And so the change begins

[HeyWayne]

After much deliberation I have now decided that with impending birth of Bean and the rising cost of everything my beloved car must go up for sale.

I love driving - I guess it's in my blood having grown up helping my Dad out in his garage mending/doing up cars (I drove my first car at age 8), and my Leon has given me many a smile over the years.

This weekend I finally put it on Autotrader and pistonheads and must say goodbye after 5 years of ownership (from new). No calls as yet, but I'm hoping it's only a matter of time...

Daft innit?

[squashysu]

HW its a nice car, I would have thought a good family car, so why the change?? what you thinking of and also dont forget boot space for the pram lol!!

[piskieinboots]

so what will you do instead? will you be able to use public transport?

[zazen999]

Yes, surely you are too tall to get on a bus?

[HeyWayne]

HW its a nice car, I would have thought a good family car, so why the change?? what you thinking of and also dont forget boot space for the pram lol!!

Economies - both financial and scale. Tried the pram/pushchair combo thingy we're probably going to buy in my boot and it only "just" fits, with nothing else. Plus with my seat right back (as it obvisouly has to be) it becomes a 3 seater effectively. Also, I've been driving really economically for the past 3-4 months and the best I can get is an overall average of 33mpg - all the figures are stacked against her.

so what will you do instead? will you be able to use public transport?

No can do - I don't fit very well in them either (aside from the fact that buses run infrequently at best from our village).

Current favourite is a Saab 9-3 diesel.

[Comfreyfan]

Commiserations HW. I remember those days, we could just wedge our first sprog's carrycot on the back seat of the Triumph Herald - but it wasn't the same when we couldn't put the roof down anymore and there wasn't enough rust-free floor left for his first car seat anchorage points - we panicked and bought an enormous estate instead! That was 27 years ago and I've only just got round to getting a small car! (207 CC - back to topless!!)

[Mikey]

If you can afford not to I wouldn't bother changing unless its only a two door!. When DD came along I was gobsmacked at just how much stuff you have to take with you for a night away. (its leaves you with enough space for a pair of pants and a toothbrush, under your seat!!). It does get easier though, and after about 6-8 months you find you no longer need half the stuff you were taking. Also the best pram for them when they are small is also way to bulky when they get a bit bigger, and you want to navigate the shops.

We had a focus, and just about managed.

[di]

What's the pushchair?I loved the one we had when D was little~it was a "chicco"&the pram bit doubled up as car seat~really handy if she fell asleep in car & you could pop it on the pushchair without waking her.It also had swivel handles which were great.Can't remember the model(but 6 years ago anyway!)~but would deffo say swivel handles is the way to go!(Sorry I don't do cars!!)

[HeyWayne]

On purely fuel alone by changing from a Seat Leon Cupra to a Saab 9-3 TiD I will save over £400 per year. Tax at the moment on my Leon is £210 rising to £300 next April and £310 the year after. Saab comes in at £145, £150 and £155 for the same periods.

Plenty of other factors to add in, but those are the main winners.

As for prams - we've looked at plenty, and the one we're looking at covers us for up to about 3 years old approx. Again, factoring in the handle/baby height for both of us (me 6ft7, LadyWayne 6ft) it narrows down options somewhat but ups the cost.

[squashysu]

getting a pram is so exciting and believe me, you will get the lovely expensive one and then you will change it to a small cheap buggy when they are about a year old!!!

i could have been the pram queen ha ha !!

when i had my eldest I had a Mini Mayfair, I got one of those huge Mama & Papa prams (this was 13 years ago) anyway managed to get her in behind me in the car seat, the wheels next to her at an angle and then the body of the pram in the front seat at an angle ha ha !! some 2 months or so later I changed the car to a Corsa!! lol!!

When I had the twins I had a Ka!!! needless to say that changed to a Ford Galaxy within days - as a large double pushchair is a nightmare!! lol!!

good luck with the same, my Landie has pretty good boot space, but not enough headroom for you!!!

SS

[Mikey]

The reality of the pram situation is that you will probably buy a lightweight model aswell as the option that allow for the clip in car seat and carrycot. So I wouldn't be too concerned, the problem with the multi systems is they are so impractical when it comes to shopping. They take up far too much space in the boot, in shops etc to be practical long term. After about 15 months you really need a lightweight model like a mcclaren, for popping to the shops rather than a full body armour job that suits a small nipper.

It will all become apparant the minute you start trying to negociate clothes in shops, you soon realise that apart from M&S, Debenhams, John Lewis, ie large department stores, which have plenty of aisle space, the smaller shops river island, next etc do not cater for a buggy, and you end up standing in the doorway while the OH goes inside.

I now believe there is a reason why so many middle aged people shop in M&S, its because shopping elsewhere became too difficult with a buggy!!

[di]

I'd soo disagree Mikey!The combo one we had was a breeze round the shops & as the seat was also the car seat the pushchair base folded up really small to fit in the boot.Had we have left a bigger gap between no.2 & not needed a doublebuggy & can easily see we'd have still been using it when she was 3!
Anyway I've had my SS orders to get on with the housework~cheers Su!

[Mikey]

I'd soo disagree Mikey!The combo one we had was a breeze round the shops & as the seat was also the car seat the pushchair base folded up really small to fit in the boot.Had we have left a bigger gap between no.2 & not needed a doublebuggy & can easily see we'd have still been using it when she was 3!
Anyway I've had my SS orders to get on with the housework~cheers Su!

Perhaps its just the models we had, see below but it is so much easier negociating aisles with the smaller of the two.

[HeyWayne]

getting a pram is so exciting and believe me, you will get the lovely expensive one and then you will change it to a small cheap buggy when they are about a year old!!!

SS

We don't really do small very well I'm afraid.

The world of buggies and alike is heightist!

[Mikey]

We don't really do small very well I'm afraid.

The world of buggies and alike is heightist!

definately take them for a test drive, I used to kick the bar and wheels of our pram frequently, they are so designed for you to walk as though you are on a balance beam, and not legs slightly apart!