Trading up - recommendations

Posh Boy

Hi all,

Am currently driving E46 Coupe but I have 2 young children so it's becoming a bit impractical and especially so if we have a third child.

Hence the need to trade up. I only have a few specific criteria which is making my decision quite difficult.

1. Car needs to have enough space for 3 child seats in the rear and at least 2 of these must have isofix (ideally all 3)

2. Nothing too bad on emissions, I already pay 710 a year in car tax so I don't want to go much higher than that. Not bothered about fuel type

3. Ideally something reliable with good residual value as I only really plan on holding on to it until the kids are out of the car seats and into boosters

I'd like to stay at the upper end of the market (premium badges etc.) but am not stuck on this.

As for the year, probably 08/09 onwards.

Any suggestions?

Matthewjohn

What's your budget?

Posh Boy

Budget is quite flexible so I'm willing to condier almost anything. For arguments sake lets but an upper limit of 25K on it.

Will probably get little or nothing for my own so that wont have any inflience on it.

One final thing............ must have a decent boot, possibly even an estate car as with the possibility of 3 kids and all their clobber I'll need all the space I can get.

Matthewjohn

520D

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/5-Series/520D-M-S/32013594781547340/advert?channel=CARS

E220 CDI

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/E-Class/E220-CDI/5713319175341770/advert?channel=CARS

Tabnabs

Skoda Superb Estate. Buckets of room (may even be too big).

R.O.R

3 Child seats across the back, boot big enough for all that you need for 3 kids. Looks pretty funky, has all the bells and whistles, 185bhp, AWD and should hold it's value:

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Volvo/XC70/D5-AWD-S/33213621339437260/advert?channel=CARS

Only downside is that the tax is €1,034, but sure, that's only €6.23 a week more than you currently pay for Tax.

Other option would be the FWD V70. Same wide rear seat and massive boot, but decent spec ones for your budget are few and far between.

5 Series / A6 Estates are more expensive than the Volvo equivalent, don't have the same width in the rear seats and usually lower standard specifications. Will hold value better, but as you pay more to begin with it's swings and roundabouts.

richardsheil

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4568523

Posh Boy

Yeah,

I know what you mean about the XC70 looking a bit funky but the missus actually likes them, plus they have buckets of space like you mentioned. I'd prefer the V70 myself.

My heart wants a 520d but I may get caught with rear seat space. I guess I'll have to put some legwork in at the dealers and zero in on maybe 2 models and look for a bargain from there.

Hadn't condisered the Skoda to be honest but I'll have a look.

MidlandsM

yeah, the skodas a good option, my brother has one and is very happy with it.

R.O.R

Posh Boy wrote: »

Yeah,

I know what you mean about the XC70 looking a bit funky but the missus actually likes them, plus they have buckets of space like you mentioned. I'd prefer the V70 myself.

My heart wants a 520d but I may get caught with rear seat space. I guess I'll have to put some legwork in at the dealers and zero in on maybe 2 models and look for a bargain from there.

Hadn't condisered the Skoda to be honest but I'll have a look.

You will really struggle to get 3 baby seats across the back of a 520d. Have a group 0-1 rear facing and a group 1-3 front facing in the back of mine, but there is very little room in between them for an additional seat. Possibly squeeze a booster in there, but would be a pain to try and put the belt on.

Rear seat in the V70 is much wider, and has 3 proper sized seats rather than 2 1/2 like most motors.

Was looking in the boot of a Superb Combi last week, and it's not a patch on the V70. No where near as wide, and not as deep either (Skoda in boot not as big as something else shocker!).

Posh Boy

Thanks for that, I'm beginning to come to the realisation that my days of being berated on the roads as a BMW driver are numbered......

The Volvo is looking increasingly attractive in terms of its practicality. Anyone know what they're like to drive in terms of comfort, pep etc.?

the trick with th erear seats acting as boosters also is a nice feature. Would I get better spec. / value by importing?

R.O.R

Posh Boy wrote: »

Thanks for that, I'm beginning to come to the realisation that my days of being berated on the roads as a BMW driver are numbered......

The Volvo is looking increasingly attractive in terms of its practicality. Anyone know what they're like to drive in terms of comfort, pep etc.?

the trick with th erear seats acting as boosters also is a nice feature. Would I get better spec. / value by importing?

Boosters in the rear seats is part of the family pack. Not standard, but probably an option on quite a few.

As for driving:
Comfort, outstanding. Very comfy seats and huge amounts of space. Generally a very high specification.
Pep - depends on the model. 1.6D is no where near as bad as it sounds. 2.0i FF is a bit sluggish - 08's are OK to tax (on CC), there are some 09's that are €1,200 a year. 2.0d is probably the bare minimum. Enough performance to drag the big body around, but not going to set the world on fire. D5 would be nice, but emissions can be high depending on year.

From mid 2010 there was a new engine line up. If you can stretch to one of these, then the D3 163bhp is the one to go for. Or even the 200bhp D5 unit has emissions in the same bracket as the 2.0D.

Most of the V70's in your price bracket, in Ireland, are UK imports. Carefull about them as the SE from the UK doesn't have full leather that the Irish model had - until late 2010 with the new engines.

