"family" Car Time

[jackherer 543]

Dont know why I overlooked the Mondeo. Will definatley look them. Didn't you have a bit of bother with your clutch a few months ago?

 

Those dual mass flywheel clutches seem to be an expensive problem on any car they are fitted to, its not just a Ford issue.

[Cameron 16]

Yeah the flywheel wore out!

 

Ford are ok for servicing prices (I do any work myself though), seem to be the same-ish as Peugeot parts. They wanted an obscene amount of money to replace the flywheel though, £1250! I think it was only the early Mk3's that had flywheel issues, so try and get one post 2004/5 if you decide on it. On a good note, the timing chains never need to be replaced.

[brumster 135 1 Cars]

From experience :-

 

'04 Mondeo Estate 2.0 TDci LX 130 - nice, simple, steady car that ticks the boxes. Plenty of room, drives nice. Diesel engine and gearbox horrible though - constantly cog-swapping - and unrefined. Good build quality though.

'08 Passat Estate Sport 2.0 CR TDi 140, with DSG - build quality not what you'd expect of a VW, but drives much nicer than the Mondeo. Engine and gearbox perfect combination, also very quiet and refined - just the creaks and squeeks that annoyed me.

'10 Octavia vRS Estate 2.0 TFSi - pick it up Saturday; I'll tell you then

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

I've an 04 reg A4 1.9 TDi Avant, I was lucky to find a nice one with highish miles (135k, full history and had done 85k in the previous 18 months on the motorway, had previously been supplied to the guy I bought it off as an "approved used audi" from an audi main dealer) for a decent price (well inside your budget) locally 12 months ago. The Mondeo is certainly a bigger car, but in my opinion the Audi is far nicer finished. My best mate has a Mondeo which I've driven quite a lot so I can compare.

The other big thing is that the Audi will hold its value far far better than a Ford or Vauxhall, 12 months ago I sold my previous A4 Avant which was S registration, for £1600. Similar S reg Ford or Vauxhall cars were certainly sub-£1000 at the time.

Parts wise I have found the main dealer can actually be suprisingly reasonable for certain things. For example, I needed a new water exp tank cap, £12.99 on ebay for a pattern, or £7 from the dealer for a genuine. I had a problem with the boot switch meaning the alarm would go off, sadly it was built into the tailgate lock, but a new one from the dealer was £40, not so bad for what it was. Servicing wise I do it myself, but all the filters, oil, etc, can actually be bought from the dealer at comparable cost to retail price at the motor factors. I get trade at my factor which alters the balance a little, but I like using geniune parts on my car as you know they will fit right and are the correct spec, so my A4 gets genuine service stuff.

[welshpug 1,657]

308 SW does the job nicely, my brother in law has one as a company car and it has plenty of space for the twins and their stuff (4 months old)

 

Drives very well, uses sod all fuel, very comfortable seats, he has back trouble and this car doesn't aggravate it like the KIA's he had whilst waiting for this one to turn up.

 

not sure what your budget is though, they've been out a short while though.

[HERMAN 33]

We have a 51 plate diesel Zafira. It does the job of carrying me, the missis and the 4 kids around. It is good on fuel and with the seats down it is like having a baby transit.It is not to bad on parts prices either. I can not it fault really for what it is but if I did not have 4 kids I would probably be going for somthing like the octavia, passat or saab95. A freind has a Mondeo and he has had some body rust problems on his. I know it sounds a bit old man but look for the safest car that you can get. (Zafira is not great on the safty front).

Regards

Neil

[Masekwm 2]

And thanks for all the "congratulations"! The due date is 4th April, which seems ages away, but I know it's gonna fly by! I don't think it's really sunk in yet to be honest, maybe a new car will help

 

Deano!

 

Congrats, our first is due 11 days later.

 

I just want something with plenty of space in the boot. The 207 has an average size boot, which is OK, but we struggled to get a push chair in the back when we picked one up the other week. Plus with other stuff we need to travel with, it would be a very tight squeeze! Best to play it safe and go slightly too big rather than slightly too small.

 

I'd consider changing the pushchair, my Mrs is a nanny and used a Ford Ka for 7 years as a nannycar and didn't have a problem.

