Looking for a second car for up to €15,000...
Hi there,
I'm looking for a recommendation for a second car for short journeys with two children, i.e. ferrying them to weekend activities. We're in two high-back child seats at the moment and the eldest could go in a booster seat to save space if needed.
Occasionally we might also use the second car to transport fitness gear for classes I host; this can fill a good bit of our 520-litre boot so might require folding the rear seats of a smaller car.
If combining these needs is too much of a trade-off though, we could continue to use the main car only for this purpose and have the second car only for the kids activities, basically.
A third wrinkle would be that it'd like to be able to transport one bicycle on the second car, with a roof- or boot-mounted rack.
Our main car is electric, and we have a home charger. We're so used to it I imagine it would be hard to go back to a manual transmission, but I'm open to petrol, hybrid or electric for the second car.
Budget around €10-15k. Would probably prefer something newer rather than an older model in that price range.
Martin (Dublin)Mar 2026 Filed under: choosing used car
Expert answer
Hi Martin,
We wish all readers were so detailed in their requirements, as it makes it easy to choose a suitable car for you.
In your position, I'd be inclined to buy as new and long-range a used Nissan Leaf as I can find to use as your second car for ferrying the kids about. It's not huge inside but should be grand for a couple of child seats in the back so long as the front-seat passengers are not really tall.
It'll be exceptionally cheap and easy to run as you already have a charger at home and maintenance will be minimal as well.
And you'll get a bike rack on any car within reason.
If you'd rather not have another EV, then perhaps consider a large hatchback such as the Skoda Octavia. It's massive inside and in the boot so could fill in all the gaps you've mentioned, and there are plenty of different models available, including plug-in hybrids, so it might offer you an extra dimension of versatility, but with the option of keeping your costs low at the same time.
Come back to us to let us know if we're on the right track (you can submit another question or send us a private message via the Contact Us page).
Shane O' Donoghue - Complete Car Advisor