Do you choose your car for your family or your job?

**Tealady** · 09-02-2011, 01:10 PM

Those of you with MPV's, do you have them because you'd want one, need one any way or do you have purely for because of your job?

I've looked at MPV's so I can earn more but feel after paying out for the finance, extra insurance, tax and increased petrol consumption I'll be working to pay for a car we don't need as a family.

Before I started minding we bought a Honda Jazz as it suited our needs as a family. 5 years on we have two small children and it still suits our needs as a family. However, my daughters school is a 9 mile round trip so definately need a car. However, depending on what car seats are needed I can only get my two and one to two mindees in the car (Jazzes are very roomy so can get three in the back ata push).

Business has been dead for a year, but I have now had 5 enquiries in 3 weeks and I've heard on the grape vine that one family will be signing (but I'm not counting any chickens).

As you can see I'm in a real quandary.

**mama2three** · 09-02-2011, 01:15 PM

I have the standard scenic and am to some extent confined by how many mindees i can transport. If we need to change the car then I will look at 7 seaters but wont change it just for the sake of it iyswim. I prefer the mpvs as a family car even as the driving position is so high which suits me as a shortarse!

**nic t** · 09-02-2011, 01:17 PM

I bought my MPV for the job!

**Alibali** · 09-02-2011, 01:18 PM

Bought mine for the job too

**Ripeberry** · 09-02-2011, 01:22 PM

Now I would love a sports car!

But of course I'll have to wait until I grow up.
I've got a Zafira and got it for my familly as I like a high driving position and like to carry lots of stuff in the car and need an enormous boot sometimes.

**devoncm** · 09-02-2011, 01:24 PM

We brought our 7 seater for family use, i wanted one anyway for when i had mindees and could drive-couldnt drive when we got it.
Marc had 5 children i had 2 now we have grace, not all the kids live with us, only 3 and marcs son comes often, the others we see in holidays or weekends when we can get down to cornwall, then we need the seats, last weekend i worked and in total had 7 kids (4 were ours) we still couldnt go far as we didnt fit!

**guest3** · 09-02-2011, 01:28 PM

I've got a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso and got that as I have a 6'4" son and almost 12 year old twins of my own so need plenty of room but it's also handy for work.

**rickysmiths** · 09-02-2011, 01:28 PM

I have a Skoda Octavia and have had one for the last 11 years. I can confortably get 3 seats in the back and one in the front, the air bag isolates with a key in the glove compartment. I walk to my local school for before and after school and I don't want more than 6-7 children at once anyway. I comfortably earn a good 5 figure salary on this.

It is a lovely roomy car with a huge boot, I can get my double and single buggies in it with a weeks shopping and assorted other boot stuff!!

I have resisted buying a larger car just for work because what if as has happened to me in the last month, I have lost one full timer and the other two are moving away at the end of March. I don't want to be paying for a large car that as a family we don't need.

My insurance at the moment is always under £300, Car Tax is £150 (would be £250 for a people carrier) and I get 50 miles to the gallon locally and over 60 on a motorway run.

Suits us.

Dh has a smaller Skoda hatch back to drive the 10 miles to work and back.

**Lil chicken** · 09-02-2011, 01:29 PM

I little bit of both really. I have two children and live down a very rural lane, DD's school is a 10mile trip down single country roads, the river floods. Plus I need to tow a pony trailer. So have a landcruiser.

If I wasn't working I would probably still have a large car as small cars and me just don't get one

**MAWI** · 09-02-2011, 01:31 PM

I bought a VW Touran for the job, but regretted it as I do not need to rely on my car that much. I dont need it for school runs etc...I need extra seats if we go on trips/libraries etc..but decided that I would sell my 7 seater and traded it for a HONDA FR-V which has six seats. It is ideal for the EYFS children during the week, I can get three full seats in the back and then are two in front. if I have too many over 8's attending then we just dont use the car. We walk to most things.

I suppose as with most things, its down to your personal preference. I was swayed because all the other childminders in the area had MPV's and thought I should follow suit, glad Ive swapped now but I can honestly say, the flexibility of a 7 seater is great.

**FussyElmo** · 09-02-2011, 01:33 PM

Family use we have 4 children so we had to have a 7 seater

**snufflepuff** · 09-02-2011, 01:54 PM

I bought our 7 seater back in June last year for minding and regret it. I needed it to take a 5 year old mindee to school along with 3 one year olds. We don't need it anymore. It is handy to have all the extra space (great for trips to ikea!), we used all the seats a few times in the summer for days out with the minded children, and it means if we go out with OHs family we only need to take one car. But I wish i'd never bought it, and had just limited the amount of children I could take on according to our car.

**kel1983** · 09-02-2011, 03:18 PM

I dont drive but sometimes I do think I should learn to and get a car so I can take on extra work. I dont need a car at present. I live a 10 minute walk from the main town, I can actually walk quicker than the traffic moves around here and parking at the schools is impossible.

I'm actually looking forward to half term though as my mum has the week off so is going to take us out in her car. A 7 seater. Obviously with permission from the parents and with proper insurance etc.