Hi,

I am looking for some insight into possibly getting a new car.

I currently drive a Fiat Punto which I have on pcp finance until February 2020.

With the birth of my first child I now am in need of a bigger car which can take a car seat more comfortably and a couple of passengers at times.

Wondering if anyone can recommend a car to go for 500L, 500X or Tipo station wagon? Or a different brand?

Also, can anyone tell me would it be easy to return car to Fiat early and take out a bigger car? Or is my best bet just to wait it out until February when my pcp ends?

Thanks in advance

Hi. And welcome.

Pcp should be easily carried over.

Tipos are on some good deals
As they are not selling well.

As much a reflection of being large FIATs
As being inferior cars.

Charlie

Well I'm a Fiat man so whilst there will be other makes that could/possibly/would meet your requirements I can't advise/comment on other makes. However there are people here on this forum that have experience of competitors so I leave it up to them to comment.

Bases on what you have said then the 500X is the smaller of the options (500L / Tipo) but will still adequately meet your requirements. i.e. driver + 2 + child. However were you to go +2 child then with luggage the 500X would be a squeeze. It does have 3 seat belts and ISO fittings for child seats but boot space could be restrictive.

The 500L is a bigger more "family" suitable car with some room for expansion.

The Tipo is an excellent car by all reports (I've seen & inspected but not driven or owned a modern one) and as mentioned the prices are very good. The Tipo is what I think is called a "B" segment car and Fiat have never fared well in sales in this segment in the UK.

Now the next bit is all down to personal purchase choices. If you want to buy new with full 3 year warranty then you may like to consider joining the Fiat Motor Club GB. Club members can purchase new Fiats at possible advantage prices/discounts. The Infinity scheme provides fixed discounts on Fiat vehicles and the dealer has to sell to you at those prices. Discounts vary by models and it is possible that "box shifter dealers" can better prices.

You can find the current Affinity Scheme info here:

https://www.fiatgroupsales.com/module/fgs_reg/attachments/Privilege%20Purchase%20Scheme%20Price%20List.pdf


Oh, by the way Fiat Motor Club GB membership is £25 so please factor this into your calculations.

NOTE / ADDENDUM : I've just looked at the Affinity scheme info (on the above link) and the scheme appears to have changed since I last used/reviewed the scheme. One used to be able to outright purchase with a fixed %-tage discount but the current scheme seems to be biased towards 0% plans with 3 year servicing.

Would still add/stress that some dealers *may* be able to beat the Affinity scheme prices but you have a bargaining no quibble base point to your advantage.

We have run small Fiats for many years as our second cars or for children to learn to drive with. Pretty much exclusively Pandas although my older boy is in a 2012 Punto at this time. I look after them and like them as they are easy and cheap to look after and if well maintained they seem as reliable as most other makes. Even though the kids are all grown now and have their own families we still run a Panda as a second car and it's great for the city. (also as it's older we don't worry about the odd small ding in the supermarket car park.)

Having said all that the larger Fiats don't really appeal so much and my perception is they are not popular so unlikely to have good residuals. For more than 20 years now we've run Seat and/or Skoda superminis (Ibiza, Cordoba, Fabia) as our "better" cars and I really like them. Apart from one Fabia hatchback they've all been estate versions, plenty of room, economical, reliable and cheapish (as anything else) to repair. If you look after your cars yourself there is also the VCDS PC based diagnostic package which has even better functionality than Multiecuscan. The only reservation I would have would be if I were buying used I wouldn't buy one of the chain cam TSI engines. However since the EA211 engine series came in a few years ago (my 2016 Ibiza is one) they now have gone back to a belt and all seems to be well.

