What are you stitching next?

LOL - we once put 16 into the 2 door Montego - Dad came to pick up myself and friends after some school thing, I just had a learner's permit - and someone else had lost their ride. So, we ended up with me driving - hah - and an amazing pile of a few on Dad's lap, and layers of kids in the back seat! I don't think that would happen now.

Ellice

I used to own a Mini Clubman (estate version of the Mini). I'm 6 ft 4 ins tall and only found difficulty with my size 13 feet and the small pedals. And when we bought our first washing machine, a twin-tub, it fitted easily into the back through the double doors.

For 'estate version' read station wagon version lol

Well, first, does DS fit in it? Does it have room for two sets of hockey gear? What's the head room like?

I had a Honda CRX for ages. Loved that car, but as much as I'd like the same things I loved about it, I couldn't drive one now.

A Mini nicely holds one set of gear but not two.

Some day DS will have a job and money to fund a car, but until he does, he'll need to drive my vehicle or get a ride. But the up side is that if I'm home, I can tell him to take DD to the rink..... Ah right...

Our buddy with the "inside connections" has heard reports that part wasn't "fixed completely".

How tall is your DH?

DS inherited the extra long torso gene, so while he as long arms and legs, his torso is actually the longest part of his body. Oh, and he has Mom's "chicken neck". (It fun seeing bits of your self expressed as your kids grow. He has Dad's palm, but Mom's long fingers, a Clark forehead with the widow's peak and Dad's nose. She has a smaller widow's peak, my freckles and tans the same shade I do, even with sun screen.)

We love Top Gear and now the kids are telling me I need an estate car, it sounds better than station wagon.

Cheryl

We've looked at Audi and VW's for that reason.

Cheryl

My folks used to have a International Travelall. We got camping gear and 15 girl scouts in it for a trip. The leaders traveled in peace both ways.

My personal best was 8 in a Firebird - 6 in the back and two in the front.

I get confused 'twixt sedan, saloon, estate etc in US/UK communications

My elderly Discovery is designed to seat seven but I have had twelve in it (it was a squeeze!)

Ah, that parses differently to me than "nobody else wants it." I don't think you should care what he thinks is "cool" but DS does have to fit.

I quite like my VW, but you knew that. More importantly, DH and two dog crates fit just nicely.

E.

Whoops. Forgot about the gear issue.

Elizabeth

Gee Sheena. Thanks for the translation. I knew you spoke English and I knew you were fluent in French, but I never knew you spoke "car" so well. RD&H

Well, there is the "grief factor" to account for - I really don't want to drive around while the kids wear paper bags over their heads...

I'd look harder at those if we'd had better luck with DH's Audi in terms of the CV joints and other costs of ownership.

Just think of 36" long pads, 5 to 6 foot long sticks.....

Yeah, it always sucks when you have a bad experience with a car.

OTOH, ours is 5 years old, has 80,000 miles on it and has been fantastic. We've done nothing but normal maintenance on it. It's also my 3rd VW, having put over 150,000 on each of the other ones and kept them each beyond 10 years of age.

Elizabeth

Piss off you little squirt !

Many moons ago we bought a Volvo. The car was very nice, no argument there but the a/c gave up the ghost just out of warranty, the brakes always squealed (really embarrassing in the city) surprisingly it is the worst vehicle I ever drove on ice or snow and worst of all, the sun roof leaked. This was not an added sun roof, it was factory installed.

I can't count how many times it was in for the sun roof thing, seemed like more than it was out with us, the interior of the roof was ruined

- and we had a garage so it wasn't exactly exposed to the elements full time.

Then finally came the day when I dropped it off to have the snow tires put on. Home again and they call to say one of the tires has a broken belt, don't put them on then says I, thinking already time to get rid of this car, we had it some three years that's all. Go to pick it up and the girl says 'That will be x for the service and $140 for putting the snow tires on" But, but, but, you called me, told me there was a broken belt and I said 'don't put them on' - I had her call the manager and he suggested they could put the regular tires back on and we could 'split the bill' - well I split at that and they hastily decided to replace the regular tires at no cost.

When I left I told the owner of the dealership that within the week I would have off loaded his piece of junk. We switched to a Honda Accord and to Davids mortification on the way home I drove past the Volvo dealer, the owners office had a corner window right where you turned in, I turned in, made sure he was looking at me and gave him the finger.

Maybe we were unlucky and got a lemon, but they certainly were bad at handling that -