for a PCP quote for the same car it was £7500 deposit plus £450/month for 3 years on 8k miles p/a (obviously this could be negotiated). I'll pay around £6300 over 2 years for a brand new £32k (list) car. When it goes back in 2 years I'll look for the next good deal on whatever's on offer at the time.