Although old I still get involved with a lot of friends and family cars and have always been impressed with the Honda Jazz and Civic - very nearly bought a Civic estate instead of the Ibiza. My daughter in law runs an old - '08 plate - Jazz which I maintain for her and it is without doubt the most reliable car in the present fleet of 6. She's been thinking of replacing it with a new, or newer, one so I've been having a look around for her. Called into the local main dealer to see just how cheaply I could "wangle" one out of them (when new they are a bit pricey) and I think I could do quite well. I got the impression sales are down just now and the salesmen are hungry! The Jazz has always appealed to me because of it's Tardis like qualities - smallish outside and cavernous inside with very clever rear seat options. Unfortunately, whilst the small engine is adequate it's never been nippy enough for me so I've never bought one. The latest 1.3 litre version drives very well with it's 100HP but still not quite "punchy" enough for me - However I learned they now have a 1.5 with nearly 130HP (the sport) and I think that might just fit the bill nicely if I want to change at some time in the future. I also like that it's a normally aspirated engine so no turbo to possibly worry about. Direct injection I'm afraid, but then everything is now-a-days. Don't think the diagnostic prospects are so bright though, haven't seen anything like VCDS or MES for the Honda.

GOLF... buy a golf, everyone should have a golf, don’t believe me ask James May offof topgear.

On a more serious note (you should buy a golf though) what ever car you decide to buy they will usually buy you out of your PCP deal for you to buy the new car. Then they will calculate the new level of finance for you. You end up paying the difference between the trade in value of the punto and the amount you still owe on it anyway, but it means you can still get a new bigger car.

On a more practical note, the punto is a fairly good little family car and should do you with a new baby for a year or two without any problems, you could just wait for the PCP deal to end and give it back at the end.

People get by with much smaller cars. A friend of mine refused to give up her mini when she had kids, and still had a mini to this day, updating it for a new one every 3 years. She managed car seats push chairs you names it she made it work there was no way she was getting rid of her mini

Well I have to say that the last post about "making what you have work for you (financially and practically)" is the best place to start and could/will save you a lot of money. Car space is not limited by "within the shell". Roof racks/boxes, bike racks, even small inexpensive trailers will expand what you have to what you need with little additional cost.

Think outside of the box/car chassis before making any more expensive vehicle replacement decisions.

Hah! Golfs are great. They work for everyone - from the lowliest working classes to the aristocracy. I'm waiting to see the new Mk8 GTE Estate, which will come along when my 5-series needs replacing. It'll be more practical for my triathlons and save me a fortune in company car tax.

On a serious note - keep the Punto until the deal is over, then look around. I'd probably not go for a Tipo. Nothing wrong with them, but even after huge discounts, depreciation will be savage.

Skoda Octavias are very good - get one at 3 years old and avoid the 1.6TDI. Won't cost a fortune, will hold its value relatively well and be all the car you ever needed. They're based on a Golf, but absolutely massive inside.

On the other hand, I always fancy the idea of a more van-like car - I have a soft spot for the Qubo / Berlingo type things.

Thought the Octavia was an old model Passatt..?

Im assuming OP is using PCP as havent got the free £10k+ to tie down on a vehicle.

Plenty of good used cars out there for
£3to5k all down to anticipated requirements.

No, its the Superb that's based on the Passat - and it has been based on the contemporary Passat for about 15 years now - it was only the first Superb that was the previous generation Passat. (It was actually the Chinese market LWB Passat with Skoda badging).

Schumi2001 said:

Skoda Octavias are very good - get one at 3 years old and avoid the 1.6TDI. Won't cost a fortune, will hold its value relatively well and be all the car you ever needed. They're based on a Golf, but absolutely massive inside.

On the other hand, I always fancy the idea of a more van-like car - I have a soft spot for the Qubo / Berlingo type things.

Click to expand...

Totally agree. Octavia is very hard to beat as family transport. It is based on the Golf model so simple Macpherson strut front end - not that weird twin arm setup of the Passat with it's liking for wearing out the top ball joints (so I hear) Older cars have a beam rear axle but I think the newer ones have multi link? not that that would put me off. Simple transverse engine/gearbox not the fore/aft Passat set up so easy to do the timing belt. My son in law had one and it was very reliable and easy to work on. The Passat not so much.

