Conference terri::cars_uk

    Hi,
    
    Having 3 kids, 2 dogs and enough baggage to cart around an estate has
    been essential. I have had a Citroen BX 19 TRS and now a Puegeot 405
    GRD estate. I would recommend the Citroen BX. The car is comfortable.
    Has plenty of space and is easy to drive. I saw a 4 year old one for
    sale at the Clover Leaf Garage in Basingstoke for 8000. 
    
    I hope that is of some help.
    
    Regards
    
    Paul

    Some friends of mine have recently upgraded from a Fiesta due to a
    'recent addition' to the family.
    
    They went for a new Astra Estate because: it fits on their drive, its 
    got 4 doors for easy access to child seat, the boot will take a 
    folded pram end on (which apparently an Escort estate wouldn't) which 
    saves a lot of space for those other numerous items you mentioned.
    
    When I was that age we had a Mini Van with rear seats, and when Rowan
    was that age we had (and still have) the Rover Cabrio (it will take
    everything you mention, and still be drivable - but its best to load up
    when its not raining). My wife says I have to get a 4-door next time
    tho' :-(

    My sprog, wife and associated gubbins shoe-horn comfortably into a BX
    hatch, admittedly without benefit of dog.  If you must blow �10K on a
    motor, how about a used Xantia? (not that I'm flogging one....)
    
    Bear in mind that new cars depreciate big time in the first year or so,
    and if an H-reg won't get you laughed out of the golf club, why not
    spend half the money and leave a few bob in the building society in
    case something breaks.  Also, in today's market, the average sheepskin
    flogging used motors will do everything but drive the wretched thing
    for you.  There are some real bargains out there.
    
    Richard
    

I have had an Astra GLS TD Estate for 6 months now its got all the safety 
features Air Bag , ABS , Side impact bars more room for passengers than the 
Cavalier that I had only a couple of minor problems on delivery but I like
it and the kids love it .


FWIW

Dicksons in Dunblane had a Diamond Black GLS Estate 1.6i L reg with low milage
a few weeks ago for under your 10K max .




					Stuart

	We bought a Peugot 405 Estate (1.9 injection model).
	At 18 months old, it was �8250 and it still had
	18 months of parts warrenty left.   We're very happy
	with it.  You can get enormous amounts of stuff in the
	back (we can't wait to see how many bottles of wine
	we'll get in it when we go to France in August). Plus,
	it actually handles and goes well.   We're well chuffed
	with it...

	Dave

    My daughter (she's 4) told me recently that our next car had to be an
    estate, so that we could have a dog in the back, and it could pop its
    head over into the back seat so she could pat it....
    
    My wife is determined to have no pets....
    
    I'll let them fight it out, then just buy what I'm told to buy.
    
    Richard
    

FWIW
			   vvvvvvvvvvvvv
Dicksons in Dunblane had a Diamond Black GLS Estate 1.6i L reg with low milage
a few weeks ago for under your 10K max .


	Shouldn't that be "Coal Black?"  Diamonds are transparent aren't they?


				Malcolm.

    It's adspeak, Malcolm.  I remember Double Diamond, it was beer, it was
    all one lump, and it wasn't at all clear.  Besides, diamonds are just
    compressed coal....
    
    Richard
    

Diamond Black is wot it says in the GM colour brochure and Diamond Black is what
is stamped on the plate in the engine compartment.


Park it next to a black car and it looks grey , park next to a grey car and it 
looks black.





							St

    What colour is it when parked between a black and a gray car?
    
    	Rik

Re: .7 - Shouldn't that be "Coal Black?"  Diamonds are transparent aren't they?

	It is nothing to do with the colour, "Diamond Black" contains
	real diamonds, which is why you pay more than solid colours.

Re: .10 - What colour is it when parked between a black and a gray car?

	Striped!!!


	mb

    I have a Peugeot 405 GLDT Estate, and I'm very happy with it. It's
    reasonably swift and handles well. I drive it hard, often cruising for
    many many miles at 100mph+. After a trip back to Brussels from the UK
    (300 miles) and then a further 200+ on the tankfull, when I fill it up,
    it's still turning in 39-41 mpg.
    
    With 3 children (and two of those at boarding school), an estate is
    essential, and I expect I'll be cashing the 405 in for the larger 806
    next summer. This week, however, I've had a 306 SRDT on loan. What a
    cracker! It has the 1.9 turbo diesel engine, and really flies. Fuel
    economy is better than the 405 estate (hardly surprising), but the
    performance is much better. It has a good sized boot, and will
    comfortably seat 4 adults. If you don't have to have an estate, and a
    hatch will do, look at the 306 TD. Incidentally, I also had a petrol
    version for a week, and didn't like it, I suppose I've got used to the
    torque and power curve of a diesel!
    
    Cheers, Laurie.

    Well,  that's votes for Astra, BX, Xantia - how about one for the
    Mondeo?
    
    I have been driving the Mondeo GLX Estate for six months and am
    delighted.  No problems, good performance, _loads_ of space.
    
