Family Car?

[Rachel_C]

Hubby currently has a silly boy car (something sporty) and I have a 3 door Saxo so we're selling both and hoping to get a Golf. That was the best compromise we could come to. Hubby wants something boyish (so I'm letting him choose the engine size etc) but I only want something small and economical (ideally I'd get a 5 door Saxo!). It has to have a decent size boot and hubby is big on 'German build quality' - geeky stuff. Initially I only agreed to a Polo but he somehow managed to get me to agree to the Golf. I'm so sad though, I love my little Saxo. At least my sister is going to buy her off me so I'll still be able to visit!

 

[JayDee]

Hi girls, I'm going to gatecrash if that's ok cos we're currently trying to find a new car too. At the minute we have a 2 seater convertible Audi TT - so no good for a baby at all.

We have test driven a golf gti, which was good except hubby didn't like the way it felt to drive (he's a bit of a petrol head so don't let it put you off).

Before we had the TT we had a mini (a BMW one not an old tiny one) and, whilst I loved it and it was the cutest car ever I would NOT recommend it for someone with a baby at all. I struggled to fit a week's worth of supermarket shopping in the boot, let alone lots of baby stuff. If it was a mini or a golf, I'd go for the golf.

Also looked at Seat Leon and Ford Focus ST along with various others. They all seem pretty good but we're just really fussy!

We still really don't know what to get, finding it difficult to choose as all the practical ones seem too grown up. Maybe I need to wait till I have a bump so it seems a bit more urgent....

 

[Pumpkinb]

I just had to sell my Mini (size and running costs not practical for when baby here) and now have a 04 VW Polo boot seems very spacious and don't think I will have an issue with getting a pram in there, tried sil's pram and it fit without a problem.
Hubby has a VW Passat estate and if the Polo won't take the pram we pick then I may just have to 'borrow' his all the time.

 

[amylw1]

hi,

my OH has a vauxhall vectra, it is lovely and roomy. the boys have loads of room in the back even if i lay passenger chair backwards slightly. the boot you chuck stuff in and loose it. when the back seats are dropped you can fit a full size bath into it!

when we bought it 2yrs ago it cost us £500, we thought there must be faults etc as they were selling 2nd hand for about £2,000. since we have had it we have had to change the brake pads or discs (i dont know which it has) and a new exhaust, which garage said is general wear and tear for the cars age.

 

[foxyroxie]

the vectras do have a huge boot my best mates got a 01 plate and its so roomy!!

 

[aimee-lou]

We are in a slight pickle with cars at the moment.

My fiesta - which would have been perfect!- died a death back in December (it's still sat on the drive but is unfixable!!!). Hubby's car is a 10 year old Renault Megance Coupe (not practical but does have a big boot considering!) which at the moment is in the garage having it's french-ness fixed!

Problem is that we still have a massive amount of finance left on the damned thing so we have to pay that off before we can sell it. I'm hoping we can get another year out of it (make do for 6 months with a car seat in the back of it - I know it will kill me!) and then once it's paid off, trade it in for a 5 door, 3 year old, mondeo/focus/astra/vectra/skoda/volvo - anything that's more practical basically! We would dearly love to keep the old thing as hubby loves her (yes, she's a she!! ) but we will have to save like fury in order to do so....not likely with a newborn!

 

[Honeypie78]

Thanks for all the advise ladies, still so confused!
I really fancy a 4x4 jeep type thing, but cant afford one!

 

[chrisi]

I have just traded in my we corsa for an astra, Its great size the boot is huge and has 5 doors with child locks, so its def a family car! Its also automatic which was an added bonus! xx

 

[elley_baby248]

Well we have this........

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v419/tomh/Peak%20District%202009/DSC02411Large.jpg

Not exactly a "Family" car but we both love it to death and it won't be changed anytime soon. We did have a 5 door before hand (still an astra) but i hated it and oredered this one brand new cause i was being spoilt at the time.

 

[Caramel]

Problem is that we still have a massive amount of finance left on the damned thing so we have to pay that off before we can sell it.

Aimee-lou, when I can get hold of DH I'll ask him about this for you. There are sometimes ways to get around finance balances, it can be possible in some circumstances to carry the finance on to the next car. There is also small print which many people don't know about which means you can just hand your car back and stop paying. It doesn't apply in all circumstances so don't want to get your hopes up but I'll see what I can find out.

 

[Caramel]

Just got hold of hubby Aimee-Lou. He's a car salesman so knows some tricks when it comes to car finance. It depends what kind of loan you have. If you took out car finance there is small print that not many people know about which states that if you're halfway or more through your finance you are entitled to just hand the car back and stop paying - this even applies if the finance outstanding is worth more than the car, ie finance of £6000.00 left, car worth only £4000.00. If you took out a personal loan which was secured against the car (as opposed to a personal loan with no security), then you will be able to trade in your car, get a new(er) one and carry on with your payments, so if your car is worth £5000.00 and your finance is worth £5000.00 or less it can be arranged that you just continue making your payments and trade your old car in as part-ex. This won't work though if you are in negative equity with your car, ie it's worth less than the outstanding balance on the personal loan. If you financed with a personal loan with no security then unfortunately you will just have to continue paying. Feel free to PM me if you want any further info, DH is always happy to advise with this kind of thing - think it bugs him sometimes that people aren't always made aware of the get out clauses on finance! xx

 

[elley_baby248]

Problem is that we still have a massive amount of finance left on the damned thing so we have to pay that off before we can sell it.

