Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

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Wales1
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by Wales1 »

I have a question for you Dangerman?

if you have bikes, why not plan your BOV around wife & kids in car, yourself on bike? (If I were bugging out from Home to a safe location its something I'd do, The bike could be used to scout ahead. communication between the two via walkie talkies) This way you could stick to a lower road tax smaller engined car.
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unsure
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by unsure »

you generally find those that slate landrover are the ones who bought what can only be called end of life vehicals , the 200.000 milers and not been looked after .
YES i walked away mid sentence , you were boring me to death and my survival instincts kick in .
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dangerman
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by dangerman »

Thanks for the idea Wales1, I have thought about this. And in a pinch I think we could do that as we are now but my wife's licence is non-UK and has technically expired. Plod may not like it if she were pulled over with no valid licence and insurance. She hasn't gotten around to going through the motions to drive here yet so I'm stuck with the chauffeur duties. The last time we had to evacuate (during the riots we lived near the centre of Liverpool) we just all loaded up into the car and first thing the next morning I came back on the train to collect my bike. We went to the Wirral to my sister's place, bikes go free through the tunnel.

My motorcycle fits in my trailer now, so as long as I've got 15 minutes to strap it in and hook it up I can always bring it with me. There would be plenty of room in there for extra stuff too should I decide anything more than my go bags are needed.

I'm after the best all round value vehicle option, as low road tax as possible but with fuel efficiency suited to a 6000k annual mileage.

The reason I want something so big is just so I can use it as a camper for myself (for BSB race weekends or solo trips when I get permission) and also fit all the family kit on for holidays and days out. Prams and bags and my wife's shoe collection all add up and currently I end up leaving a lot of stuff behind that I would usually like to bring.
I love motorcycles like a fat guy loves cake. I also love cake.
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Wales1
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by Wales1 »

As far as I understand it...Road tax is calculated from the amount of emmisions a veichle produces-not the size of the engine?
Fair point about the wifes lack of licence..being the only driver in the family can make life difficult. Trailers a good idea..we can't have one fitted to our veichle but we do have a top box...thing is you dont want to look too well prepared too much like a target.
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dangerman
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by dangerman »

Yeah, I'm not after a bug out vehicle like that bloke from the doomsday programme. Rusty cockroach or something? I can't be bothered googling it. But you know who I mean, he has a Land Rover Discovery and a roof tent.

I'm just preparing to load up my hoard and leg it. :D

That's right about the emissions, I'm not looking at the engine size. A 1.9D often does similar mpg to a 2.9D so makes little difference to me how big the engine is as long as it's as cheap as possible to run and tax. If they did a Land Rover with a bluemotion style 1.1D with no road tax I'd probably be all over it. :D
I love motorcycles like a fat guy loves cake. I also love cake.
Hamradioop
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by Hamradioop »

http://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/dacia/duster have a look at the dacia duster.
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junmist
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by junmist »

Can't tell you about the running costs as I only had it a year as a second car put loved my Toyota Previa 8 setter was so useful and you could sleep in it. Had loads of space fully loaded with 8 people, luggage and dog.
I am looking for another car, can't make up my mind between the Mazda Bongo and the Toyota Previa only because their seats fold down to make a bed unlike most other MPV cars.
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dangerman
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by dangerman »

I think the Duster is only a five seater isn't it? The seven seat option would probably be the Santa Fe but I think I've decided not to go for a 4x4 for now. Maybe once I've got a job.

I'm very tempted by the Previa. I'm watching a few on eBay. I think I'm leaning towards the VW transporter minibus now though... The Vivaro crew cab is a tempting size and has the versatility that I want, but it doesn't inspire me with reliability and they don't hold their value very well.

But if I were to buy a VW for around the 10k mark it looks like I might be able to use it for a couple of years and sell it for the same as what I bought it for. Any thoughts? I think the plan would be to take out the rear seats so as to have lots of room for a nice bed. I'm going to go and view one and see if the seats fold forward and see if I could fit a DIY rock 'n roll style bed in there.
I love motorcycles like a fat guy loves cake. I also love cake.
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Hoipoloi
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by Hoipoloi »

dangerman wrote: I think I'm leaning towards the VW transporter minibus now though... The Vivaro crew cab is a tempting size and has the versatility that I want, but it doesn't inspire me with reliability and they don't hold their value very well.
You know all those rusty Transits, Sprinters and VWs that you see? Ever wondered why you've never seen a rusty Vivaro or Trafic? The body is galvanised.
Yes you will hear stories of problems with the Vivaro (to be honest, it's the same with any make) but the previous owner/user has a lot to do with how well the van will last.
My Vivaro is ex AA (you may have guessed by the colour) and not only was it well maintained but it had new brakes and exhaust the week before I bought it. It also came with a complete history of servicing and work carried out. In the 80,000 miles since I had it there has been a few replacement parts but nothing excessive. I like caring for it and keep it well maintained which helps.
I'm just now loading up to tow our caravan to the south of France as we do every year and even with the van now reaching 152,000 miles I have no doubt it will behave faultlessly.
My prepping consists of bugging out by bicycle so any comments are likely to be based on that scenario.
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dangerman
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Re: Family car options, BOV advice - discuss please!

Post by dangerman »

Yeah, I knew about that. Bodywork is good on most cars these days, but I have noticed that they're particularly good on those. One of the lads in work has a Trafic and he is giving it back to mobility next month - 12k on the clock and its just under five years old. I could be tempted with something like that at the right price. Especially if I thought I wouldn't lose money quickly in devaluation.

I wouldn't be touching a Transit. Pieces of crap they are, drove them for years in my old job. Even brand new out of the factory they were crap. Don't know why they're so popular.
I love motorcycles like a fat guy loves cake. I also love cake.