Opinions on a Second Car for a new mother

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Bolle123

Guest
My wife is expecting our first child in February so I was thinking of buying a second larger car for myself as we currently share an 02 Seat Leon.

Friends have suggested either a 5 series BMW or an Audi A6.

I'm not that fussed about cars to be honest so was a bit concerned about the tax and/or cost of repairs if something goes wrong with their suggestions.

The second car would be used by me for driving to work in Dublin every day (couple of miles in and out of the city) and the odd trip down the country during the year. Otherwise it would be mostly city driving. I wouldn't be interested in getting a people-carrier at this stage.

The budget is between €10,000 to €15,000 cash but if I can get something cheaper, I'd be more than happy to pay less.

Your thoughts?
 
We've had both and don't find either great with kids.
I hated the Audi particularly (A4) because its parking size was huge compared to the internal space. I have the same complaint about the BMW.

Both are expensive to run,tax and repair. The run-flat tyres on the BMW are a complete PITA.
In this weather both are rear wheel drive which performs shockingly in snow/ice and would be positively dangerous to have your children in.

Who ever is transporting the kids needs the larger car.
If you are like most people you will likely have another child in a 2 year period.

The "stuff" associated with small kids is huge.
The car seats take up alot of room and if you need to carry grandparents or anyone else a 5 + 2 seater is REALLy handy.

But methinks you want the car for yourself, which is fair enough, but neither are child friendly unless they have leather seats ....which are fantastic with kids.

You will get a newish Audi or BMW second hand in your price range...in fact i might be able to help ;)

In the meantime this link should reality orientate you to your new life as a motorist and parent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEFE3B0Rje0
 
My wife is expecting our first child in February so I was thinking of buying a second larger car for myself as we currently share an 02 Seat Leon.

Friends have suggested either a 5 series BMW or an Audi A6.
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You must be expecting a big baby:D
 
Thanks for the comments Mommah. That video was certainly an eye-opener!

You're right though - the car is for me primarily. However, I thought it might be useful to get a car bigger than our current one what with all the baby stuff etc.

I suppose I was thinking that if we have a second child, that would be the time to get rid of the Seat Leon for a people carrier.

If the BMW or Audi probably aren't the best "family" car, has anyone any other suggestions that would more suitable, e.g. Passat, Mondeo etc?
 
Make sure it's a hatch back if u go mondeo etc, we went for a Santa fe and with 2 need all the room. C max looks like a good one, I find that putting a 2 year old in to the child seat in the jeep Is easy, where as in my Audi it's quite tight to maneauvore her into place, u need to try these things, it's not all about how the car feels etc anymore, those car seats are pretty bulky,
 
Do you even need to change? A Leon should be fine for 2+2 has a good boot and decent space in the rear. Better then many other cars tbh. You could aways buy a roof box for more luggage on longer trips. Don't think you really need a bigger car for just 2 kids. That said theres nothing wrong with buying one, just because you like it better either. Don't expect a massive difference in space.

Not all baby/kids seats are the same width. So you can avoid the really massive ones. The C-Max is a nice motor but I don't think its that much better then the average saloon
tbh. Its MPV shaped if you don't like that too.

You don't need a MPV. But theres no doubting that sometimes an extra couple of seats for other kids, or grandparents is handy. Or something that doubles as a van for DIY stuff, is handy. Something like a touran is actually shorter than most estates, or saloons like the A4/Passat. It has much more room primarily because its box shaped. Its the curves on saloons that eat up the space.
 
100% agree with Clonboy on the hatchback.
I had a Renault Megane Hatchback and it was great...sold it to my sister who finds to great too.

I have a 5 +2 hatchback now mainly because of dog and tranporting friends to/from school.

It is probably a luxury and a 5 seater hatchback would be plenty.
 
Bolle123 said:
The second car would be used by me for driving to work in Dublin every day (couple of miles in and out of the city)
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Did you really need a car for that? How do you manage at the mo?
May be sale the Seat, buy a bigger car for wife/baby but still run one car.
 
