My wife is expecting our first child, and currently drives round in an atrocious 1.2 '99 Corsa, which she professes to really like for some unfathomable reason. I have to drive it from time to time, and it's a horrible experience. Every journey in it is a chore, while in my car it is a pleasure.
So (and it's only idle speculation at the moment I'm afraid, she might decide not to change at all) the idea for this thread is to come up with replacement motors to suggest to her.
She certainly wants rear doors - that is the entire justification for a possible changeover. Baby in rear-facing chair in back of 3-door car seems like a recipe for frustration.
We have dogs - but they're very small, Jack Russells - so a 5-door seems to be indicated. But perhaps a saloon might work, if there isn't a bulkhead aft of the passenger cell, and it has split-fold rear seats? Not sure about that one...
I would like the car to be a bit different (although if all the other criteria mean that the answer has to be 'Golf' or 'Focus', I'll consider changing that one I suppose), 'nice', pleasant to drive (not only on my own behalf, I'd like my wife to see how much better she could aspire to than that soul-sapping Corsa!).
Mrs Bazza would probably like the car to be not too much bigger than a Corsa. But I intend to talk her into driving my car a bit in the near future, and see if I can talk her out of that one (reason for that will become clear when you see what stuff I've thought about so far!) I think we should stick with manual. She hasn't been driving all that long, so good to avoid losing the skill of gear changing yourself.
Oh, and price range. I guess £5k maybe? I'm sure we'd be perfectly happy to pay less if something was suggested though. I'm a very big fan of getting a hell of a lot of car for your money by buying something which was 'executive' when new, and has depreciated massively.
I had an idle flick through Autotrader earlier with a price and distance limit from us, and here's what I came up with as potentially desireable (but not necessarily at all practical) answers:
Fiat Bravo (new shape)
Volvo S40 (probably too big though)
Saab 9-3 (as above)
Lexus IS200 (as above)
Fiat Grande Punto (maybe a bit too common, but lovely styling for a small car)
Any thoughts, comments or put downs at my ridiculous plans for a baby-wagon much appreciated!
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Sorry Bazza, but I have to say you're a very brave man to try and coax a pregnant woman out of a car she loves. Her hormones are all over the place and I would leave her with the security of a car she knows well while her mind is on other things.
The only other option is to sabotage it and then let her think it's her idea to get a different one.
Not that I'm suggesting bribing your local mechanic, of course:)
Pat
Edited to add: Sometimes men have really stupid ideas!
Last edited by: pda on Fri 14 May 10 at 16:08
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Absolutely endorse Pat's wise words!!
However the solution is an original shape Berlingo/Partner. Sliding doors are much easier with babes/toddlers and doggies will be fine in the boot.
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>> the solution is an original shape Berlingo/Partner. Sliding doors are much
>> easier with babes/toddlers and doggies will be fine in the boot.
That's quite a good one. The back door provides a nice rain-shield, too - I was thinking "Any 'state car", but one o' they there things would possibly be better.
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I agree with Pat, when you have a couple of pregnacies experience you will realise that you are on a looser, a bit like trying to deny her mustard and ice cream sandwiches at 2am. :-) What ever you do it must be "her" idea!
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Nissan note. Ticks all the boxes for requirement. And if she likes them a little quirky....
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Just had an autotrader gander at the Note - that could easily be a contender.
Berlingo might suffer from the same problem I have with the new Panda - I think it's a cracking little car, but I just can't make myself get on with the looks. Owning three Italian cars in a row has made me a bit of a style victim I'm afraid - note style, not fashion - I don't care what other people think of it, but I do want a car to be visually appealing to me, both inside and out if possible.
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A very good point thank you! But don't worry, I have merely sown the seed of possibility that she might want a 5/4 door. I will do nothing further unless she decides herself that she wants to change.
In answer to various other points posted:
Berlingo is an interesting idea - I honestly have no clue how she'll react to the idea when I show her one. If I had to guess though, I'd say that she'd label it 'odd' rather than 'quirky', and would therefore decline. Perhaps she would want her 'quirkiness' to err more towards 'funky'? I'm not even sure what I'm talking about myself now, so I doubt anyone else will!
Similar for Nissan Note. Are they not rather new and therefore expensive to buy though?
