bekker 7 Report post Posted June 25, 2009 I need a new car and it looks like it's gonna have to be a seven seater. I've got a low budget (around $5000ish, maybe more for the right car) and I'm desperately trying to avoid a people mover. Did BMW ever to a touring with 7 seats? All help appreciated and suggestions for alternatives too! Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brockie123 31 Report post Posted June 25, 2009 (edited) nope i don't believe they did sorry man.. i could be proven wrong.. but i been working at a dealership for 2 years and am yet to see one..? can't think of anything that could be 7 seater Edited June 25, 2009 by brockie123 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jochen 4 Report post Posted June 25, 2009 X6 has 7 seats I think Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Palazzo 440 Report post Posted June 25, 2009 I think the X6 has 4 seats. Peugeot and Volvo did some older 7 seaters, otherwise it's pretty much satans' spawn, aka people movers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BM WORLD 1264 Report post Posted June 25, 2009 only the lastest X5 has a 7 seat option , maybe 2007 onwards?? about $90-$100k Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Palazzo 440 Report post Posted June 25, 2009 Budget of $5k or so is no X5. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zenetti 0 Report post Posted June 25, 2009 Look for a Mercedes E-class touring wagon. Some of them were optioned as 7 seaters. If you are in Auckland give Matt a call at Newport Imports, he has a few available. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RMC 0 Report post Posted June 25, 2009 X6 has 7 seats I think x6 is the weirdest BMW vehicle that they have ever made......only 4 seats(not 5)for such a big car............parking sensors optional......while a reversing camera is standard! I guess BMW tried to get into high performance SUV market but I personally would say a new X5M will be more attractive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bimmer boy 21 Report post Posted June 25, 2009 You can get the new X5 with the 7 seater option Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Forrest 35 Report post Posted June 25, 2009 Pretty sure the guys budget was 5k....and people throwing it out 200k cars...how awesome is this haha. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bekker 7 Report post Posted June 25, 2009 Thanks for the help so far guys. Yip budget really is around the $5k mark so X5 out of the question. I drove a Volvo v70 yesterday. Not bad but terrible torque steer and not that quick considering it was the T5. Also almost everything about it seems unnecessarily complicated so I think it might be a bit of a time bomb. The interior creaked like a rocking chair! Also drove a Toyota Scepter (Camry). It was ok but totally uninspiring and for a 3.0l really gutless. Got back in the E28 and told my partner is wouldn't 'trade down' to that. The 1988 BMW was still nicer to drive than both the Volvo and the Toyota. Might consider a really well loved Volvo 850 T5 or R but only if it actually drives better than the V70. Does any one here on Bimmersport have a 7 seater and if so what are your thoughts? I feel a Honda Odyssey coming on.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martyyn 2 Report post Posted June 26, 2009 I think the reality is you are unlikely to get anything even slightly engaging for 5k and certainly nothing in the class of a BMW. Can I ask why you need the seven seats ? If its a third child then we had the same dilema 18 months ago. My wife (and everyone else for that matter) insisted we needed a seven seater. Her entire reasoning was based on the possibility we might need to take one or two of the kids friends to football practice or something. We looked at a few cars/vans and I threatend divorce on the Honda. In the end I pointed out that we only ever take the kids individually to their sports and so there is plenty of room for others if we got a touring. One of us usually stays with the baby anyway and if there is something after school, Im at work, so theres the spare seat she craved. If weve had family to stay then there has always been more than seven people and so weve had to take two cars anyway and Id rather do that for the odd occasion than drive a bus all day with only two people in it. My sister went the Odyssey route and its the most hideous thing Ive even seen. Even with all that 'so called' space they can rarely get seven in it thanks to all the child clobber they have cart around, the buggy takes up one of the seats for a start. We can actually fit more in our touring than she can in her bus and I dont have to get out and push when going up hill. Sorry if this is irrelevant but its worth asking the question. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AzonicNick 0 Report post Posted June 26, 2009 Would reccomend a oler Mercedes E wagon, still a few tidy ones around and seems to go well. Very solid cars, can get a later model which will be a few years newer than the e28 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bekker 7 Report post Posted June 26, 2009 I think the reality is you are unlikely to get anything even slightly engaging for 5k and certainly nothing in the class of a BMW. Can I ask why you need the seven seats ? If its a third child then we had the same dilema 18 months ago. My wife (and everyone else for that matter) insisted we needed a seven seater. Her entire reasoning was based on the possibility we might need to take one or two of the kids friends to football practice or something. We looked at a few cars/vans and I threatend divorce on the Honda. In the end I pointed out that we only ever take the kids individually to their sports and so there is plenty of room for others if we got a touring. One of us usually stays with the baby anyway and if there is something after school, Im at work, so theres the spare seat she craved. If weve had family to stay then there has always been more than seven people and so weve had to take two cars anyway and Id rather do that for the odd occasion than drive a bus all day with only two people in it. My sister went the Odyssey route and its the most hideous thing Ive even seen. Even with all that 'so called' space they can rarely get seven in it thanks to all the child clobber they have cart around, the buggy takes up one of the seats for a start. We can actually fit more in our touring than she can in her bus and I dont have to get out and push when going up hill. Sorry if this is irrelevant but its worth asking the question. My partner is going to be doing childcare so will need to fit 3 child seats. Actually a wagon wide enough to fit 3 child seats across the back seat would be fine but the only ones I've come across are either British assembled (I used the term loosely) 4x4's or Australian! I won't go near either. Checked out an Opel Omega the other day but I don't think they are as big inside as a Commodore. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwi535 538 Report post Posted June 26, 2009 My partner is going to be doing childcare so will need to fit 3 child seats. Actually a wagon wide enough to fit 3 child seats across the back seat would be fine but the only ones I've come across are either British assembled (I used the term loosely) 4x4's or Australian! I won't go near either. Checked out an Opel Omega the other day but I don't think they are as big inside as a Commodore.E 34 touring would get 3 child seats across i reckon,be a bugger getting the kid in the middle one tho....then you have the back for all the "clobber"Could may be have a couple of rear monted seats in teh back. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martyyn 2 Report post Posted June 26, 2009 Can easily get three across our touring, so I would imagine the same can be said of the e34....it all depends on the seats though, we spent some time getting ones that were thin enough but it worked out well in the end. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrad01 0 Report post Posted June 26, 2009 (edited) I think the reality is you are unlikely to get anything even slightly engaging for 5k and certainly nothing in the class of a BMW. Can I ask why you need the seven seats ? If its a third child then we had the same dilema 18 months ago. My wife (and everyone else for that matter) insisted we needed a seven seater. Her entire reasoning was based on the possibility we might need to take one or two of the kids friends to football practice or something. We looked at a few cars/vans and I threatend divorce on the Honda. In the end I pointed out that we only ever take the kids individually to their sports and so there is plenty of room for others if we got a touring. One of us usually stays with the baby anyway and if there is something after school, Im at work, so theres the spare seat she craved. If weve had family to stay then there has always been more than seven people and so weve had to take two cars anyway and Id rather do that for the odd occasion than drive a bus all day with only two people in it. My sister went the Odyssey route and its the most hideous thing Ive even seen. Even with all that 'so called' space they can rarely get seven in it thanks to all the child clobber they have cart around, the buggy takes up one of the seats for a start. We can actually fit more in our touring than she can in her bus and I dont have to get out and push when going up hill. Sorry if this is irrelevant but its worth asking the question. People are funny these days! My parents brought up us 3 kids (3 years apart) in a Holden Kingswood. Based on the brains of today's parents - that would have been impossible!! How did they do it? Wow! These days, as soon as you get pregnant it's "OMG, I have to have a 4x4! Where would the buggy go? And the nappy bag? And the food? OMG!!" My next door neighbour has 2 kids and they got a 2008 VW Golf GTi. (I must apologise to her - I expected her to turn up with a 4x4 - she surprised me) It's funny, all her friends have 4x4s with 1 kid and can't understand how she does it. World has gone mad. Edited June 26, 2009 by mrad01 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wom 0 Report post Posted June 26, 2009 get one of those bling Odyssey's with the vtec engine and leather interior chuck some neons on it and you're set Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martyyn 2 Report post Posted June 26, 2009 (edited) Thats easy....they did it without airbags, without seatbelts, without side intrusion beams, without the stupidly huge mountain buggies you can only buy these days, without the stupidly huge baby seats and with flat, massive bench seats and believe me three years apart is a god send in the moderm world of car seats. Cars are an awful lot smaller inside these days thanks to all the safety built into cars and kids seats are getting ridiculously huge but we can still get all five of us in our Focus for god sake whilst everyone around us has a chelsea tractor or a bus. Edited June 26, 2009 by Penry Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bekker 7 Report post Posted June 26, 2009 Thats easy....they did it without airbags, without seatbelts, without side intrusion beams, without the stupidly huge mountain buggies you can only buy these days, without the stupidly huge baby seats and with flat, massive bench seats and believe me three years apart is a god send in the moderm world of car seats. Cars are an awful lot smaller inside these days thanks and kids seats are getting ridiculously huge but we can still get all five of us in our Focus for god sake whilst everyone around us has a chelsea tractor or a bus. Exactly the point. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bekker 7 Report post Posted June 26, 2009 Can easily get three across our touring, so I would imagine the same can be said of the e34....it all depends on the seats though, we spent some time getting ones that were thin enough but it worked out well in the end.I've 2 Recaro seats and it's something I'm not really prepared to compromise on. I know you can get narrower seats but it would kinda feel like cutting off my nose to spite my face, if ya know what I mean. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martyyn 2 Report post Posted June 26, 2009 I do, but its always easier (and cheaper) to change the kids seats than it is the car ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmw.maniac 1 Report post Posted June 26, 2009 Could may be have a couple of rear monted seats in teh back. If you are talking about those seats that are retro-fitted into the back of stationwagons, don't even think about it! Seats mounted on crumple zones are not good in rear-end collisions. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bekker 7 Report post Posted June 26, 2009 If you are talking about those seats that are retro-fitted into the back of stationwagons, don't even think about it! Seats mounted on crumple zones are not good in rear-end collisions. No they are factory fitted in both the Volvo and Toyota. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwi535 538 Report post Posted June 26, 2009 If you are talking about those seats that are retro-fitted into the back of stationwagons, don't even think about it! Seats mounted on crumple zones are not good in rear-end collisions. good point! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
