I looked at hiring a 7-seater for 2 weeks… expensive!
It seems to be possible to buy an old banger for considerably cheaper than that.

However the last car I actually owned was a Fiesta more than 10 years ago.

If I go hunting for a 7 seater of some sort for less than a grand, maybe to sell on after a few weeks but maybe to keep until it dies, what kind of things should I be looking at? Really don’t have any experience with this and have no idea what’s good mileage etc, or any warning signs to look out for beyond the obvious.

I reckon you’re better off just hiring tbh, you could easily buy something that looks and drives fine and have the engine blow up after a week.
(Or to put it another way, halfway through your holiday)
Remember to add in the cost of insurance and car tax, by the time you’ve done that i doubt it will be much less than hiring.
If the hire car blows up it’s the hire companies problem innit.

If the hire car blows up it’s the hire companies problem innit.

Plus the hire car will be under 3 years old so a much nicer place to be and cheaper to run for the duration of your holiday.

I realise the risks, just can’t really justify spending so much on car hire (almost twice what the holiday place itself cost). This is about minimising the risk 🙂

Fr’example my first search result shows up a £600 thing from a dealer, a PX that they’re trying to get rid of, listed as “starts and drives fine but tatty hence low price”. Worth looking at?

Insurance & tax etc is why I may end up keeping it as some bangernomics thing rather than just using it for the 2 weeks (in which case might as well hire like you said). And/or I can hopefully recoup most of the cost by reselling.

Low risk is the hire car. And I doubt you’ll save money when you inevitably end up keeping it for at least a year. That said, I’d probably draw the same conclusion as yourself.

Not sure what the market is like for cars under a grand at the moment, though I know prices are high, so that’s something to consider.

In ordinary times you could buy a perfectly reliable car that will last for years. I’ve been driving around in them for almost a quarter of a century.

All cars have their common faults, some bigger than others. So do your research before you go to look at any. If those faults include anything that’s going to cost more than the car is worth, ask for receipts or avoid. Otherwise, check for common faults, check tyres, brakes, oil, etc. Look for signs that it’s been looked after. Service history. MOT history. Stick to boring, reliable motors. Small economical cars are going to command a premium at that price point. Gas guzzlers less so. Don’t worry too much about mileage, much more important how it’s been looked after and driven at that age.

Fr’example my first search result shows up a £600 thing from a dealer, a PX that they’re trying to get rid of, listed as “starts and drives fine but tatty hence low price”. Worth looking at?

Could be a fun gamble , how much actual driving will you be doing over the holiday? it may be of interest that I scrapped a Honda Accord a few weeks back and got £300 for it, collected, you may recoup a bit just by scrapping it after your hols.

how much actual driving will you be doing over the holiday

Not that much once we’re there, pootling around locally, however a longish drive at each end (3-4 hours between Manchester and near Dumfries in Scotland)

Long mot
Evidence that it has had some attempt at servicing it.

Check the tax, as you’ll pay for each month or part month, this could add up if it’s in a high band.

Buy private and chop it in to a dealer.

Out of interest, between the seven of you, do you not have 2 regular sized cars you could use instead?

Just get yourself a Fiesta, it seemed to work well for the family of 7 i watched get out of one yesterday and troop into the local Tesco 🤣

A petrol zafira maybe a good budget option.

But it’s a gamble.

Tbf I’ve been all over in some right shite.

70quid cavalier
250 quid vectra
FREE pug 106

All took me to Cornwall, Scotland etc

Some friends got a Toyota previa to transit between 3 peaks challenge. It never let them down but selling afterwards took a little time. Not sure how the costing worked out in the end

Edit – they had a spare insurance policy to switch onto it which probably helped. It costs quite a lot (£100ish penalty?) to take a years policy and then cancel early. Although some apps like cuvva will do short term specific insurance

However the last car I actually owned was a Fiesta more than 10 years ago.

get an insurance quote on anything you’re interested in- insurance may cost more than you remember especially with no NCD.