Thanks for the info on the IS200. That's probably out then (although we rarely use her car for the dogs anyway, and if she starts driving something bigger, then she'll theoretically be happy enough driving mine, and therefore there'll be no reason to use hers for the dogs - apart from me wanting us to mess her boot up for a change).
I think your and my reference points on cars are very different Brett (which isn't to say your advice isn't helpful and gratefully received)! My own car gives an average of about 24mpg. I'm perfectly happy to pay the running costs of an executive car (especially when it will be performing a very low mileage), paying a ridiculously small amount to buy in the first place more than makes up for it (in my mind at least). We have the good fortune to live in an area where our insurance premiums are very reasonable, even on my Alfa GTA, so little worries on that score either.
Estate is interesting, but not sure she will go for it. My car is an estate (albeit a pretty small one) so probably not really necessary for the household as a whole, as long as she can get the baby gear in the back of whatever she has.
The size of the cars I've cited is more down to my own dislike of small cars drifting into play (and perhaps a smidgen of concern to have a 'safe' car for my progeny?).
Thanks everyone for the very interesting comments so far, keep 'em coming!
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>> My own car gives an average of about 24mpg.
>> My car is an estate (albeit a pretty small one)
Crikey, your small estate car does only 24MPG? Has it got a rust hole in the petrol tank?
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No, it's got a 3.2 V6 engine. And makes a noise which, while I don't generally drive particularly quickly, encourages me to accelerate more quickly than is strictly necessary a lot of the time.
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Alfa 156 GTA sportwagon.
Please be gentle if you decide to take the mickey - she's my pride and joy! ;)
s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd144/bazzabearalbum/AO/?action=view¤t=DSC01717.jpg
(That's the dreaded Corsa in the background.)
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IS200 seats don't fold.
I had a Saab and liked it, but I didn't feel it was the best built screwed together car I have owned. Saloon boot was big and the seats fold, but the space is not that practical. Petrol engines are fairly thirsty, 1.9 diesels are economical and fairly swift. My Mrs found it easy to drive on the M way but large around town.
My wife is now pregnant with our first, she has a Hyundai i10 and our other car is a Subaru Legacy estate (I take the train to work) which is a perfect 2nd car with a huge boot, but also thirsty - on a trip I get 39 MPG if I drive like a miser.
Trouble with an executive car that has depreciated is that the parts can still be executively priced while big wheels mean big expensive tyres and insurance premiums.
I would be thinking small car estate - a Felicia 1.2 petrol perhaps? Similar size to the Corsa but with the bigger boot - don't underestimate how much stuff you will need and how useful a big boot is.
Otherwise, yes you are into the usual Ford/Vauxhall estate suspects...
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I would suggest a small estate or MPV, the estate will have more room, and you will need it.
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If she likes the Corsa, how about a Vauxhall Meriva?
Having had two children in the last 6 years, my missus has appreciated the higher back seat of our Touran for lifting baby carriers and children in to the back seats, and they like the view out. A Meriva would do a similar job whilst not being as big as most small MPVs.
But the main thing is that she gets a 5 door. Essential. Also, consider how large the pram/buggy/contraption she wants is going to be, and make sure it can get in the boot easily.
Another contender for me would be a Seat Altea.
If she wants to carry the baby in the front seat, make sure that whatever you buy has a switch to disable the passenger airbag.
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Reading back, I see I failed to fully explain that the reason for Mrs Bazza liking the Corsa is not due to some self-flagellation need, but merely because it is her first and only car so far. She has been allowed to think that driving it is a good experience in much the same way as someone who has lived on dry bread and water for all their life might describe a water biscuit as a taste explosion.
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Meriva or Note makes sense - but if she doesn't like the look of an MPV (even a small one), try suggesting the Skoda Fabia - hatch or estate, and the estate doesn't look too van-like.
If these are all too big - and it may be the small size of the Corsa that she likes, she could do a lot worse than a Toyota Yaris. The 1.3 is lively and also reliable: my elder daughter is on her fourth.
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I'd go with the mpv option. I realise taht they are not really different but they are great for lugging families about. I imagine that £5k would get you a CMAX, or a Zafira, if your other half wants to stay with GM. Whatever car she chooses, congrats. We're expecting our second...
