family car Archives - HodgePodgeDays

If there is one thing any parent can do without, it’s the added pressure of finding, funding, and maintaining a new family car whilst juggling the myriad other responsibilities of parenthood.

But the car has become an indispensible part of family lifestyles, and for parents with a young family to take care of it can make a major difference to the day-to-day routine. Having the freedom to do the weekly shop, pick the kids up from the school, and take weekend trips away without a second thought spent on the practicalities of getting around is a luxury few of us would like to live without.

But not all luxuries are easy to afford, and getting hold of a new family car, whether it’s used or new and paid for outright or on finance, can be difficult both practically and financially.

Used cars are often more affordable, but it’s hard to get a clear picture of their history and the chances of something going wrong are significantly increased. What’s more, there’s usually no warranty left in place so anything that does go wrong is left to you to sort out.

New cars, although they’re far less likely to throw up any problems themselves, are notoriously expensive to get hold of and lose their value quickly. Most people will find that buying a new family car requires a personal loan from a bank, building society, or even a family member.

Cars bought on finance deals eliminate the risks associated with picking up a used car, but they do bring along a whole range of their own problems. The financial implications of purchasing via a finance deal can be great and far-reaching. Most deals will require you to pay around 10% of the car’s value as a deposit as well as ongoing monthly sums, and at the end of the deal you’ll be left with a car worth much less than you’ve paid for it.

Leasing is a middle-of-the-road option that gives parents the best of both worlds; you can drive a brand new car with full manufacturer’s warranty, whilst paying an affordable amount of money each month and only having to pay a few months’ rent upfront as a deposit. At the end of the leasing contract, you simply hand back the keys. At this point, you’ll be a leasing convert and ready to choose the next brand new car for you and your family.

Have you ever thought of leasing the family car?

What else is great about leasing?

It’s reliable: Leased cars are brand new, unused, and with warranties still in place. Nothing is likely to go wrong, but if anything does then it’s not your responsibility to get it fixed. That means no surprise costs and no hassle.

It’s practical: Unlike buying and hire purchase finance deals, leasing is incredibly straightforward. You pay a small deposit, pick up the keys, and pay your monthly installments. At the end of the contract, you hand back the keys and take back the deposit before choosing whether another lease is for you. Additionally, day-to-day practicalities are even easier with all of the smart new functions available in brand new vehicles. Think litres of storage space and fold-away seats perfect for daytrips to the beach.

It’s safe: Every new generation of cars on the road is safer than the last, and with your little ones in tow there’s nothing more important than making sure they’re as well looked-after as possible. When choosing a family car to lease, you’ll get to pick from the latest models with the most advanced safety features on the road.

It’s affordable: We’ve said it once, but we’ll say it again. For parents with a limited amount of disposable income, leasing can be surprisingly easy to manage. A short-term agreement with no long-term financial implications means you’re able to drive the best of what’s available without making a loss when you decide to move on to a new family car. There’s no major upfront cost, no loans or credit agreements, and nothing to lose at the end.

If, after reading this you feel a car lease deal maybe a feasible option, then check out Vantage Car Leasing. They offer an array of car leasing options that you may find are suitable for most family budgets.

= This is a guest post =

I love cars, I’ve always been a bit obsessed with engines. Growing up my Dad would let me help him out, changing the oil, topping up his battery, looking after the family car. I learned lots of practical skills which have stood me in good stead over the years. Sadly (I’m not sad) I never learned to drive. A broken ankle mid way through my lessons stopped me, and by the time I was ok to drive I was at uni and too poor to pick it up again. Now I consider it my gift to the world that I cannot get behind the wheel. I’m still a massive petrol-head despite my lack of licence, so when hubs does anything to do with our family car, I’m all over it.

We’ve had three cars during our life together, the first (and arguably our favourite) was a Citroen Saxo, a nippy little thing we called Harry we inherited from my mother in law. Harry was a belting little car and we drove thousands and thousands of miles together with hardly any problems. Sadly Harry met his end in a crash on the Mancunian Way. Harry was the only fatality, thankfully. We cried when we said goodbye to Harry and still miss him over ten years later.

After Harry came a Citroen C3, it was a slight panic buy. They’d not been available for long and seemed to be a nicely designed car with the mod-cons Harry never had. Whereas Harry was nippy and a lot of fun, Vera was a sensible workhorse. Plodding along the motorway and cornering like an overloaded double decker bus. The Citoren C3 seemed pretty prone to problems. We were never that much in love with Vera and when I got pregnant and we realised we needed a bigger car we were not that sad to see her go. Sorry Vera.

In 2010 we bought our current car, a Citroen C4 (are you sensing a theme here?). We’ve not actually named this car, which is remiss of us. He is a solid workhorse but with Harry’s nippiness and loads of room for all the baby stuff we needed to cart around with us in the early days. He’s a keeper, or at least we’ll keep him until bits start falling off.

I think we’d really struggle without our car. We don’t use it every day any more, but we do use it for big shops and for going on adventures. I am very fond of our car. It’s gone on a million adventures with us with hardly any trouble at all. It was the car we brought our newborn son home from hospital in. We will be sad to see it go when it finally gives up.