7 seaters are pretty expensive to hire – do you need all 7 seats?- 6 seat crew vans can be half the price. The last extended family trip I went on (4 adults two kids) we used a transit crew cab. But also hiring two regular cars can often be cheaper than one seven seater  if there are two in your party that can drive. Use a hire co that has a depot at your destination and you can off hire one for the middle portion of your trip maybe

also there are 7 seaters and 7 seaters. A Vito / transporter will carry seven adults and their stuff. You have the move the second row of seats forward in a Zafira to use 7 seats so will only fit smaller children in the back 5 seats and  very little luggage. Whether buying or hiring go and actually look at and sit in the kind of vehicle you’d get – there are big differences

Thought about just renting 2 small cars? Rates are generally cheap at the moment.

It’s 2 adults + 4 young kids, my wife doesn’t drive and all the little ones need at least booster seats so the space is probably needed. Could be fun trying to fit in a Fiesta but doubt anyone would be left sane after 4 hours!

We had one of these, one of my favourite cars ever (two of used it for carting bikes)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265183934939?hash=item3dbe31b9db:g:~KoAAOSwn0NguMNH

Thirsty but a smooth old bus and Honda reliability

My bro has this dilemma every time he comes over from Oz with family for a 3week holiday. He ends up hiring.

Im clacking around in a £400Golf Tdi, so far in 2months its killed a wheel bearing, turbo actuator jummed up and a caliper handbrake mechanism stuck on but it’s always got me to work and back so far…..
I’m a better looking mix of Bear Grylls and Ed China so quick and easy for me to fix but I’m not sure I’d want my 4kids and a glaring wife on the hard shoulder in your position if something went wrong with your shed of choice.

there are 7 seaters and 7 seaters.

This. We found the best way to get a decent car that would take 6 plus luggage at holiday rental places was actually to book an 8 seater. We tended to get a van as mentioned above rahter than a Quashcai or similar (sp?) which was a nightmare as the 2 rear seats took up all of the boot but about 5 inches. And that was described as like a Ford Galaxy (which has loads of space for seven plus luggage).

The best car I ever had was 20 years ago, a Rover 216. £50.
It had been in a shunt, and both bumpers were hanging off. They were secured with cable ties and a few screws, and it was brilliant for 3 years after, until it rusted apart. We went to Scotland twice a year in it from the Midlands, probably put 30k miles on it, without anything other than an occasional oil change. The scrappy paid me £50 for it when I scrapped it.
Recently, I sold a 10yo Megane estate for £500. Nothing wrong with it at all apart from a few scratches on the bodywork, and the interior was pretty rough. I only sold it as I’d been offered a bargain 6yo Megane.

6 full seats, plus some boot space. A dealer so they can’t sell a complete pup. NW to Dumfries really isn’t travelling very far.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105132579332?advertising-location=at_cars&postcode=pr267tz&model=MULTIPLA&page=1&price-from=500&make=FIAT&onesearchad=Used&sort=relevance

We did something a bit similar with a Renault Scenic for a couple of months after our old van got written off and the new one was being built. Managed a holiday to Wales with it no problem then sold it to a guy at work who got another year out of it before trading in. Just cost me a set of cheap front tyres – the originals were legal but awful rock hard rubber and triggered the abs alarmingly if damp.

Leave one adult at home with the kids, then go on holiday on your own?

Half of them on train

Pick them up in Lockerbie?

Have you looked at VW Commercial hire? They have shuttles and caravelles that would fit your remit. They’re a less likely hire outfit so might be cheaper.

edit: just reread your post. A grand? You might get a shalhambraxy/Zafira for that. It’ll have questionable sills and minicab mileage. They’re also not very good when it comes to carrying people and stuff .

How’s about an actual transit minibus?

Something that has changed since you last purchased a car: tax is no longer transferable. So anything you buy will need taxing along with insuring.