I also agree with avoiding the 1.6CR diesel. The old 1.9PD engine was a cracker and if looked after would last for astronomical mileages (it was VERY VERY critical of it's oil - and would quickly wear out camshaft and followers if the wrong oil was used) . 1.9's are old now so will be high mileage etc. If you're going for the petrol engines, and there are some very interesting small capacity direct injection turbo'ed units which drive very well - got the 1.0 litre in my 2016 Ibiza, DON'T buy the earlier chain cam engine. Later engines have a cam belt and are the EA211 engine family. The earlier engines had multiple problems and have cost some owners BIG MONEY to sort out. The earlier engines had the turbo and exhaust on the front of the head/block, the new engines have them down the back so it's easy to spot them. If you're buying new this won't be a problem of course as you'll be looking at the later engines. Getting back to the 1.6CR, my older boy had one in his Fabia Scout. Initially it went well, although it lacked the brutal grunt of my old 1.9. but then it just seemed to stagger from one problem to another. Blocked EGR (and it's a swine to do on that engine with the part being expensive too) DPF problems, which surprised me as the car spends most of it's life on the motorway, and so it went on. He gave up in the end and bought a new Kia Rio with it's 7 year warranty. 2+ years old now and going like a wee Swiss watch.

Finally I would say if you haven't driven one of these small capacity petrols yet don't dismiss it out of hand. I did initially. These VAG units are surprisingly flexible - maybe better than others - with a good broad spread of power and plenty of it. At very very low revs there is a wee bit of turbo lag but you soon learn how to drive round it. I suppose like all turboed engines, if you drive around with a heavy right foot you'll never get good fuel economy and people criticize them for this, especially lead footed motoring journalists, but I find if you drive more reasonably you can expect surprisingly good mileage figures. Mine returns around 60mpg overall on our journeys to the south of England cruising at 70mph on the cruise control and driving so I keep up with the general flow of traffic on ordinary A roads. Local journeys are much more variable but around the 35 to 40mpg mark if traffic is average.

A liking for van-like cars? I've been besotted with the idea of a Roomster ever since I first saw one. I think if I saw a nice one going cheap with, maybe, lots of things wrong with it for me to sort out, I would probably buy it and hide it from Mrs Jock so I didn't get my ears boxed!

Check the full costs of an early closure of the PCP. The baby seat can go in the front of a Punto no problem (don't forget the airbag switch). If it's four door you should be fine.

I had a Renault Laguna hatchback - perfect family car. Oh Yes! Actually no, the rear doors opened with less usable access than a Fiat Panda. You could not get a baby carrier into the back seat. I was amazed that a Panda would have actually been more useful than the much bigger Laguna. I think it's reasonable to assume the Punto wont have worse rear access than a Panda.

I replaced the Laguna 2.0 with an Espace 2.0T. We had loads of space and it was great for carrying kids' junk and really handy when we moved form Stafford to South Devon.

As for a new car (because you can), the Jeep Renegade is cool and its built on the same production lines as the 500X.

My daughter has a Ford Focus 1.0 Turbo. It's rated to 125bhp and she's really happy with it. Just don't expect a fairly large car with 125bhp engine to be as economical as a 60bhp Panda.

Current guidance is not to put child seats in the front of cars.

The reason goes something along the line of there is a higher chance of injury to babies in the front seat you are more likely to be distracted and have an accident and it is illegal to drive a car with a child in a front seat without disabling the airbag. As the punto grande/evo/punto don’t have an airbag disabling switch like other cars and it’s dont by software on the dash, I would not trust that in a significant accident the passenger airbag would not deploy, especially an impact damaging the wiring looms on the passenger side of the dash.

Definitely just avoid putting children in front seats, if you have to for what ever reason then you should always use a front facing child seat, one that is designed to work with the safety systems of the car.

The issue of baby seats in the front is moot. Yes, the air bag *could* still deploy but if we take things to that level, there is lots of stuff that could malfunction. In general, airbags are more likely to not deploy than go off accidentally but nothing is 100% safe.

The issue with small children in cars is they will always be a distraction. ALWAYS. If they are in the back the driver is tempted to lean back to them. Silly, stupid, call it what we like but it happens. Babies will throw their dummy and they will complain. It's so much easier when they are next to you. I would not choose a car which has a front seat belt too short to accommodate a baby carrier - some are (if I had tiny kids that is).