PDA

View Full Version : Do you find you are limited by the size of your car?



Ripeberry
04-01-2011, 10:20 PM
Although I'm registered for 5 children under the age of 8yrs old, I can only realisticaly EVER have 3 children at any one time due to the fact that I have to drive everywhere and have two children of my own, so although I have a Zafira I can only put up 6 seats as the 7th seat makes it impossible to put a pushchair or bags in it!

I think if I ever had lots of enquiries then I would invest in a small minibus :D

clio0602
04-01-2011, 10:22 PM
Yes I have a Zafira and have a buggy I can put in the tiny bootspace and can fit 4 carseats only and thats it. Not that I want any more mindees at the mo :D

Louise0208
05-01-2011, 06:15 AM
we have a zafira too....and with 4 kids of my own its a bind!

but i try to walk everywhere as im pretty local to everything :)

mushpea
05-01-2011, 07:03 AM
I have a zafira and 2 of my own children and in the holdays i mind 4 others most days but 2 days untill 1pm I have 5 children,, on these days we either go for a walk somonwhere in the morning or use the car in thse afternoon,,,,I stick to the amount of seats i have in the car as to the amount of children i have in the holidays but then my son cant cope with anymore children that we already have anyway. As for the teacher training days I could potentialy have 8 children so we just walk to the park or the local woods etc.

butterfly
05-01-2011, 07:19 AM
I'm limited with a golf so I can only take 4 children in the car. That generally means I can only do trips and outings during school hours with my under 5s. Luckily the school, playgroup and shop are all in walking distance. It does make school hols pretty boring though!

loocyloo
05-01-2011, 08:25 AM
i limit myself in the holidays to the number of children i can fit in the car ( 6 plus me! toyota verso) if i have to put the double buggy in, its a squeeze, but DS is used to being squished by the buggy !!!! ;)

and i have one night after school that i limit my numbers as i do a late pick up and need the car!

other than that we walk !!!

x

Ripeberry
05-01-2011, 08:47 AM
Can't walk around my area. Lots of narrow country lanes with no pavement and the road to the school is very dangerous and lots of accidents happen on the crossroads as it's a very busy road towards a motorway junction.

Walking is a big no-no around here :( . Not even got any descent country paths as they start over a mile away. I sometimes fantasize about moving into a more built up area and being able to walk on pavements but I would not swap it as the views are lovely and the neighbours great!

Blaze
05-01-2011, 08:49 AM
I don't drive, so unless I can get there by my own / our own gumption or public transport - it doesn't happen!

snufflepuff
05-01-2011, 09:08 AM
I have a 7 seater but don't want it anymore- i dont like it, dont like driving it or parking it, and hate that the insurance is extortionate! I have my son plus 2 mindees, all one year olds so need space for 3 large carseats. Not planning on taking on more children (as in before or after schoolies) so don't need the extra seats anymore. I'm looking for something smaller but that will still accommodate 3 carseats in the back!

mufftie
05-01-2011, 09:18 AM
oh yes a few years ago i had to keep turning people down as i couldnt get them in the car i have 5 children of my own 4 of which still needed transporting on the school run.
i got fed up of this and as im a big landrover fan the only ansewr for me was to buy a huge 110 defender it has 11 seats , did originally have 12 but i took the 12th out so i could have storage its fantastic , cheap to insure , cheap to repair and bloomin good fun in the snow !:jump for joy:

sonia ann
05-01-2011, 09:25 AM
I have had an 8 seater Praevia for the last 14yrs (4 children of my own) and I wouldn't be without it. We are now on our 2nd one but they are few and far between and I am dreading this one going as there aren't many 8 seaters out there. There is plenty of room for any combination of car seats and room in the boot for single and double buggy at same time and the rest of the paraphanalia :)

Sarahbelle
05-01-2011, 09:38 AM
I have a 7 seater but don't want it anymore- i dont like it, dont like driving it or parking it, and hate that the insurance is extortionate! I have my son plus 2 mindees, all one year olds so need space for 3 large carseats. Not planning on taking on more children (as in before or after schoolies) so don't need the extra seats anymore. I'm looking for something smaller but that will still accommodate 3 carseats in the back!

Same here. Want to downsize but want something I can get 3 car seats for under 5s along the back seat. Any suggestions?

snufflepuff
05-01-2011, 10:01 AM
Same here. Want to downsize but want something I can get 3 car seats for under 5s along the back seat. Any suggestions?

I really like the cars with 5 seats then 2 extra stored away in the boot- mazda 5, citroen c5 picasso, peugeot 5008 (I think?) Smaller than a proper people carrier but still big enough for our needs, plsu the option of extra seats when needed (obviously zero storage space with all seats in use) but they all are out of my price range really.

So yes i'd really love some suggestions of cars that fit 3 seats in a row in the back!

Louise0208
05-01-2011, 11:01 AM
we fit 3 car seats in a row in our zafira, though we do have to pull over the booster seat to clip in the belt then push him over but any will be like that when using 3 car seats :thumbsup:

ORKSIE
05-01-2011, 11:06 AM
I have a Zafira which i love:thumbsup:

But its not big enough, when I have to fill all 7 seats...no room for Dbuggy and bags:(

Gonna look for something a lil bigger next time xx

charleyfarley
05-01-2011, 12:44 PM
I loved my Zafira too Orksie :thumbsup: Although I had to buy a new car so bought a Fiat Elyusse (sp) It is bigger than the Zafira but it still only has 7 seats and I need more :panic:

I walk the school runs every day but have 2 new children starting March and May so holidays are going to be a problem on days when I have them all. Days out are going to have to be planned for on my quieter days :thumbsup:

Carol xx

georgie456
05-01-2011, 01:02 PM
I have a teeny Ford KA - When I just brought it, I discovered on getting the kids all ready for a trip out (4 of them) that in the back there was ZERO space between the 2 car seats!!!! I hastily re-arranged our plans!