CM
A 'different' MPV would be the Honda Stream, I guess. Not sure how many are around or how much they'd cost, but they'll probably be pretty reliable.
Last edited by: Crocked Monsieur on Fri 14 May 10 at 18:50
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Up the ante a little and consider a CRV - we had one through babies one and two - just cant fit a 3rd baby seat across the back easily enough so chopped in for a more practical but less comfy FRV.
Huge boot, ridiculously reliable, 30mpg in petrol auto form.
Loading/unloading baby gubbins/buggies etc can be a PITA and if you are bigger than Bilbo Baggins, putting babes into regular level cars can be a strain on the back - the CRV means you are upright instead.
10/10 family transport.
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My wife changed her Corsa for a Mondeo estate when she first gave birth. Even that struggled for space......
Think about it, baby kit ( lots ) grannys, grandpas, little friends, their mothers, little friends kit ( lots )........
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Go and take a look at a Bravo. A (typically) underrated car. My GF has a 150MJ Sport and its a great car. Very roomy, has a 400litre boot and very econimical. Its not as good to drive as my GTA but it isnt bad. Most are well equipped aswell.
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OK, let's put it this way. Get her the biggest, most spacious car she'll agree to. It'll still be too small.
Sorry, it's just the way it is from now on.
Congratulations by the way !
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It's easy, just decide how much room you you will need and then treble it. As Humph said it will still be too small.
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We certainly will be doing so I think. Thinking we'll go for a jaunt to Fords of Winsford. Not sure I'd entertain buying from there, but they have a nice wide range to get an idea of sizes and the like.
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As has been said on this thread before, baby clobber really can swamp fairly large cars. I might have been tempted to buy something really silly like a Caravelle...
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>It's easy, just decide how much room you you will need and then treble it. As Humph said it will still be too small.
>Thinking we'll go for a jaunt to Fords of Winsford.
I think you need to find another £10k and buy an SMax.
Last edited by: crocks on Sat 15 May 10 at 00:17
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If she likes the Corsa, how about a step-up to a 5-door Astra? Must be loads around in your budget. Just make sure your pram/buggy can fit in the boot...
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A higher car will do wonders for her back lifting pending nipper in and out of the car - Berlingo, Meriva, Scenic, mini/mid-size MPV type thing. SLiding doors are a boon.
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Of course Bazza there would always be the option of donating the 156 Sportwagon to your wife and getting something like an Alfa GT or even a Brera for yourself........
Sometimes a man has to make such sacrifices for the good of his family....
:-)
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To be honest, I wouldn't have a GT or Brera instead of the GTA (although as well as would be more acceptable).
But I just suggested your solution with the word 'TVR' inserted, and it didn't go down as well as I might have hoped!
Last edited by: Bazzabear on Sat 15 May 10 at 11:17
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i changed my lovely t reg 3ltr gtv last yr for a griffith 500 in yellow. greta car but the alfa is so much better built.>
> To be honest, I wouldn't have a GT or Brera instead of the GTA (although
>> as well as would be more acceptable).
>> But I just suggested your solution with the word 'TVR' inserted, and it didn't go
>> down as well as I might have hoped!
>>
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Another consideration with tots is the airbag. Front airbag + rear facing seat is an absolute no no. Try and find something where the passenger side bag can be disabled (as in the Berlingo). Otherwise junior will be banished to the back.
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>> solution with the word 'TVR' inserted, and it didn't go down as well as I might have hoped!
Well Bazza I'm sure she's a lovely girl but that's just outrageous. You have offered to father her children, provide her and them with indefinite shelter, warmth, care, security and affection throughout her child rearing years. You have generously offered her the use of a more than suitable vehicle, in fact one way beyond her needs and all you have asked for in return is the use of a small, (second hand mark you what's more,) two seater runaround to get you to the grindstone on a daily basis to earn the funds required to support this rather expensive lifestyle change of hers for the foreseeable future.
I just hope she realises what a tolerant and caring husband she has and how fortunate she is.
Didn't go down well indeed !
