Second hand family car choice - help please?

brocklanders023":t4rk7rgz said:

Flip side is that two lads at work have C-Max's and have never had a problem where as those with VW's are always in the garage. I'd never touch an Audi as three people I know have them (A3's) and I can't believe how often they go wrong. Always costs £500+ to fix as well :shock:

Click to expand...

Yeah it sometimes seems to be just the luck of the draw, I'm more and more tempted by a one car does all sort of thing, had an 83 Landcruiser, it sipped diesel, had 350,000 on the clock and still ran beautifully, would pull a house down and you could fix it with a hammer and screwdriver.

I'm on my second Toyota Previa - excellent versatility and touchwood, reliability

Had two full size motorbikes in the back once (rear seats removed obviously)

The original shape model (discontinued in 2000) can be got for peanuts and even the post 2000 models are low money now.

We have had an S Max for nearly three years. Previously had a Touran, Galaxy, Sharan, Mondeo estate, Focus estate, blah, blah, blah.

Not a huge difference with these modern things. The S Max rarely gets the fuel economy claimed, and is not quite the sports car handling claimed either. I actually wonder which sports cars those reviewers had driven.

Tourans are solid feeling, and handle pretty well.

I would rather the S Max over the C Max for the extra volume. Keep a nice thick tarp in the back of your new motor and enjoy the two minute conversion to van.

I would love to find a Land Cruiser that 'sips' diesel!

If you need to ask, you obviously haven't discovered Pleiades...

Part 1;
We had a C-Max (1.8 petrol) as our last family car (also known to me as 'the blue-van', & 'stinking heap of crap'!)

From day one, I considered it appalling;
1. In anything less than brilliant sunshine/hot weather, it misted up chronically, unless air-con was on (I hate the bloody stuff!)

2. A maximum of 30MPG for SWMBOs business mileage to Cardiff (I could manage 35MPG driving it locally, but I drive like a snail)

3. Seats stained as soon as you looked at them (okay, yes, that was perhaps due to the trim in that varient?)

4. 4 sets of front tyres in about 30,000 miles*!!! :evil:

5. Putting gear into the roof-box, or a bike on the roof was a nightmare, unless standing on a stool or high-kerb

6. Two broken windscreens in a year. AutoGlass guys told us it happens a lot, due to the rake & stresses due to glass size/scuttle-shake (can't verify that though)

7. On the up-side, it had cool LED tail-lights


I realise that's a bad review, when all you can say is it has great tail-lights



Part 2;
We thankfully replaced it with an Octavia estate; a '11' plate, SEtrim, 1.6Tdi
It costs peanuts to insure (£280 F/C with 4 drivers, & business cover for SWMBO)
VED is £30.00!!!
Tyres are a sensible size, & therefore it rides nicely (& high sidewalls protect the alloys)
Very comfortabel/supportive seating (home to Cardiff in one jump, & no discomfort)
It has nice BIG tail-lights for her motorway trips (& 4 bulbs per side!!)
Only slight downsides are;
1. Touch-screen radio/CD requires eyes taking off the road to make sure you select correct station (ie; finger properly placed)
2.'Organ pedal' accelerator - all the water/mud in your shoe runs down it & soaks carpet, instead of onto a mat as with a normal pedal
(that said, I'm not oen for washing cars, but I hate having mucky interiors)

Overall. we're extremely satisfield with it, & would definately buy another one (or maybe a Superb estate)



*The Octavia has just short of 27,000 miles showing, & on the original set (hope to maybe see 30,000, they are; 205/60 x 15 Dunlop 'SP Sport 01')





Part 3;

B77":1nuuezhm said:

Ok this is going to sound very very snobby but after having more cars than you can shake a stick at the only cars I'll consider now are Audi, Vw and Toyota and for vans Merc or Vw. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/07-56-vw-tran ... 1058wt_984

Click to expand...

Our neighbour has one of these - perhaps not in as plush a specification as that one - and it's a cracking vehicle
I think it's the 3.0 Tdi, they tow a large Hobby caravan with it.

It has 8 seats, & still has loads of room behind the 3rd row, air-con to 2nd & 3rd rows.
The only slight downside is a slightly 'choppy' ride in the 3rd row, but you are above the axle.

I own a Mitsubishi Grandis as the main family car which has the VAG 2.0 16v Diesel engine and 6 speed box and it's OK for a family bus, don't get sucked into the VAG hype though, they are not all that reliable the dervs quite often stuff Turbos and DMF's wear out prematurely (not as bad as Fords though). I nearly bought a Corolla Verso (56 plate model before the poor restyle and name change to just Verso) I couldn't find one that hadn't had a hard life and in the end it would have been just a bit too small (the Grandis is S-Max size). The dealer where the Grandis came from said that the ford interiors just aren't up to family use and fall apart.
As the car you need is basically a white goods type of car I would have to go for the Toyota they just don't break, with a Citroen in your life I think the last thing you need is two unreliable cars.

Carl.

Gotta be the Touran....we've had one for a few years from 2nd hand (1 previous owner) and although it has had one relatively expensive problem with a computer unit (I think we were just unlucky) it has been excellent. I've put 50K miles on it.

Always go for the 2.0 TDI rather than the 1.9 TDI as there is a noticeable difference in power but not necessarily in price. It feels solid, handles well and is surprisingly quick. It feels safe & cruises nicely at speed. Easily will get 2 bikes in the boot or flip up the seats to make it a 7 seater (I usually put the mother-in-law in the crumple zone!!). For tip runs the rear seats flip up to give plenty of extra room. We have 3 cars seats for 3 young kids across the back seats so there is enough room there.

Avoid the black ones probably as you might look like a taxi....

Trying to think about what i don't like about the Touran but can't think of too much to be honest. IMO I would always go German or Japanese....never going French again!! Hope this helps

Carl: So far the Citroen DS has been much more reliable than the BMW I've just sold. The only time it "failed to progress" was 'cos the low tension lead had come off the coil. 20 seconds later it was running again.

I have a 9mm and 11mm spanner and a couple of litres of LHM in the boot so I can fix any suspension problem that may occur.

The 11mm spanner also deals with any brake problems.

Any electrical problems can be solved with a bit of thought and some electrical tape.

The BMW went through an ignition switch (couldn't be fixed by the roadside), 2 ABS sensors, a door handle, and just before I sold it, the high level brake light fell off. Oh, and it went through lightbulbs at the rate of about 1 every 2 months. I'm not convinced about "german reliability".

At the moment, the finance director likes the Touran best, "It feels like a bigger, taller version of my Polo." Closely followed by the Verso, "Comfy, easy to drive." We'll be test driving a C-Max on Monday evening.

The Touran is basically a Golf with a bloated body, so it handles pretty well. It felt very solid, in that German way.

I can't see the C Max being preferred.

If you every tire of the Citroen, I can arrange to have it collected and I won't charge you a penny.

a wise man once said if you own a vag motor get rid before 60 k miles
and he's right it seems

as for what to buy ,i've no idea ,wifey bought an audi cabriolet and its very nice (and low low miles )
and i have a 12 year old astra that just keeps running and great for carting shite around in