 

Depending how long you are intending to keep the car, you could consider a PCP deal, we got our Mazda2 at £160pm for 2 years (3 years was less) after 2 years, we can pay £4k for it, trade it for another car or hand it back to the finance company and walk away. Whilst waiting for the car in the dealership, just after signing the finance papers, the Mrs felt ill, pregnancy test the next day and

[hcmini1989 16]

Right my two pence i would steer well clear of the mondeo`s unless its seriously low milege.They seem to hit around 100k milege and then start having serious problems .When i say serious problems i dont mean clutch and flywheel problems i mean fuel pump problems be it low pressure pump wich arent that hard to sort .But the high pressure one its a nightmare to do .Then youve got injector problems another costly do wich have to indavidualy progamed to the car .Then theres ecm faults wich are allso a nightmare to do and really hard to diagnose becuase of the high pressure pump.

 

 

Im talking from experience here not just on one car but on a fleet of taxis . So if it were me i would steer well clear of them and the petrol ones aswell because they get to around 100-120k and normally require another engine or a rebuild because there burning oil .But when ther working right they are a nice car

 

Ok rant over

 

Allthough i cant comment on the audi`s as i have never had one but if i was looking for something i would go for something like a 406 hdi or maybe a 306 estate

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

I agree with Anthony that, especially for one child, you don't need an estate. You'll be lugging a lot of fresh air around with you all the time! We did perfectly fine with 2 kids (inc cot and high chair) on a 2 week self catering holiday in Wales with a 307 and a roofbox. Women tend to go over the top and want a massive pushchair for their first and you will soon realise it is a pin in the backside and you need a Discovery to fit it in! it is not really logical to spend £5k to hold a £300 pushchair.

 

So save yourself a load of cash and get some roofbars from ebay and borrow / hire a roofbox off someone when you are going away

 

 

Oh and I love my 307 90 HDI that I have had for 5 years. It has been faultless bar wishbone bushes and one ball joint. 110 ones have dual mass flywheel problems

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

Depending how long you are intending to keep the car, you could consider a PCP deal, we got our Mazda2 at £160pm for 2 years (3 years was less) after 2 years, we can pay £4k for it, trade it for another car or hand it back to the finance company and walk away.

 

Be warned that you usually can't just 'walk' away from a PCP deal. Most get caught out by the fair wear & tear charges associated with such deals including myself. I had a BMW on such a deal and was the worst thing I've ever done financially. The wear & tear guidelines are very strict, and you will get billed for the slightest damage. Thankfully, the bloke that took my BMW was leaniant, and I managed to 'only' get charged £500 for scuffed alloys, and a 5p size dent on the bonnet.

 

If it's just for family work, I'd suggest a 307 or better still, a Focus, particularly the TDCi version. Had one of these years ago, when I was going to Southampton Uni once a week through work and it was great to drive. Half capable too. Had a 307, and whilst it was the slow-arse 90bhp model, it was very practical. Chopped it in for a new BMW 120d MSport, and found out how good the 307 was as a family wagon. Boot and rear access/legroom is awful on a 1 series, shame as the diesel lump is the best 2ltr DERV I've driven coupled to a great chassis.

 

330ds are very quick, more still with a remap but you have to look out for the knackered turbos and swirl flaps in the inlet manifold. They break, get sucked in to the engine and the rest is a big bill. You can guess what I've been eyeing up for a chariot though

[Masekwm 2]

You can hand any car back that is on finance once you've paid half of the advance. Without penalty, it's part of the consumer credit act which regulates the contract (This may effect your credit rating).

 

If you want to "hand the car back" as part of some of the other deals out there, then you'd possibly be penalised as you were. However, I'm sure most just buy or part ex the car.

Edited October 6, 2010 by Masekwm

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Avoid Vauxhall's, Bad on pretty much everything I think, Controls, Equipment and general finish is poor, Plus Rust is a major issue or will be in time plus I'd personally avoid any MPV type car as whats the point, You get seats but no boot space and pay for the type of car.

 

As said either a Estate or Hatch, Everyone's personal but having done around 280k in my last 406 I got another one, Nothing ever went wrong or fell off along with a huge boot and towing capicity and good finish plus easy to work on, Well the V6 is anyway

 

Mazda is another option and having had a 6 Estate during a job it would be on my short list above the Mondeo although a good choice

 

A4 is too small and I have no idea why people are hung up on the VW reliblity thing, Its not true above anything else mainsteam

[Cameron 16]

..Im talking from experience here not just on one car but on a fleet of taxis..

