Family of 4...car needed!

Fabio

Hi lads,

I'll set out the story immediately. Basically we are a family of four, kids in their late teens and we are looking for a car that will hold all four of us comfortably.

We have a maximum of €15000 to spend so we'll be looking secondhand, trading in our 2002 Toyota Corolla saloon which, though reliable, just ain't big enough for us.

I like my cars and am told I am a bit knowledgeable about them (though not as much as most here!) and whittled out a list of cars for us to look at...

- VW Passat
- Renault Laguna
- Nissan Primera
- Nissan Tino (the mpv type thingy...looks nice and roomy with a lot of standard extras and spotted one for sale in Tralee for €11000).
- Opel Zafira (again, spotted one in Tralee for €12500)
- Opel Vectra
- Ford Mondeo

Any of these from 2004 upwards and they'd have to have a 1.6 petrol or 1.9/2.0 diesel.

Is there any more I should add to that list and is there any in that list that should be out in front as contenders for my cash?

I need them to have a lot of room inside, legroom really. I also would like if a lot of extras came with the car but that is a serious variable on any used car, it just depends on what you find! Obviously reliability and economy are serious matters too.

Lads thanks for ye're help in advance!

groupb

I would go for the mondeo. Its easliest the roomiest of the saloon cars , very relabile , good spec , great value , handles suberbly and led its class until its replacement came.

Fabio

To be honest I never lied the Mondeo...though it's a fine car, very well made and rides beautifully. I've been driven around in the ST220 and wow!!!

I dunno...I've always liked the Primera for some reason...

Cionád

Have you considered the Skoda Superb?
If your looking for legroom, you will not be disappointed!

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Skoda/Superb/1.9-TDI/911840/

Rowley Birkin QC

+1 for the Superb if it's room and comfort you are after. They are huge inside.

Maybe a 2.0 TDi would be the way to go though, they are a big car afterall.

peasant

I would second the Mondeo and the Superb

Laguna and Vectra are simply not good/reliable enough

With kids in the late teens I'd re-consider the nanny-wagons Zafira and Nissan Tino ...they might be ashamed to be seen in one

Maybe even a Mondeo estate? ...lots of room for sports gear...

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Ford/Mondeo/TDCi-Zetec/827370/

Fabio

Hmmm that looks very good...more legroom than an S-Class I hear!!!

They aren't a common car but they look very classy alright...any idea what it's like for economy and is it easy to drive?

eamon234

Have you considered the Ford C-Max? The 1.6 diesel is a great engine the rear seats can be adjusted from 3 to 2 with loads of room - solid car.

Cionád

A good source for figures on performance / MPG figures etc is: http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/

The diesel Superb should manage around 48MPG, I have not had the pleasure of driving one myself.

niceirishfella

groupb wrote: »

I would go for the mondeo. Its easliest the roomiest of the saloon cars , very relabile , good spec , great value , handles suberbly and led its class until its replacement came.

+1. Go Mondeo - loads to choose from too in the marketplace and uber reliable. I had 2 of em and they never missed a beat - great cars.
Way, Way, Way more stylish than the skoda - and a better car.

Cionád

niceirishfella wrote: »

Way, Way, Way more stylish than the skoda - and a better car.

To be fair style is subjective, I'd prefer the looks of the Skoda.

niceirishfella

Cionád wrote: »

To be fair style is subjective, I'd prefer the looks of the Skoda.

Agreed - style is subjective.
I will say tho' that the styling of the current superb is not unlike the styling of the 97> vw passat and hence is quite dated.

nogoodnamesleft

If your after a Passat in the Tralee area there is one for sale on the main Killarney to Tralee Road in Farrenfore opposite Liam Lynches Garage on the Killarney side. Its going for 15,000euros 2004 1.9tdi, its either a base of a comfortline by the looks of it (it has vw alloys) prob 100bhp model.

Biro

Mazda 6 is the most sensible, and reliable option!

niceirishfella

Biro wrote: »

Mazda 6 is the most sensible, and reliable option!

True - the mazda 6 is a great car too!
And a hatchback version would give more boot space.

