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So..
The other week I very, very nearly pushed the button on a 3 series (after deciding thanks to STW that I need an estate).
However, the wife and I are thinking we should be more sensible and maybe only commit to £monthlypayment after we know what our mortgage payments will be (coming to the end of our first time buyers 4.8% 2 yr fixed).
Anyway, currently the only car we have is a BMW 3 series coupe worth about £5.5k - £6.5k.
My wife is learning to drive and despite our car regularly having L plates on it (looks wrong) she doesn't want to take her test in it and doesnt want to worry about scratching it once she's passed and is driving on her own.
So.. I was thinking of perhaps buying her a £1k Renault scenic or something to continue to learn it and then drive (with mini RRR inside) once she's passed.
But then that leaves the dilemma of what to do with the current bimmer? It's been super reliable and i love driving it , but - we really don't need two cars and it's becoming increasingly impractical too.
Should we just buy a cheapy car for the wife, sell the bimmer and pay off some debts? Will I regret our only car being a £1k thingy?!
(coming to the end of our first time buyers 4.8% 2 yr fixed).
Jesus Christ! Don't you still work for a bank? Do they add 2% for employees only?
I told you sell the BM and buy this:
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Why not get a £2-3K warm hatch?
Cheers Kryton - um I couldn't possibly comment about w**k but all first time buyers get f3cked (with a 10% deposit).
I do love alfas but the wife wouldn't feel any happier scratching that..
Cynic-Al - do you mean a warm hatch plus a wife car?
I think the wife's concern is having something reliable for long trips. We're thinking about driving to le France this summer for instance and I'd have no qualms about it in the bimmer but less so in a £1k scenic..
Cynic-Al - do you mean a warm hatch plus a wife car?
I meant the wife car AND the Alfa for you. Its in budget.
Sell the 3-series, buy another 3-series. 330I E46 Touring. Tell your wife not to scratch it and park in spaces miles away from anyone else. Problem solved.
* under no circumstances spend a grand on a Renault Scenic.
DBW - why not? They seem about the safest car you can get for £1k. I'd only be looking at those with service history etc etc
[ why not? They seem about the safest car you can get for £1k.] they ae incredibly safe as they spend most of their time imobile at the garage
^^ ohhhh don't say that!
What is the most reliable family run around (with isofix) for £1k then?!! Foci (focus's) don't have isofix , Peugeot 307s I thought were even worse than the Renault?
Help meeeeeee
My in-laws had a couple of Scenics. Like T1000 said, when they weren't in the garage (they perfectly typified the stereotype) they were slow, badly built and had stupid solutions to problems that didn't exist like electric handbrakes. I hated driving theirs like no other car I've ever been in. Even a mk1 Prius.
Safe cars for a grand? With isofix? Don't look at Ford. Isofix was so far off their radar you can't even retrofit it to the mk3 Mondeo, one of the most popular family cars ever. Some came with it but how and why they came with it, even Ford themselves don't know.
Dare I say it, go VW. A Bora or something. Well built, bit cheaper than the equivalent mk4 Golf and should have isofix (my 2000 Polo GTI has isofix).
Or an E46 Beemer touring.
Sigh
Sell the BMW (I assume its an E92 shape one?).
Buy an E46 Touring, B6 A4 Avant, Mondeo ST (if you can find one with isofix) or a mk2 Octavia estate.
Put the change in the bank / pay off debts.
* under no circumstances spend [s]a grand[/s] any money on a Renault Scenic.
Worst car I have ever owned was our Scenic. What you need is a reasonable sized and sensible family car. Why not a Golf or Ford Focus for about £3k – loads of them about / easy to drive etc etc.
You can easily fit isofix mounts to mk2 ford focus and up, I've done it myself to my 55 plate estate.
https://www.fordpartsuk.com/shop/ford_focus_isofix_child_seat_mounting_kit__f_1357238_c_119.htm
Just get a cheap car. You don't need anything else, really.