There is better value in bringing them in from the UK at the moment, but it's hard ish to find one that suits. Most of the ones with the newer engines are Auto's, which puts the VRT up quite a lot.


The reason I have all this info to hand is that I'm looking for the same thing at the moment, to replace our 2010 V70 that's just been written off. Have a massive double buggy to fit in the boot, and there isn't much else out there that it will fit in to. Also, the fact that everyone walked (toddled and were carried) away without so much as a scratch, tells me there is nothing else I'd prefer to have my precious cargo in.

NIMAN

Interesting thread for me Posh Boy as I am in the same situation and was about to start a thread with the same question.

Only difference is I had just assumed that once 3 car seats are needed then it ruled out most saloon type cars, no matter how big they are. All the pictures I have seen online make it look like the middle 'seat' isn't really a seat at all and it would be hard to get a car seat on to it. In fact I have even found myself in car parks looking into various cars to see what the rear seat space is like:D

For me it looks like it was no option but to buy an MPV or people carrier. I have seen the likes of the C4 Picasso, Touran, Scenic etc in various garages and the rear looks the business, unfortunately. Having said that I know people with Pug 306 and Audi A4 and they have 3 young children, so I would say that if you want to you will squeeze in 3 car seats somehow!

I would love the idea of a 325 Touring or a Volvo V50 instead of an MPV, but always thought it was a non-starter.

kerryscoob

Traded a 530d for skoda superb in 2011, best thing I ever did, got an elegance model so has all the bells and whistles. Car has 96km in the clock, servicing by skoda to date, approx. €500. Still on it's 2nd set of tyres with still plenty of mileage left of thread.

Was happy to trade in the BMW as got caught with the bad Winters 3 yrs ago, leaving car parked up for 3 weeks at one stage. Did put a set of Winter tyres on the Superb though.

Car wearing very well for mileage, herself was not cautious initially, she's won over due to the extras, extremely comfortable, huge boot, not sure about 3 car seats though. But to be fair not many saloon cars will take 3. Superb much bigger than Audi a4.

Zubeneschamali

With 3 kids and a dog, I drive an S-Max. Yeah, yeah, everyone hates MPVs, but 25K will get you a 2011 with all the toys and the real luxury with a small kids: massive space.

Test drive one, you may be surprised.

MrDerp

Since you like Volvos, I know someone who solved this problem with a 7-seater XC-90, with all the grandparents stuck on the insurance.

At 2.4D, the tax under the old system is 1000 though, with 1200 on the emissions based for a sample 2010 car.

Posh Boy

I was speaking with herself last night and was asked about 7 seaters. I condisered the XC90 alright but they're a big bus, will have to test drive one to see.

I'm still on the fence to be honest, but am swaying towards the Volvo from a reliability, safety and resale value point of view.

The S-max is kinda my backup car. I'm still loving my BMW so it's a big adjustment to go to an S-max from that.........

Zubeneschamali

Posh Boy wrote: »

I condisered the XC90 alright but they're a big bus, will have to test drive one to see.

If you test drive an XC90 and an S-Max, it'll be no contest. The Volvo is a clumsy big tank.

Idbatterim

how about the new 5 series, you would bring that in for just under 25k id Imagine...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201212074549124/sort/default/usedcars/maximum-age/up_to_3_years_old/model/5_series/make/bmw/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/page/3/radius/1501/postcode/ls298jn?logcode=p

Posh Boy

I really like the 5 series, I just don't think there's enough room on the back seat. Looking at the photos, where the isofix points are means you're looksing a lot of space by the doors which makes it near impossible to fit a third seat in there.

Preset No.3

Posh Boy wrote: »

Yeah,

I know what you mean about the XC70 looking a bit funky but the missus actually likes them, plus they have buckets of space like you mentioned. I'd prefer the V70 myself.

My heart wants a 520d but I may get caught with rear seat space. I guess I'll have to put some legwork in at the dealers and zero in on maybe 2 models and look for a bargain from there.

Hadn't condisered the Skoda to be honest but I'll have a look.

That first 520D touring at €25k, was about €3k too expensive. I would compare Irish and UK prices. Not always these days, but you could save some money importing from UK.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201302185391276/sort/default/usedcars/transmission/automatic/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles/maximum-age/up_to_3_years_old/model/5_series/make/bmw/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/page/1/radius/1501/postcode/bt487th?logcode=p

166man

R.O.R wrote: »

.The reason I have all this info to hand is that I'm looking for the same thing at the moment, to replace our 2010 V70 that's just been written off. Have a massive double buggy to fit in the boot, and there isn't much else out there that it will fit in to. Also, the fact that everyone walked (toddled and were carried) away without so much as a scratch, tells me there is nothing else I'd prefer to have my precious cargo in.

Jaypers, didn't realise you'd had an accident with the V70. Glad to hear all walked safe from the car though. Really reinforces my faith in a Volvo.

lenac

We tried lots of cars to fit three car seats in rear, only ones we found worked were Peugeot 5008 and Citroen Picasso. We went with the Peugeot. Absolutely brilliant for three kids and stuff, really designed with family needs. Rear seat is three individual seats which can each move, fold, etc. It also has two fold down seats in boot that can be used if needed but disappear if not.