 

How large was the fleet and how many developed all of these problems?

[hcmini1989 16]

How large was the fleet and how many developed all of these problems?

There was 20 mondeos not all diesel but they all devolped one of the faults above not every fault i mean .There was about 4 petrol ones wich in the end were sold for less than £300 you couldnt give them away.The deisels how ever were all fixed just costing a fortune they start to slowly devolp problems like not reving from cold and running like a bag of crap when cold wich then goes onto fluffing out at traffic lights etc .They are really hard to diagnose faults with aswell becuase the faults above are all closely linked so when you think its an injector you sort them out and its the pump and likewise with the pump.And the ecm ties in there aswell

 

We didnt find the dual mass flywheels to be a problem just costly you can buy a kit to replace it with a solid flywheel .But there was a design fault they only put one pickup on the flywheel for the crank sensor there needs to be two .They might have replaced it now this was last year .I dont work there anymore .

 

We tried the 407s as a taxi while i was there and it was horrendus to many things went wrong on it the dashboard was like blackpool illuminations

 

As i said cam as long as there not starship milege there all right and a good car but when they start to play up get rid .

 

 

oh and not all were tdci`s some where tddi`s aswell i cant remember how many excactly but there werent many of the tddi`s

Edited October 6, 2010 by hcmini1989

[The Arch Bishop 0]

Our SEAT Altea 1.9 TDI has done us proud for almost four years now. It's battered and encrusted with child debris but is still nice to drive, gets about 55mpg on average and has lots of torque. It's also been utterly reliable. Only down-side is the boot won't quite take a standard child buggy straight across.

 

On the flip-side, your 207 will be more than enough to tote you all about. Other than the lack of rear doors being a bit of a pain, I can't see why you'd bother changing it. We once decided to go for a weekend away with baby in a Citroen C1. It was a bit of a squeeze, but we manged no problem.

[Cameron 16]

Yikes! Mine has been brilliant so far, it's on 99,800 miles though so fingers crossed from now.

 

Problems I've experienced are bonnet catch corrosion, rear door lock not working, silencer rusted through, worn rear wheel bearings and DMF failure.

[hcmini1989 16]

Yikes! Mine has been brilliant so far, it's on 99,800 miles though so fingers crossed from now.

 

Problems I've experienced are bonnet catch corrosion, rear door lock not working, silencer rusted through, worn rear wheel bearings and DMF failure.

Fingers crossed for you mate .Youll know when it starts to play up as they always go funny when cold it`ll sound like its missing .Ive seen a few about well looked after ones my tutors car at college was quite high milege but alright and my mate has just bought a high milege st mondeo 2,2 tdci wich is 200k and seems ok .One thing to remeber its your car so you care about it taxi drivers dont give a toss fastest cars on the road well second to hire cars .So it could have been a large contributing factor .But they all had one problem or another so i couldnt say

 

But as you said cam the audis have there problems aswell just i have`nt had the joys of fixing them .

 

 

Anyways they are a very good car and i dont think audis have gone down hill like other people have said there not as well made as they used to be .But i think its the other cars have caught up to german build quality .

 

 

Back on topic ,The biggest contributing factor is are you going to be fixing it your self.

[bluesleeper 3]

anybody thought of a honda crv? my wife is pregnant with twins and wants something a bit taller, any thoughts on these??

 

sorry to steal the topic just thought it might be another option for you?

 

Gareth

[Cameron 16]

..my mate has just bought a high milege st mondeo 2,2 tdci..

 

 

[MrG 3]

you'll find out quickly that most of the rubbish you're told you need you actually don't and you end up 'as a family' to carry less around with you. All the bulk feels like its needed but like most thing they're not a necessity one the nipper has been around for a few months!! Then slowly all that rubbish gets left indoors.

 

Anyhow I'm a Volvo fan, even a high mileage 'cheap' 850 estate will provide years of sterling service and is both comfortable and easy to drive, they're not that big at all. And are IMO a better proposition to the BMW 5 series.

I'd even look at the saloons, massive space in both the Volvo V70 & 850, and the rear seats fold flat/split in two.

 

I'd steer clear of the 3 series estate at the price you're looking at, they're lifestyle estates and take very little in the way of boot rubbish etc, but they're good around town (we had one for 7 years).

[Stevo309 0]

I had the exact same conversation with a mate of mine this week who is due a baby in the next 3 weeks and his 406 has just been written off.

 

I'd echo the comments on here about Audi and also question the need for a huge car. I have 2 children now (2 years old and 8 years old) and when the first one came along i updated from a Fiesta to an A4 saloon (1.8T). It would have been nice very occasionally to have an estate or even a hatch (when buying furniture) but actually the boot is cavernous and has always been large enough for travel system, high chair, clothes etc. We only ever load it fully when we go away and even now with 2 kids it's still big enough. After literally a few months with a baby the amount of kit you need to cart around quickly gets less. Leg room in the back isn't so good but for kids it's not an issue.

 

You do pay more for an Audi for sure but they don't lose value so much, you get more for your money with something like a Mondeo or Jap for sure but speaking from personal experience the Audi which i have owned for 7 years has been 100% reliable (Now jinxed it probably).

 

Congrats by the way

[maturin23 10]

We've had a mk 2 Focus diesel from new (2005) and it's been a brilliant family car.

 

2.0 / 6 speed so plenty of shove (136ps, 240 lbft ), I seem to get around 45 mpg doing 80/90.

It's comfortable and feel great on fast A roads, easier to drive quickly than either of my other cars.

 

I've driven a few equivalent Peugeot/VW cars and I'm always shocked how badly they handle by comparision. I had a brand new 408 SW as a hire care on holiday this summer and it was dangerously bad round the bends.

 

I actually think the mk2 estates in dark blue look quite nice, but then I would say that.

 

Only costs above servicing in the first 50k miles has been a new tailgate lock solenoid.

 

This looks interesting and local to you... Worth a drive if you've not tried the 2.0 diesel.

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...us/30?logcode=p

Edited October 7, 2010 by maturin23

[CaptainK 11]

Congrats on the new upcoming kid

 

But as said by a few above, don't go too crazy swapping cars etc, as though maybe a bit more practical its not necessary. I know a few people in the FTO club that use their FTOs as family cars and have brought up 2 or more kids with them and go on holiday holidays with said kids in said FTO (you'd be surprised how much stuff you can fit in their boots).

 

But on to your question - I'd go for the Audi A4 Avant or the Mondeo Estate TDCi. Both nice looking cars and quick with good MPG. Another option possibly is the Audi A3 Sportback. It seems the 5 door version of the A3 is called a "sportback" and has a more "upright" rear hatch closer to that of an estate, thus offering some more space. I've been thinking about "practical" cars as well recently as the missus and I have moved into our own house together and will be do the family thing in a few years. Ideally I'd want a BMW 330d Touring or the Audi A4 3.0TDi Quattro Avant for the power, but doubt the missus will let me spend that much on the car and so forth.

[Bogsye 22]

Congrats on your news. Great stuff!!

 

We don't have kids yet, but I've been training my wife to enusre we can keep to smaller sporty cars.

My defining moment this year was a weekend camping - we managed to get the tent, stools, food, stove, etc.. into the S2000 (car, not Iveco van!).

 

Stage 2 of the plan is to graduate up to a 2 door coupe type thing - back seats! How spacious wil that be! Awesomely practical!

 

In seriousness though her Polo is about to become a Golf, so hopefully that should do a for while. For weekend/holiday trips I'm planning to get a roof box, as 9 times out of 10 the car should be spacious enough. Could have gone for an A3 Sportback as it's a bit more practical, but the discount on a Golf was pretty good..

 

Brian

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

You can hand any car back that is on finance once you've paid half of the advance. Without penalty, it's part of the consumer credit act which regulates the contract (This may effect your credit rating).

 

If you want to "hand the car back" as part of some of the other deals out there, then you'd possibly be penalised as you were. However, I'm sure most just buy or part ex the car.

 

AFAIK whenever you hand a car back, whether early/part ex etc (unless you keep the car) as part of any PCP deal, it is inspected against BVRLA guidelines for fair wear & tear. A PCP deal is a glorified hire car and as a result you have the car checked for damage like a hire car. I've heard some horror stories regarding the check. A lot of people get caught out by it! As an example, I had a small chip in the windscreen in front of the driver, and they wanted £900 for a new windscreen. Check out your small print, if the 'fair, wear & tear' is in there, then take care of the car. If not........

 

BTT, get the Focus. The new shape is much bigger than previous model and better to drive than an A3.