Thoughts on a large 2nd hand family car?

youcancallmeal

I've currently got a Skoda Superb on a pcp deal, very happy with it and will probably pay the bubble payment and keep it when it's due in 18 months. Now with a 2nd child it's becoming increasingly harder to do things so we're looking at a 2nd car. I started out with a budget of around 10k in my head thinking we'd get a decent 5/6 year old mid size car for that. Seems I'm wrong which I'm quite surprised about. In 2012 we bought a 2006 Mazda 3 for around 6.5k which was even a bit over the going rate for a 6 year Mazda 3 at the time if I remember correctly. Now if I look at a 2013 Mazda 3 it's in the range of 15k! I'm not sure what explains a 100% increase in the price of a 2nd hand Mazda 3 in 6 years.

Anyway all that aside we're looking at the likes of Mazda 3, Ibiza, Corsa, Golf, Fabia. Only 2 main requirements is large interior space/boot and petrol engine. Has to be petrol as it will rarely be doing long distance drives. I've had bad dpf issues when using a diesel for short city journeys in the past. I'm leaning towards a Fabia like this one simply because we've had such a good experience with the Superb so far. Is it better to go for the newer 1l engine instead of the older 1.2l?

bazz26

I think your reasoning is a little flawed. Cars have grown in size, standard equipment is higher these days than it was 10 or 15 years ago so prices increase. You also have to take economic factors into account too such as inflations, average wage, etc.

Regarding what it buy, how old are the children? A Fabia is fine for ferrying around two children if it's just them in the car. However children also have stuff that goes with them everywhere so you need to think about that too. Can the Superb be used if there isn't room in a Fabia for the kids and their stuff or does defeat the purpose of the second car?

colm_mcm

Used car prices were at a low in 2012 because of the economy. I bought my last car for well under what they were going for 3 years later.

Ref the Fabia, id go for the 1.0 over the 1.2, it’s a newer design and they’re very economical.

That said, I’d also look at the likes of a Kia Rio that’s have lots of warranty left. Worth pointing out that these (and the Fabia) are in a class size below the likes of the Golf/Focus/Mazda3 etc

A Skoda Rapid or Seat Toledo also might fit the bill of an in-between size.

youcancallmeal

bazz26 wrote: »

I think your reasoning is a little flawed. Cars have grown in size, standard equipment is higher these days than it was 10 or 15 years ago so prices increase. You also have to take economic factors into account too such as inflations, average wage, etc.

Regarding what it buy, how old are the children? A Fabia is fine for ferrying around two children if it's just them in the car. However children also have stuff that goes with them everywhere so you need to think about that too. Can the Superb be used if there isn't room in a Fabia for the kids and their stuff or does defeat the purpose of the second car?

Yeah I get what you're saying about 2nd car prices and would agree. I wonder does cost of insurance on 10+ year old cars these days play a part too. I think in 2012 insurance providers weren't ncreasing the premium drastically on older cars

I think we don't need a second car that has as much space as the Superb, we should be able to plan so that whenever we need to go anywhere with the kids and their stuff we'll use the Superb

David73

Just get a 2.0 tdci Mondeo

donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-mondeo/20882628

youcancallmeal

David73 wrote: »

Just get a 2.0 tdci Mondeo

donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-mondeo/20882628

It's tempting but risky. More expensive insurance and potential issues with an infrequently driven diesel engine. I'd say it might only be driven 5-10km a year.

bazz26

Plenty of petrol Octavias in that price range:

https://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=2204034&r=s.php%3Fm%5B%5D%3D80%26o%5B%5D%3D682%26f%3D1%26yn%3D2015%26pp%3D50%26g%3D0

um7y1h83ge06nx

If you like the Superb then a decent Octavia seems a good choice alright.

Shefwedfan

As you have a main combustion engine car then why not buy electric as a runaround

You will save money on fuel/tax/insurance/servicing etc.

Could be option instead of buying another fuel car with associated costs

Other option would be hybrid, Lexus CT200H could be decent and you could pick up cheap

listermint

Il go against the grain here.

