Sorry, Not Fish Related! Anyone With A Big Family!?

[heavenly_d3vi1]

I know this post doesn't really belong here, but I feel more comfortable posting it where there are people I know rather than the rest of the forum!

So, I have a lil problem with a big family car! I have 4 kids, and have recently found out that i'm accidently expecting a 5th! Biggest problem being that when this one is born my youngest will have just turned 1 so she will still need a silly big baby car seat, as will the new baby obviously, and 2 of my other kids still need to use booster seats and i'll need a big bulky twin pushchair too.

I bought a toyota lucida when I was pregnant with my youngest, and it was perfect, I could easily squeeze all the kids in, and the boot is plenty big enough for my pram plus either a weeks worth of grocery shopping or the dog... but, 3 weeks after I bought it the cylinder head blew, and ive since been told that its a VERY common problem with these cars, and even if you manage to get a good one, the cylinder heads are only good for 5 years, and replacing it will cost more than the car!!! Annoyingly, these cars are the only ones that Ive come across in my price range (about £1,500-£2,000) which lets you use ALL the seats and still have a reasonable size boot, all the other ppl carriers ive seen, you have to fold the extra seats to have any boot space!!!!

Whoa, sorry that was a bit long! lol

Basically... does anyone know of a people carrier that will cost me no more than 2k maximum, which will allow me to fit 2 baby seats, 2 booster seats, my teenage son, myself, another adult, a double pram AND a large dog in!?!?

 

[Tony_essex]

a bus lol well the toyota lucida are perfect for what u want but to be honist i do 2 at work and never had to do a head on one yet and thats in about 8 years of service them and fixing them so there not all that bad , the galaxy i dont is about next biggist thing but dont think your fit all that on there ether

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

You ever had to change the coolant on a lucida? They're saying my head is gone as it started overheating when I flushed the coolant to make sure it had proper DI water and coolant in it, but just cant seem to get air out of the sytem, and cant get the thermostat to open!! It's being a right nightmare. I personally dont think the head is gone, as it was fine before I tried to refil the coolant, and its showing no other signs!

 

[micko]

We have a Zafira and leaves us with a seat we can put down in the boot. If both seats in the boot are up then its got a tiny boot space.
A citeron synergie is a good car. We had one until someone decided to smash into the back of us.

 

[Stampos]

My sister has 6 kids (as does my mum, big family ) and has a zafira - pretty big, lots of seating options and its on 138k miles and still going strong

 

[Tony_essex]

is this yor normal garage hun ? if there anygood and u told them what u did they would bleed the system back out usein a vac bleeder which emptys the system and refills on a vacuum so no air can get back in system or have they done a block test ?

 

[micko]

has a zafira - pretty big, lots of seating options and its on 138k miles and still going strong

As I stated above, a Zafira doesn't have a good enough boot space. If you put the two seats in the boot up to make it a 7 seater you have enough boot room for two shopping bags. That's it.
Seats in the back are uncomfortable too so they kids say.

The synergie is a good motor, strong, plenty of room and pretty powerful considering its a heavy car.

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

Yeah zafiras are far too small! I'll have a look at a synergie, never heard of those!

Tony, I dont normally use garages, I have a friend who always fixes my cars, but he just got completely lost with this one, and said the engine should be in a space ship! lol I took it to some jap import specialist, when I told him what was happening he pretty much insisted that the head was gone and said he didn't need to look at it to tell but would have a look if i wanted but advised that id be wasting my money!
I joined a lucida forum too, in the hope of getting a bit more help, but.. they all say the same as the garage blokey!! I'm no mechanic, but I know a fair bit and I really dont see how it can the head, it runs far too well imo! Me and my friend are gunna have another crack at it this weekend. Ive got a new rad and stat to put in, and have another go at bleeding!

 

[MrLiam]

What about this there huge was going to buy one for when I can drive soon just for a lol
http/www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201127399153511/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/2000/model/c8/make/citroen/radius/1500/postcode/po301lx/page/1?logcode=p

 

[Tony_essex]

same im not closer id have a look as u seem to no your way around a engine if u get a new stat or have a spare do ether 2 things ether cut the middle out the srinf bit and stick that in and run car up as it will act asif the stat is open and can help move the water around then if car overheats or still has same problem it not the stat that causein a problem , do u have the fan in the car on hot and on ? this also helps the hot water to flow around system ,also try fillin the water from the top hose rather then the coolent bottle

none of this may help but if u need any help advice i will try my best

Tony x

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

Thanks for the tips I think my air problem might be in the heater matrix, as I cant get the heater to warm up no matter how hot the engine gets. Do you mean the top hose on the rad?

Thanks mrliam.. that does look like quite a reasonable size, and price too! Ive found a few cars that are a decent enough size, but they're usually newer ones that I cant afford, and if you look for older models, they're smaller!! lol might see if i can find one of them local to go have a look at!

 

[Tony_essex]

yes hun top rad hose and are the 2 pipes goin in to the car tho teh bulkhead for the heater matrix gettin hot ?

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

I cant remember if they're getting hot, its been a while since we've looked at it, we got a lil bit mod edit, and just left it sitting on the drive for a few months, coz it was that, or take a very large hammer to it!! lol

Gunna start afresh tomorrow, anc try everything again!

 

[lljdma06]

This belongs in General chat. I'm sorry...

Liz

 

[Tony_essex]

sorry liz lol