A friend of mine and his wife are expecting a happy event in around 7 months.
He gets a company car. She currently has an MGF. It is P reg (no idea how many miles)
They have two dogs.
She will need a replacement car to get about in, and the budget is around £4,000.
They are not very safety concious (they do nt own a dog cage) but I bet that will change when junior arrives.
It seems to me that they have no option but to buy an estate as the second car, as a dog cage can then be fitted. My feeling is that a focus estate is likely to be the best bet. I have aslo suggested that if they hold off selling the MGF until next spring, they will get a better price (albeit probably not much)
Can anyone suggest an alternative?
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A Golf estate.
I have a Bora and a young couple I know had a similar happy event about two years ago (a sister for their young son).
The lassie concerned had a Rover 416 but when she saw the Bora, which I had just acquired, she immediately wanted one as she realised how much safer it would be for her growing family.
In the end I found her one in exactly the same colour, Reflex Silver, but the preferred diesel rather than the 1.6 petrol version I have.
As the Bora estate is not on sale in the UK the Golf equivalent would appear the nearest match.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Mondeo!
Yes I'm the first to recommend a Mondeo!!
They're good cars though, better value for money in my opinion. Only thing to look out for is the clutch condition, they're a bit pricey to replace. Otherwise it's pretty much all positive.
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That's a possibility yes.
They don't need diesel (they only do around 10k per year in the second car) and they will get more for their money if they choose petrol.
Would they get more for their money if they chose a Focus over a Golf? I had rather assumed so.
Reliability will be important too (especially after the MGF usual HGF woes). Is their a Japanese option?
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Re the Mondeo suggestion.
I told them that they would get better value getting a car of this size, but it seems that it has to be a "compact". They have limited parking space and also she doesn't like driving a "big car..."
Each to his/her own.
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Something tall like a Scenic, Picasso, Zafira, or C-Max. Lifting small kids in and out of normal height cars is a one-way ticket to back pain centre ville. Plus you keep banging your head on the door surround. Better still something with sliding doors like a Berlingo to avoid those supermarket door denting incidents, though that may not be to their taste.
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Not many mid-sized jap estates around. There was a Civic Aerodeck, which was available with some fairly potent vtec engines, but the newest of these are now 5 yrs old.
How about last of old shape Astra estate, 1.6 LS spec with lots of kit, good value since new model arrived and plenty to choose from. Cheaper than Focus or Golf.
Ed.
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He gets a company car.
She currently has an MGF. It is P reg (no idea how many miles)
They have two dogs.
So what's the company car then? ;-)
Yes, I know what you meant but it was not how I read it for a nanosecond!
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How big are the dogs?
Sounds like it's a Mondeo/V70 straight fight to me...
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Golf estates are bizarrely cheap compared to the hatches.
If this is only going to be a local use, second car, she could do well out of a poverty spec model that's had fleet use. If it's been well maintained and is in good condition, then something unfashionable like an Astra Envoy, Golf E or Focus CL could be several hundred quid cheaper than an LS, S or LX and still meet the brief just as well.
However this might mean moving rather slowly, particularly in the case of the Golf (either 1.4 or 1.9 SDi) and Astra 1.6 8v. If she is only pottering though then again they could be a bargain. You'd get a 5 year old Golf, 4 year old Focus or 3 year old Astra for the budget or very close to it on that basis. Loadspace is good on all of them although I'd probably rule out the Golf unless image is important; it's basic, slow and not that reliable, as well as being the oldest here.
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Golf estates.....
I should say up front that I had a bad experience with one - owned an X-plate one in 2003, and returned it to the dealer (non-franchise) after three attempts to fix a juddery power delivery once it was warm. It was a 2.0 petrol
That having been said, I would not reccomend that, or indeed that size of car, for a young family. At the time, our kids were 7 months and 2.5 years, and in their car seats, they would kick the front seats. I am only 6'1", but in a comfortable position, my son could quite easily kick me pretty hard in the back! Even when being well behaved, his swinging or stretched out legs were often a nuisance; we were glad to be able to get a bigger car.
What did we get - Mondeo Estate. Now have three kids - they and all their clobber fit in happily.
Depends how long they are thinking of having the car for and how big they are - if for more than a couple of years, or they are tall, I would suggest a larger car, and would personally reccomend a Mondeo
Jon
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If the company car is Mondeo-size or larger, your friend's wife needs something nippy but reasonably capacious.
My last car was a Golf estate - 2001 Y, 1.9TDI, and it never missed a beat. A good second-hand one would be fine, but you'd get a newer Skoda estate. She could look at the Fabia and Octavia and decide which size suited her best. The Fabia Combi, as I think they call it, might be just what she needs.
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Thanks for all this.
His current company car is a Mondeo lx tdci. He has however just been promoted and is getting a bigger car. Not quite decided yet, but is leaning towards a Jag 4x4 estate. He feels this will be useful for our fishing trips, and he is also thinking of buying a fishing boat (an idea I am actively encouraging)
Obviously his will be fine for family outings and stuff, but as he uses his car to commute, she will still need a car for her, the nipper and the dogs.
They have a springer (mental) and a border collie (mental/epileptic)
I think it must be an estate, so as to accomodate the dog cage.
A Mondeo estate would, I fear, be just too big.
I like the Civic Aerodeck idea.
Anyone got any idea what the MGF is likely to be worth in the spring?
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If Mum's going to be strapping in Junior, and Junior's younger siblings, then a mini MPV with the higher seat height will help her no end. Bending to strap in a bouncing 2 yr old, when she's 7 months pregnant, will be very hard work.
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MGF is currently worth about 3K, obvbiously depending on condition, mileage, history etc. On a sunny spring day, you might get a bit more. But there's always the chance the HG will go again in the meantime. I really don't rate these engines very highly at all. I wouldn't have one if you gave it to me.
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I would highly recommend a Mazda Premacy. we have an elderly dog and two grandchildren. Lip is low at back for dog and grand kids love seeing out. Very reliable, see car by car breakdown.Early ones should be in budget
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