Mommah said:
In this weather both are rear wheel drive which performs shockingly in snow/ice and would be positively dangerous to have your children in.
The Audi is front wheel drive.

For one child, any saloon will do the trick. It would be useful to have a split back seat that folded inwards to awkawrd pieces of luggage, strollers etc.
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Estates are very handy for children - we have 2 kids and since the first one was born have had a hatchback, then a saloon and now an estate. Estate wins hands down for ease of transporting the large amount of random stuff that children seem to generate.

Ours is an 06 Volvo V50 which is comfy, reasonably spacious without being huge, drives nicely and is, all in all, a very happy compromise between the needs of children and the needs of my husband (which is not to drive a people carrier as it might catapult him into a midlife crisis : )
 
txirimiri said:
the needs of my husband (which is not to drive a people carrier as it might catapult him into a midlife crisis : )
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:D:D:D


PS I stand corrected about the Audi...just cos one of the guys at work was totally out of control on the ice earlier this year in his audi....so if it's FWD it behaved RWD.
 
I see the title of my thread has now changed to what type of car for my wife (which wasn't its original intention!)

I had been looking for a car for myself (the husband) that was larger than the Seat so it would be practical for kids but not so large that I look like a soccer Mom.

But maybe I should keep the Seat and buy something for the wife who will be mostly transporting the baby around?

I think we need a second car though as I need one for work/weekends and I don't want her stuck at home during the day etc.
 
The seat is fine size for two kids. You get around ok with one car at the moment. will that change? Often people with kids find they prefers to walk for local journeys, than loadup all the gear into the car. Mind you it depends how remote you are.
 
AlbacoreA said:
Mind you it depends how remote you are.
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I would counsel against letting your wife spend her maternity leave trapped in the house. Getting a new baby out and about in the winter, on buses etc is a struggle.

I know 2 couples who manage on one car in Dublin with kids.
In both cases the husband either buses/cycles/walks to work.

If you decide not to heed my advice....you might come home to a monster in the evening.:D Your call.
 
No point getting a 2nd car then finding its left sitting on the drive most of the time either.
 
At the moment I have a ford focus estate and it is a brilliant mammy car. Loads of room for the pram and shopping in the boot and it's a 1.4 so not too expensive to run. It's also a bit higher than other cars and an unusual colour (gold) so I can always find it in the supermarket carpark. Important consideration for me.
I've also had a Ford Mondeo hatchback and they are huge but 1.6 so more expensive to run.
I'd recommend either
 
I have both a ford focus hatchback and a citreon zara, both diesel and both really good for transporting our 2 children around the country. Have travelled all over Ireland and had no problems with the space in both. The Citreon is an 01 and there is no chance I'll be changing it and the Focus is an 08 similarly no chance of a change there either.

The Focus is valued between your two amounts while the Citreon is probably worth just over twice the amount of road tax we pay per year but it is equally as good/ fit for the job as the focus.

My advice is buy a cheap car, older, with a good diesel engine and keep your Seat as well. If something goes wrong the car won't have cost you much, you'll probably spend less fixing it that you will lose on depreciation on a newer and much more expensive car, and if you buy wisely you could have a little run around car that will last you as long as you can be bothered looking at it.

Def. buy a desiel, better economy ie. cheaper fuel costs, longer engine life, more miles per gallon in most cases to a similar sized petrol car.
 
Believe it or not, when we had our 1st child with my first wife (only joking love), we got rid of our micra and got a new (at the time) 2005 1.4 opel asrta estate. It was brilliant. very good finance deals 50/50 ect.. think they are still doing it..

Big enough for big prams, weekly shooing, granny and the odd week end down to the in laws. We looked at the insignia but it was very claustrophobic. the astra was more usable. We changed it for a crew cab NISSAN NAVARA due to work reasons and we really miss the practical side of the astra. the only downside for me was the 1.4 engine which was asthmatic at accelerating on the motorway but fine cruising...

Then low co tax on bigger diesel engines after 2008 makes IT NOW CHEAPER TO GO FOR A 1.9 TDI
 
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