AvantSE Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 The Wife and I our expecting our first child at the end of October, and are agreed that her car (Fiesta Zetec-S) is going to be far too small for the associated clobber that comes with offspring. I have an A4 Avant so that is not too bad. We are thinking of selling the Fester (poss worth about £3K??) and spending a similar amount of money on a bigger car, BUT WHAT? To complicate matters further, we also have a big lollopy labrador that goes most places with us, so I am thinking along the lines of Passat estate or similar sized car. Only problem is, wifey hates estate cars. Any ideas people ? Just to recap: 1) Must cost no more than £5K 2) Must be reliable 3) Insurance cost not too much of a worry 4) Child and labrador carrying capacity must be high Cheers, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drpellypo Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Yikes, that's quite restrictive given your budget and no estate car rule. What about a van, or dare I say it, a 4x4? I would guess something like a golf would also be too small, and with that budget I'm not sure you'd get c-max or similar baby mpv? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvantSE Posted May 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 It's the wife you see, thinks an estate would be "too big" for her, yet she says she would like a 4x4, doh. Golf would be fine by me, but too small I think. I really am racking my brains but drawing a blank. Please, someone come up with something, or we'll end up with a Frontera Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuntimeFrankie Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 How many times have we seen women at the supermarket (sorry, stereotyping a little), trying to bundle kids, shopping, pram and various other junk into the bag of a hatchback, they look well p1ssed off! I put money on it, your missus will be grateful of a small estate, if you get her one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvantSE Posted May 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 TBH I used to have a Focus estate company car a couple of cars ago, it was surprising how much junk that thing could swallow - it was always called upon to cart furniture about and take stuff to the tip. In fact, thinking about it, I am sure it was more versatile than the Avant due to it having a high roof and flattish rear window. Personally, I would go for a Passat/A4 type jobby but she's having none of it, and said the Focus (hatch) is "too common" ! I think she's expecting a 4-seater convertible with enough room for everything, on our very tight budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuntimeFrankie Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 How about, keep the Avant, and tell her that with the money your were going to spend on a new car, you'll take her on a holiday, as it'll be the last bit of freedom you EVER, EVER HAVE!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvantSE Posted May 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 If I did that, she'd accept and then start going on about the car when we got back ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuntimeFrankie Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Women, don't you love 'em Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccombie_5 Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 How about a 99-00 Golf Estate? Still fairly small but it's an estate so it should take a fair bit of gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bounce Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 [ QUOTE ] but it's an estate so it should take a fair bit of gear [/ QUOTE ] But she don't want an estate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccombie_5 Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] but it's an estate so it should take a fair bit of gear [/ QUOTE ] But she don't want an estate! [/ QUOTE ] Yes, but if its a small one she may be won over My dad's wife wanted a Toyota Hilux until he talked to her about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Five door golf GTI Mark 3 - sorted! Loads of room, rear seats can go down. Enough room for the dog in the back minus parcel shelf! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccombie_5 Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Five door golf GTI Mark 3 - sorted! Loads of room, rear seats can go down. Enough room for the dog in the back minus parcel shelf! [/ QUOTE ] Actually, yes. Julie's TDI is a five door and there's plenty of space in the back and front with a big boot too! AvantSE, is there an age limit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bounce Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 I've always had little ish cars, i can get all my 3 and there rubbish in my golf no probs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve2 Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 older Toyota Rav4? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvantSE Posted May 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Golf estates have always looked boring but the one you pictured actually looks OK - maybe whatever we get, I will just have to work my magic Wife would probably go for Rav4 but I wouldn't and I will be contributing financially... can see where you're coming from though. What is bizarre is that she has just seen a Vectra 2.5 V6 SRi estate (yes, estate) on Autotrader and thinks it's nice. God help me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuntimeFrankie Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccombie_5 Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Golf estates have always looked boring but the one you pictured actually looks OK - maybe whatever we get, I will just have to work my magic Wife would probably go for Rav4 but I wouldn't and I will be contributing financially... can see where you're coming from though. What is bizarre is that she has just seen a Vectra 2.5 V6 SRi estate (yes, estate) on Autotrader and thinks it's nice. God help me. [/ QUOTE ] That Golf does look quite good, I always thought them a bit borng too but those wheels set it off, it could be worse it could have the front of a Bora on it.. some do. The Vectra SRi isnt a bad car, and its got a few toys too, its the base models like ours that suck! Although you may notice a difference in build quality between your Avant and a Vectra, I'm not sure it'd be as noticable for your missus, coming from a Fester. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Renault Scenic - more an mini MPV than an estate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvantSE Posted May 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Mccombie, no particular age limit though the car she would be selling is a mint 2001 Y-plate so whatever replaces it can't look too shabby. Depends what it is I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 [ QUOTE ] It's the wife you see, thinks an estate would be "too big" for her, yet she says she would like a 4x4, doh. Golf would be fine by me, but too small I think. I really am racking my brains but drawing a blank. Please, someone come up with something, or we'll end up with a Frontera [/ QUOTE ] You really don't need anything huge just for babies. Its when they get 5+ years old that they need the legroom. 5 doors and room in the boot for a pushchair makes most sense. We got an Accord with our first baby, and never needed the room. Modern cars have bags of space, so don't punish yourself with a hideous mpv or pointless 4x4 (which generally don't have loads of interior space given their size anyway), a 5 door Golf would do the trick nicely IMHO ! Go for it ! (good luck BTW) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bounce Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Renault Scenic [/ QUOTE ] Sheds loads of room in a scenic, i had one, but it was really dull, not sure what you would do with the dog though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Renault Scenic [/ QUOTE ] Sheds loads of room in a scenic, i had one, but it was really dull, not sure what you would do with the dog though [/ QUOTE ] Scenic ? God I HATE those. Its transport, nothing more. Surely you want to live a little ?! (I'm only bitter coz the missus wants to swap our golf gti for one, silly silly woman ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccombie_5 Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Mccombie, no particular age limit though the car she would be selling is a mint 2001 Y-plate so whatever replaces it can't look too shabby. Depends what it is I suppose. [/ QUOTE ] How about a Seat Leon? More for your money than a Golf there. Although hatchback only, maybe this will suit your missus better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manderson Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Well i had very similar needs and budget,Ended up with a subaru legacy estate gx 2.5 all wheel drive,full leather,fully equiped,2 sunroofs. loads and loads of room in the rear, and its a complete dream to drive!!! £5000 got me a 2001(y plate) with 65k on her! Alot of car for the money ps i know you said she didnt want a estate but want ed to add my wee bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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