MuffinsDa

Some suggestions (you can see I'm more inclined towards Eurothrash/luxury cars ):

hard to beat this one for comfort and safety: http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Volvo/S80/2.0-T/936037/
(styling may not be to everyone's taste)

For something even more substantial:
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/A6/2.0/634915/
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/BMW/520/520i-top/819743/

And again, safe, comfortable and reasoably roomy:
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Saab/9-3/TID-LINEAR/958196/
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Saab/9-3/1.8i-Linear/979584/

And for practicality, and all around sensibility!:
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Mazda/Mazda6/Comfort-Estate/858572/

Fabio

The Superb is lovely but is it easy enough to drive?

My mother would be doing a lot of driving in it and it could well be intimidating to her!

I see that no one has commented on the Primera yet...she's egging for that I think!

The Volvo you threw up there was stunning...love that car though one of the Saabs mileage was a bit high.

Thank you for taking the time to sort those links out too.

Lauder

Great Value vectra here. Considering the quality engine in it and the fact that the book price is 19grand looks like a good deal.
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Opel/Vectra/1.9L-CDTi/910512/

HashSlinging

ticks all the boxes, and 5 stars for safety.

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/SEAT/Altea/1.9-TDi/802890/

groupb

Fabio wrote: »

Hmmm that looks very good...more legroom than an S-Class I hear!!!

They aren't a common car but they look very classy alright...any idea what it's like for economy and is it easy to drive?

My 1.8 zetec petrol never dropped below 30mpg even around town.The handling does'nt suffer and they are really comfortable on a long journey. I towed a boat , with four people on board and their luggage for two weeks with ease.
The boot is massive and you should pick one up cheaply as they only appeal to a small group of people. It was easily the best all round car I have ever owned. I only sold it because I got a company car (passat - aka the s*** box).

ninty9er

Audi A6 1.8T

BMW 520 Touring

Beemer 525

Citroën C5

Honda Accord *old model*

Peugeot 607 Diesel

Renault Vel Satis

Subaru Legacy

Toyota Camry

Passat Highline TDI

Volvo S80 D5

Volvo V70 T5

and for something different
Renault Avantime

If your mom is worried about big cars, it's a matter of acclimatising. My mam doesn't like driving my astra a lot because it's bigger than her usual, a Yaris, But she used to drive a Carina and big Merc van like, but not quite as long as this. Your mam will acclimatise to whatever size car ye all decide on. It's just that the bigger ones like those above, with the possible exception of Passat and Accord will be the most comfortable for 4 adults. Plus you say teens which probably means a lot of nationwide travel looking at college etc in the next few years...so bigger=better for safety (not always but generally in your range).

Nodnedlog

__________________


"If you have 4 kids under 6, this year you'll be €9,428 better off than your UK counterpart as a result of Children's Allowance and Early Childcare Supplement, if they're all over 6 but under 18 (19 if in Full time education); you'll still be better off to the tune of €5,028.
If you're a non-contributary pensioner you'll have been €5078 better off than your best served public pension counterpart in the UK in 2007. If you received a contributary pension in 2007 you'll have been €6018 better off than that same UK counterpart.
In addiditon no Irish resident pays Council Tax, which still applies to pensioners, the disabled and unemployed in the UK."

What's this got to do with choosing a family car for four?

I'll give my vote to the Mazda 6 BTW - super car.

ninty9er

Nodnedlog wrote: »

__________________


"If you have 4 kids under 6, this year you'll be €9,428 better off than your UK counterpart as a result of Children's Allowance and Early Childcare Supplement, if they're all over 6 but under 18 (19 if in Full time education); you'll still be better off to the tune of €5,028.
If you're a non-contributary pensioner you'll have been €5078 better off than your best served public pension counterpart in the UK in 2007. If you received a contributary pension in 2007 you'll have been €6018 better off than that same UK counterpart.
In addiditon no Irish resident pays Council Tax, which still applies to pensioners, the disabled and unemployed in the UK."

What's this got to do with choosing a family car for four?

I'll give my vote to the Mazda 6 BTW - super car.

It's my sig....anyone can add on. It shows up at the end of all posts. Some people have a description of what their computer runs, I have that. You can create/change it in User CP on the top left of your screen

coolbeans

Ditto for the Mazda6 Turbo Diesel. 100k and nothing wrong. I expect another 100k fault free. How about this bad boy?
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Mazda/Mazda6/2.0-TDI/952736/
Colour not great but I'm in a hurry!