Aimee-lou, when I can get hold of DH I'll ask him about this for you. There are sometimes ways to get around finance balances, it can be possible in some circumstances to carry the finance on to the next car. There is also small print which many people don't know about which means you can just hand your car back and stop paying. It doesn't apply in all circumstances so don't want to get your hopes up but I'll see what I can find out.

You can get it carried over by just Part Exchanging your car at a dealership but tbh the way the market is atm you will get a really crap price in px and end up with a bigger debt.

Plus if you hand the car back you end up with a bad mark on your cred history.

 

[Caramel]

Plus if you hand the car back you end up with a bad mark on your cred history.

Will check this with DH but am fairly sure that this isn't the case - he wouldn't advise you to do it otherwise. The whole point of the clause is that after a certain period you should be legally entitled to end your finance agreement without penalties including bad credit history.

 

[aimee-lou]

Thanks guys....tbh I think we'll just knuckle down and pay it off....it's about £2k and the car is worth £1400 so it's not a lot in the grand scheme....just a lot to deal with at the moment when it needs new tyres next month too!!

I will look into the whol PX thing though as this may well be an option if we can just extend our current finance and get a new car sooner!

 

[Caramel]

Plus if you hand the car back you end up with a bad mark on your cred history.

Will check this with DH but am fairly sure that this isn't the case - he wouldn't advise you to do it otherwise. The whole point of the clause is that after a certain period you should be legally entitled to end your finance agreement without penalties including bad credit history.

Should also point out though that it means you end up with no car! Therefore you will have paid out a load of money and have nothing to show for it in the end - so there naturally is a downside to taking this option. It's just worth knowing about though if you really can't afford to continue paying - it's not something the car finance companies advertise, even though they should.

Aimee-lou, hope the px-ing route works for you! xx

 

[elley_baby248]

Thanks guys....tbh I think we'll just knuckle down and pay it off....it's about £2k and the car is worth £1400 so it's not a lot in the grand scheme....just a lot to deal with at the moment when it needs new tyres next month too!!

I will look into the whol PX thing though as this may well be an option if we can just extend our current finance and get a new car sooner!

With the Px it wont necessarily be the same lot of finance it will be a whole new contract. they should give you a certain amount for the car say 1200 then the new finance company will just add the remaining 800 you owe on to the new finance deal, it will cost you more a month but sometimes it's the easiest way to do it. We have done it before now and yeah it is expensive but it's worth it.

The only problem atm is because of the cred crunch you may find it hard to find a company who will offer you finance having neq equity on your current car. There are a few and still do really good deals but it might mean getting the dealership to ring around a few places to see what they will do for you.

 

[aimee-lou]

I was thinking about this.....maybe if I call the finance company and organise to overpay to try to p[ay off sooner/get rid of the negative equity. Then, hopefully we'll be in a stronger position. Really in about 4-5 months we could have the whole lot paid off (we'll not eat mind you....good job I like beans!) but it means that we would have some money in the car to put towards a new one!

Thanks for the help guys....really useful stuff and hopefully means we can get my Volvo!

 

[elley_baby248]

I think tbh save yourself the hassle and just try your luck and see what the finance companies will offer you. At the end of the day if someone accepts you, you don't necessarily have to do the deal and buy the car but it gives you a realistic option then doesn't it.

 

[Caramel]

I was thinking about this.....maybe if I call the finance company and organise to overpay to try to p[ay off sooner/get rid of the negative equity. Then, hopefully we'll be in a stronger position. Really in about 4-5 months we could have the whole lot paid off (we'll not eat mind you....good job I like beans!) but it means that we would have some money in the car to put towards a new one!

Thanks for the help guys....really useful stuff and hopefully means we can get my Volvo!

Sounds like a plan! Negative equity would definitely be something that may hold you back, so if you can try to clear that you would probably open up your options re part ex-ing.

Re the bad credit history thing. To clarify, if you have a car finance agreement (which is different from a personal loan), there is a legally binding clause that is put into the contract that you can stop paying and hand your car back once you are halfway through your finance without incurring any penalties including bad credit history. This is put in to protect you the consumer. Finance companies don't like you doing it as obviously it could cost them money if the amount outstanding is more than the car is worth, which is why they don't advertise the fact - however it is your legal entitlement and doing it will not affect your credit rating. Just checked all this through with DH. Promise he only wants to help so he wouldn't suggest it to anyone if it would harm their credit rating.

 

[aimee-lou]

OOoooh it's all so complicated....and to think it's all because hubby has a girly car!