    Before choosing the Mondeo, I tested:
    
    	Astra (tinny build and narrow across the cockpit)
    	BX (lousy headroom in the rear and I sometimes take 4 adults)
    	Cavalier (no estate!!! and the hatch was not roomy enough)
    	
    I need the space for much the same reasons as you - pram (no problem
    sliding in a large single buggy or a side-by-side double buggy) - high
    chair - crates of nappies and other baby-hardware.
    
    I guess the Mondeo is old enough now that some one year leases might be
    coming up soon making the initial depreciation less painful?
    
    Good luck
    
    Jon

    Word was, a few months ago, that Ford had been playing silly buggers
    with the Mondeo - tales of disused airfields covered with bought-back
    2nd-hand examples and so forth.  Reckoned to end in tears in the
    autumn...
    
    Take care...
    
    Richard
    

    RE:  .6
    
    My 7 and 12 years old boys say......
    Our next car has to have 4 doors. They are sick and tired of my CIVIC
    Si 2 door hatchback. It's too small and not easy to climb into the back
    seats, also black colour is not good for such a small car.
    
    A loaded SAAB 9000 turbo 4 door hatchback (not black one) will be OK
    they say.........
    
    Mitz
    

    
    
    I test drove a Mondeo 1.8i LX 5 door on Saturday and immediately 
    ordered one (an ex-lease) from Ford Direct (via Peoples). I liked the car,
    it was adequate for my needs, the insurance was not a great deal higher
    than my 106 and my wife was comfortable driving it.   
    
    
    re.14
    
    Ermm..what's the problem...??? I take it you mean depreciation will rise
    or is there a problem with the cars ??. 
    
    
    

    My ha'peth of comment.
    
    A five door hatch or estate would be best for a family.
    
    Depending on how long you want to keep it, check out depreciation costs
    etc. If you buy Japanese or German should retain the value better.
    
    Re. Citroen BX and Xantias...the suspension system is superb...but
    if it goes wrong can be very expensive to sort out...plus it disables
    the car if it's not working correctly..ie you get stranded!
    
    Could do worse than a Montego Diesel estate 7 seater low mileage at the 
    right price....but likely to depreciate reasonably fast when it's
    discontinued soon. 
    
    Good Luck!

    Depending on how close to new it has to be...
    
    Have you considered a R21 Savanna.
    
    There's _loads_ of room in there.  It's a 5 seater, or 7 with the
    secondary option, and still got luggage space.  A roof rack is standard.
    
    I think there's a diesel version and they go like a train without
    guzzling fuel.

    How about the Toyota Carina ?  Which? car at the mo
    
    The cavalier is supposed to be the biggest load carrier in its class
    
    A friend works near Cardington in Beds (were Airships come from)
    and he said there were a few thousand Ford Mondeos parked there, but
    they went a while back.
    
    Dave D.

    .6 I'v got over 200 kg's of dog to load in the back and hoping to keep
    another pup next litter....and if the wife would protest....well,
    there's plenty more to choose from :-)
    
    Btw this weight is at present carried in a Volvo 440 ECVT quite
    comfortably. Mind you, I did remove the back seat. The wife objects to
    carry more than 100 kg. in her Fiero.
    For packing dogs and other weight we liked the LandRover best, however,
    this was a Nono for travel. Pity.
    
    Our next (due early '95) traveling car will most likely again be an 
    estate of some sort.
    The Audi 80 Avant would be nice but just too dear. Ditto Astra,
    Clipper, Golf etc as we DO NOT WANT AIRBAGS, ABS, SIPS OR WHATEVER
    COSTRAISING, NON_DRIVING GADGETS.
    The ZX looks OK, as does the Subaru Impreza and the Legacy is quite a
    bargain in base trim. 
    
    What annoys m� is that most makes/types are availeble in automatic only
    is one specific, luxury and therefore expensive model. Diesel
    automatics are about as rare as the Dodo. 
    
    Tough choice, good luck!
    
    Peter

     re .20
    
    a 440lb dog, ie 31 stone !!!
    
    What kind of dog is this ?
    
    
    N.

>    What kind of dog is this ?
    
a very greedy one.

Chris.    

    �What kind of dog is this ?
    
    More than one?

    "200 kg's of dog" meaning a happy Bullmastiff family and two Saluki's.
    Yep, they have healthy appetites but as they are given ample
    opportunity to "work" they are all bone-dry. As muscle tissue is
    heavier than fat, they are heavier than fatter specimen.
    The Saluki's appear to be quite big but, being as fleet as the wind, 
    weigh near nothing. 
    The BM's are almost "slim" and only little bigger than a Boxer but still 
    weigh in at around 100 lbs. As true BM's should, they have ample
    Caterpillar-thrust at 35 mph.
    No, there's no alarm in the car or the house and my wife feels rather
    safe walking them at night...
    
    But enough about this, the conf. was about cars as I remember. The
    Lancia Dedra will be availeble in an Estate version too around
    september. 
    The Mondeo was just introduced with a V6...and autotran.
          
    Peter

    ....wouldn't have any puppies from your Salukis, would you??
    
    Sorry, not cars, I know!   But on the subject of the guy speeding in
    his BMW, but slower, near to where I live, we have official Road-signs
    stating "Racing of horse-drawn vehicles is prohibited" 'cos that's what
    the Romanies were doing with their trotters....good money to be made,
    they say.
             
    
    Irene