7 seaters for less than £4k

[MillsyVRS]

Wonderful people of briskoda, your opinions would be greatly appreciated for the following -

My sister and her husband have 3 kids and so need a car that will comfortably fit 3 child seats along the back without any issue. They currently have a BMW 320d which won't allow for this along the back so this car needs to go. They did have a Zafira which I think would have been ok, but my sisters husband decided he didn't want it so sold it cheaply and got the BMW. But anyway.

The car they seem to want most is the Ford S Max, but for under their top budget of £4K they all have high mileage (100k miles plus) and are quite old. Does anyone have any experience of these cars and know of any common problems?

Or can anyone recommend another car? I had a look at Renault grand scenic I think it was and a Citroen C4 Picasso of some kind which looked they like might have room in the back for 3 child seats but was hard to tell from just the pictures on autotrader! Could get better value on these cars too, which I presume means the Ford's are the most popular and hold their value better.

Thanks for any input, they're hoping to go and look at some cars this weekend.

Mike

Edited 13 July, 2016 by MillsyVRS

[mdk1]

Big 4x4, series 2 Discovery?

[Ootohere]

Those you mentioned and others in 7 seats. Just need to find one that is not going to needs lots of spending on to keep on the road.

(one thats had lots done would help.)

They can be had for £4,000

Seat Alhambra

VW Touran

VW Sharan

Ford Galaxy

Peugeot 807  etc etc

[softscoop]

I would say a Sharalaxy with a PD engine is probably going to be the easiest to find within budget that should prove reliable and cost effective to maintain.

[softscoop]

Something along these lines.

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/volkswagen/silver-vw-sharan-tdi-manual-6-speed-56-2006-mpv-very-low-mileage-long-m.o.t-/1178212861

[MillsyVRS]

Thank you for the replies so far. They're not loaded by any means so I guess just really needing the most reliable and cheap to run car that will fit 3 child car seats across the back and have a big boot for buggys etc. So I guess it doesn't have to have 7 seats but may come in handy as the kids get older and want to have friends round etc.

[softscoop]

Obviously you can take the rear 2 seats out of them and have a huge boot.

[VRS Mike]

we've got an 2007 Mazda5 as our family bus, had it nearly 4 years and apart from the odd bush and shocker it's been perfect. Go for the 2.0 petrol as there are a lot of reports of issues with the diesel. Will return 40mpg and is quick enough.

 

Will be trading it in for a newer version or a Grand C max in the coming years.

[Chris]

Just bought a grand Picasso 2.0d 7 seater. Easily fit 3 seats across the middle row. S-Max is a top car if you can find a reliable one and one in budget. I regret getting rid of mine because apart from an injector issue and a few other niggles it was the perfect family bus.

[andy-fisher]

I have a renault scenic (not grand) which fits three child seats in the back but i would not advise getting one.  Endless faults and expensive or difficult to fix.  Not much space in the engine bay without removing half the front end.  Just done the EGR valve on mine which was a pig of a job.

 

I would never have got rid of the Octavia Mk1 if I had found this company before I got the scenic.

 

https://multimac.co.uk/home

 

If they love the BMW then this may seem expensive but cheaper than a new car.

 

My Scenic cost £3,500, I sold the Skoda for £900 so my outlay was £2,600 for a car I didn't particularly like.  £1,000 would have got me a second hand multimac seat so £1,600 better off than what I did and i would have got to keep the car I liked and knew the history of.

Edited 13 July, 2016 by andy-fisher

[io1901]

Had two Tourans - three child seats across the 2nd row seats would be a bit tight (middle seat is narrower) but you can move them individually backwards and forwards to get more room. The 3rd row seats would be tricky to get into with child seats on the 2nd row ( as they tip forward to allow entry)  - but I'd would thought  that the case with most of these sort of vehicles.

Edited 13 July, 2016 by io1901

[silver1011]

You can't get cheaper than a Zafira.

 

It isn't just about the purchase price, it is running and more importantly (with a £4K budget) maintaining them after you've bought one.

 

Access to Vauxhall parts, their price and independent garage's knowledge of a common car is invaluable to keep running costs to a minimum.

 

A car with lots of used stock floating around on forecourts (i.e. loads of choice) forces prices in only one direction.

 

As dull as the Zafira is to look at you can't say it doesn't perform the job of carting kids around better than a lot of other cars.

 

After the 3 series everything within their budget will be a completely different drive.

 

It's one of the prices to pay for having kids...

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2011-Vauxhall-Zafira-1-8-i-VVT-16v-Design-5dr-/122008854032?hash=item1c684b5e10:g:DfYAAOSwtJZXWCL4 

Edited 13 July, 2016 by silver1011

[skinnyman]

I'm still a fan of the Honda FRV.  Not a seven seater but for our three kids it worked a treat when they were all in car seats.  Ours was the 2.2 diesel, it was a fantastic vehicle but way too dull for me.  I sold it to buy a Vectra VXR.

 

Anyway, here are a couple of examples on Ebay.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-FR-V-2-2i-CTDi-6-Seats-Privacy-Glass-Sport-2006-56-/232009676215?hash=item3604dab5b7:g:JpIAAOSwYSlXg9PW

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-FR-V-I-VTEC-SPORT-/231982027286?hash=item360334d216:g:CHgAAOSwM4xXY7vu

[trundlenut]

Just bought a grand Picasso 2.0d 7 seater. Easily fit 3 seats across the middle row. S-Max is a top car if you can find a reliable one and one in budget. I regret getting rid of mine because apart from an injector issue and a few other niggles it was the perfect family bus.

Electronic handbrake got a mind of its own?

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

[matt_theforce]

I used to have a 2l tdci smax, It was a great car, reasonably nippy and handled quiet well too (I did have eibachs and 18" wheels fitted). 

 

Didn't have any issues in the time I owned ours, would I buy another, Yes.

[MillsyVRS]

I used to have a 2l tdci smax, It was a great car, reasonably nippy and handled quiet well too (I did have eibachs and 18" wheels fitted).

Didn't have any issues in the time I owned ours, would I buy another, Yes.

Thanks for that, good to know. The one they were looking at has recently has water pump clutch and some belt done so hopefully that should mean they're good for a while. I've read the electronics can be a bit iffy. Also, I saw on autotrader that some were listed with a 1.8TDI engine and others with a 2.0TDI. Is there any difference between these?

And thanks all for the comments and feedback, it's much appreciated and passed on!

[VWD]

Something that always comes back to me when I see kids seated in 7 seaters just in front of the rear doors. WHERE does the inner safety zone start (safety cage ), and what would happen to the kids if something the size of a transit van rear ended it.

I often wonder ,but personally I wouldn't put anything I VALUED IN THAT SPACE.

Edited 16 July, 2016 by VWD