Many people will have different answers to some of these questions - but you are not stupid asking them.

General opinion is that for this sort of motoring you are far better off with a petrol than a diesel. The saving in the cost of fuel will be minimal and the possible additional costs of servicing and repair to a diesel may outweigh those savings anyway.

For the age of car you are talking about, you should be looking more at overall condition that specific age or mileage. The car garaged for three years may look attractive, but most people here would recommend that you consider the effects of age and lack of use on things like tyres, brake discs, brake fluid etc. It may be a good buy if the dealer deals with these issues as part of a deal.

Hello, newmum, welcome to the forum.

We (myself, wife, two children 5 & 3 years) have been running an 08-reg FR-V 1.8i VTEC petrol automatic, EX spec, since May 2011.

It's principally my wife's car, for suburban and town-to-town driving (we're on the Surrey-Hampshire border). It was bought from Chiswick Honda with 17K miles on it, pretty much immaculate. We negotiated an extended 3 year warranty into the price, and 3 year service package, and a small discount.

Probably the best way to sum up the car and our ownership thus far is with a positive and negative list.

POSITIVES

Incredibly practical - More so in my opinion, than many 7-seat MPVs (which we looked at before choosing the FR-V). Where those cars can only offer two small cramped rearmost seats, the FR-V can sit 6 average-size adults in comfort, whilst retaining a decent sized boot.

Fantastic for young children - It has a flat floor throughout. The space between the front and rear seats allows a parent to literally walk through the car fastening up child seats. it takes three Group 2 child seats across no problem. We have a 3-yr old son and a 5-yr old daughter. My wife drives with the both in the front row now. The 3-yr old in the front centre seat, slid back as far as it goes, the 5-yr old in the outer seat, slightly forward. The children love this, and my wife does not need to look over her shoulder into the back of the car to pass food, quell arguments etc.

It's not wide! - Many prospective buyers, and some ignorant tyre-kickers, think this car is excessively wide due to the 3-abreast seats. It isnt. For the record, it's narrower than a Ford C-Max, shorter than a BMW 3-series, more boot space than a Golf.

Wears the rigours of family life well - Our car is the top spec, with leather, climate control, roof bars. The interior scrubs up to showroom standard amazingly well, considering the hammering it gets from family life. A sign of a quality product. Unlike some other Hondas, the interior plastics dont scratch easily.

Automatic drives very well - The petrol auto is a 5-speed torque convertor, smooth shifts and a usefully high 5th gear, pulling about 2350 rpm at 70mph. Unlike some other Honda petrols, the FR-V engine is mapped for better torque, not high revs. The car drives well upto the legal limit. For the petrol auto, expect 34mpg on A-roads and motorways, and 28-30mpg for urban driving.

Utterly reliable - So far. Touch wood, but it feels like it will do 100K without major concern. The drivetrain feels strong.

Nice ride/handling balance - It rides well at all speeds. Tyre noise is noticable at speed, but the EX spec stereo does a good job of drowning it out. It doesnt wallow in corners at all. Good turning circle.

Does a decent van impression - all three rear seats fold flat into the car. The car then becomes cavernous, but still with three adult seats in the front. Better than many midsize estates.

NEGATIVES

erm...the auto-wipers (EX spec) can be a bit erratic.

I'm struggling....

SUMMARY

Brilliant car. Largely overlooked when new in showrooms, good 08-09 examples now command £12-14K, We paid £14K for ours 18 months ago.

Any questions, netmum, fire away.

I'm also looking for a second hand F-RV.

Although I'm wary of spending £8k on a 5-6 year old car. It'll need to last me another 5 years at least and I don't want to be spending to much on repair bills.

Theres a aticle in the whatcar mag this month on the FR-V.