:-)
Last edited by: Humph D'bout on Sat 15 May 10 at 17:41
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And all she wants out of life at the moment is to drive the familiar car she loves and be able to dream of being a Mum:)
I did tell you that at the start of this thread but none of you listened.....MEN:(
Pat
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It's possible, of course, that (given her current taste in cars she probably isn't a petrolhead) in allowing Mr B to have an Alfa she thinks SHE is the one being tolerant....
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Just drop it completely, when your good lady is faced with the reality of a baby and the logistics of it's support she will ask for more suitable transport. Once that happens all the options open up. At the moment you are at the "walking on eggs with kid gloves and slippers" stage. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sat 15 May 10 at 18:10
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>> It's possible, of course, that (given her current taste in cars she probably isn't a
>> petrolhead) in allowing Mr B to have an Alfa she thinks SHE is the one
>> being tolerant....
>>
You're not wrong. She even contributed towards it, I'm a lucky man! Not that it's the 'Alfa' part which required tolerance, merely the fact that I spent much more on it than I would have been willing to had it not been part vehicle and part hobby.
Anyway, having just got back from Fords, we have found a selection of cars she likes, almost all of which we now find are too new to be available for the sort of money we were initially planning to spend:
Qashqui
Bravo
i30
New shape Leon
We could certainly afford more, we're just not sure we want to. Every penny spent on a car is a penny not added to the offset mortgage after all.
The Note she wasn't taken by, although it is a clever little car inside. We have a Ford dealer just down the road, so will have a closer loom at a Focus and a C-max at a later date, both of which can definitely be had within our initial budget.
Altogether, the car she's most taken a liking to based entirely on looks and interior pleasantness is the Bravo, and I have to agree with her. The prettiest car outside, and a really nice interior too. Was surprised to find a very good boot size as well.
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>> Any thoughts, comments or put downs at my ridiculous plans for a baby-wagon much appreciated!
>>
Yes - she obviously has better taste than you......
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Really? I know you're a Vauxhall fan, but you'd pick a pauper-spec Corsa over the other cars listed here?
Having been to Fords, we could see a lot of different makes arrayed right next to each other. What was very noticeable is that, while Ford have made a great improvement on the feel of their cars as well as their abilities, their traditional rival Vauxhall seem to still be stuck in a mindset that they are providing budget vehicles, so they must appear to be budget. The interiors of the Vauxhall cars there were bleak. Every direction you looked reminded you that you'd got in a cheap car.
Everything else at least made an attempt to cosset you, to make you feel you were in a pleasant place to be.
I'm sure the more expensive Vauxhalls are different, and maybe the more recent too, but in the ranges we were looking, they were absolutely left behind on the interiors, and reviews suggest they don't provide anything else to compensate for that.
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.. The interiors of the Vauxhall cars there were bleak.
You're right. I don't know who the car interior designers are at Vauxhall, but they seem to be devoid of any pizazz whatsoever. Grey, lifeless, and soul destroying, it's a wonder why all those sales reps haven't committed suicide after staring at those dashboards for hours on end. Although thankfully the later Vauxhalls seem to have improved.
.. she obviously has better taste than you
Getting moist over a Corsa rather than an Alfa with a V6 engine? Don't make me laugh.
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Well, we finally got around to visiting a Ford garage at the weekend, and it's knocked the Focus off the list I think. In fact, it's down to a list of one - the Bravo which Mrs Bazza prefers.
Focus was there as the 'head over heart' car, the one which we should logically buy. The model has been out longer (since 2005 for the MkII I believe) so we could buy an older car for much less money.
Except it turns out that I've allowed assumption to creep in there. In fact, it seems that to buy a 2005 Focus, with a decent spec and decent engine will cost around the same amount as buying a 2007 Bravo with a much better spec and better engine, bigger boot and a much nicer look, both inside and out.
Clearly Fords great and acknowledged inprovement in their cars has resulted in very low depreciation. (Buying privately, we could save some money. But not the amount I was expecting, and probably not enough to justify getting a 2nd favourite car over the favourite.)
So, taking into account pda's excellent advice not to mess with a pregnant lady, looks like we're searching specifically for a Bravo from now on. The only issue is that, as a relatively new car, there's not a lot to choose from on the used market.
This leads me to another question, but probably best asked in a new thread...
Last edited by: Bazzabear on Tue 1 Jun 10 at 11:00
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Car for a pregnant lady - Pat