You don't need a larger car than the superb you've two kids. It's fine .

If you need a second car for some other purposes like dual commuting then yes. But for your existing reasons keep your money in your pocket or for the balloon payment on the superb.

In no world is that a small car for the family of that size.

is this username available

1.4 tsi Passat?

ourheritage

The only car I'd buy if I was buying a small car would be a Polo especially if I had a young family as it is extremely important to have a big solid and safe car with the kind of driving on Irish roads today. I have taken a long look at what is in your price range that would fit this category. You are most likely to get a 2014 - 2016 car from a dealer in the 10k mark if it has a high mileage. I then thought of cars that are still seen on the roads today that would have been made from the late 90's onward's. To name a few were Focus's and Mondeo's and Astra's. The were some in franchise dealers however they were all diesels except for one Focus and that was a 1.6 petrol. The good news is that there a handful of 2011 - 2014 Astra's on Done Deal all from Franchise dealers with not to big a mileage including a 141D from a main Opel franchise dealer for 9995 with 49500 km. That is what I would be looking at if it was me. Best of luck.

colm_mcm

ourheritage wrote: »

The only car I'd buy if I was buying a small car would be a Polo especially if I had a young family as it is extremely important to have a big solid and safe car with the kind of driving on Irish roads today.

With respect, a Polo isn’t any better in a crash than your average small car.

Turbohymac

Well a superb is a huge car for only 2 children I'd say in hindsight your main car should probably have been an Octavia combi.. and as a second small but reliable car a petrol polo..fabia etc..
I wouldn't touch any opel models as there the current LADAS.. far too many issues compared to other similar prices cars..as for having 2 children..only last year there was a 1996 micra in a nearby town with 3 child seats squeezed into the rear seat..and that car certainly served its purpose and had a book value of only a few hundred euros..
Your best option now would be a low mileage polo..but on the other side I honestly think the superb is too large and possibly under used ..
Best of luck with whatever you go for

youcancallmeal

Turbohymac wrote: »

Well a superb is a huge car for only 2 children I'd say in hindsight your main car should probably have been an Octavia combi.. and as a second small but reliable car a petrol polo..fabia etc..
I wouldn't touch any opel models as there the current LADAS.. far too many issues compared to other similar prices cars..as for having 2 children..only last year there was a 1996 micra in a nearby town with 3 child seats squeezed into the rear seat..and that car certainly served its purpose and had a book value of only a few hundred euros..
Your best option now would be a low mileage polo..but on the other side I honestly think the superb is too large and possibly under used ..
Best of luck with whatever you go for

We did actually look at the Octavia combi at same time we were looking at Superb. I think in the end we were happy to spend a little extra for Superb as it was 0% pcp and the mid level ambition spec had more than the octavia ambition spec. Also we have these ridiculous rear facing child seats that take up a huge amount of room to the point that you couldn't even use the front passenger seat in our old Mazda 3 and tight enough even in an Octavia. It fits great in the Superb. Anyway I think we're set on a Fabia, going to have a look at some this weekend

Turbohymac

Well ..when children come along you need to cut your cloth to measure..a friend of mine has an Octavia combi vrs as main car and a 05 combi 4x4 as his second car..theres loads space in rear seats but more importantly a huge boot . ..happy hunting you should pick up something very decent and practical for under 10k. It just won't have bells and whistles..but will serve its purpose well.and you won't have near as much depreciation..just looking on done deal . Very nice 131 polos 8 to 9k. Whatever you go for stay around 2012 up and low mileage your budget is plenty

Bards

We have 2 kids, superb as main car and Fabia as second...just changed last month into another superb (L&K) and another Fabia Combi(Style) as we found that we just needed that little bit bigger boot in the Fabia when transporting kids and all their gear etc.

This is my 3rd Superb and just love the space and comfort etc.

ourheritage

colm_mcm wrote: »

With respect, a Polo isn’t any better in a crash than your average small car.

No problem then. Well then I would consider my recommendations