I'm lucky in that school is just behind my house and I tend to do the school run, then come back with the 3 little ones to go out in the car - the oldest one goes in the front (which is not ideal) If we are going on a special trip in the hols or something, DH takes the KA and I use his Passat.

ORKSIE
05-01-2011, 01:04 PM
I loved my Zafira too Orksie :thumbsup: Although I had to buy a new car so bought a Fiat Elyusse (sp) It is bigger than the Zafira but it still only has 7 seats and I need more :panic:

I walk the school runs every day but have 2 new children starting March and May so holidays are going to be a problem on days when I have them all. Days out are going to have to be planned for on my quieter days :thumbsup:

Carol xx

Term time for me is fine...i also struggle in the hols:(
I am gonna look for a galaxy me thinks.:thumbsup:
the Eulysses(SP) i think would be too big for me to drive:(

xx

sweets
05-01-2011, 01:17 PM
Same here. Want to downsize but want something I can get 3 car seats for under 5s along the back seat. Any suggestions?

Fiat stilo.
ive got one and i have 2 high backed boosters and a normal 0-4 car seat in the back. it is a squeeze but once they are in its fine.

Tealady
05-01-2011, 01:22 PM
It's a tricky one for us too.

I have a Honda Jazz which is actually quite roomy but with two of my own I can only ever have two mindees. The car suits us quite well as a family so if we got a bigger car it would only be for my Minding. Having done the sums I would therefore only be working to pay for a car we don't need as a family. So makes no sense.

However I am stuck between a rock and a hard place as it is very quiet at the moment and local Mum's of full-timers don't want me as I have a school run. And Schoolie families don't want me because my setting is too small and want more children for their own to mix with after school.

Feeling like I may as well give up.

charleyfarley
05-01-2011, 01:28 PM
Term time for me is fine...i also struggle in the hols:(
I am gonna look for a galaxy me thinks.:thumbsup:
the Eulysses(SP) i think would be too big for me to drive:(

xx

Oooh you'd be fine with a Ulysse, I'm sure a Galaxy is bigger than mine.

I really wanted a 8 seater but couldn't find one when I was looking.

Carol xx

samb
05-01-2011, 09:33 PM
I have an Audi A4. I can not fit 3 car seats in the back. As I have 2 children of my own - 1 in highback booster and 1 in 9month-4 years seat I made a decision to not use my car for minding. I worked out that I would have to buy another 9month-4 year car seat and pay extra for insurance (I only have social domestic and pleasure comprehensive cover at the moment) and this would only allow me 1 mindee so for me it really would not be worth paying that out to go to 1 or 2 toddler groups a week. We either use the train which is only another 3 minute walk from school or the bus which is a 2 min walk from mine. Kids under 5 are free so I only pay £2.10 - £2.30 for 4 of us to get out to local groups, the library etc. And also they love the train and bus as it isn't something they go on regularly with parents. It hasn't put anyone off using me yet. If there was an amazing group then I may change my mind but 6 months in it has been working for me.

Lady Haha
06-01-2011, 11:19 AM
oh yes a few years ago i had to keep turning people down as i couldnt get them in the car i have 5 children of my own 4 of which still needed transporting on the school run.
i got fed up of this and as im a big landrover fan the only ansewr for me was to buy a huge 110 defender it has 11 seats , did originally have 12 but i took the 12th out so i could have storage its fantastic , cheap to insure , cheap to repair and bloomin good fun in the snow !:jump for joy:

I have an 8 seater Nissan Serena, but now I want this!!!!!!!

mufftie
06-01-2011, 11:58 AM
best investment ever i just look at every seats as a xtra x amount of pounds an hour its more than paid for itself and being a 4x4 ive got my advert on the spare wheel cover :clapping:

ORKSIE
06-01-2011, 01:34 PM
Oooh you'd be fine with a Ulysse, I'm sure a Galaxy is bigger than mine.



Carol xx

Really!!
I will have to take a look....thanks Carol
xx

AliceK
06-01-2011, 02:22 PM
I used to have a Galaxy and space wise it was brilliant, still room for a buggy etc even with all 7 seats but I found it very cheap and plasticky and things kept falling off. I've got a Zafira now which I love and don't have to use all 7 seats very often usually just 6 but I am thinking of downsizing as I want to go back to having another Cherokee. Not much good for minding really though as will only have 5 seats but that's a compromise I think I will make. We CAN walk anywhere we need to so it would only be a problem on certain days during the school hols if we wanted to go on a day trip.

xxxx

gegele
06-01-2011, 04:22 PM
I'm the minority and Hated my zafira, it died the day before new year eve.

i had nightmare about not being able to reach the buckle easyly in case of emergency, to get in the back is a nightmare. it's great if you use it as 2 at the back 1in the boot but anyway i'm looking for something else and read all this thread for inspiration LOL

i have a question : don't you need a special driving licence to have an over 8 seatters?
:thumbsup: