Safety of occupants in third row of seats
Hello
I am looking at buying a second hand seven seater. When I was checking the compatibility of my car seats with the seven seaters I had in mind (Ford S-Max, VW Touran and Citroen C4) the car seat manufacturer recommends not putting any car seats in the third row.
On further investigation it seems when the third row is in use the safety of people (i.e mostly kids as most adults would not sit in third row) is very poor. Can you shed any light? Besides going for the bigger seven seaters like the Ford Galaxy (which is out due to budget reasons) is there any seven seater safer in this regard? Am I overthinking this, is this the case with most five seater cars or is the boot space a big plus if a car is rear ended?
Linda Keane (Meath)Mar 2011 Filed under: safety
Expert answer
Hi Linda,
I can totally understand your concerns. Anyway, to start, here are all the EuroNCAP reports on the cars you were looking at so you can have a good look at them.
Ford S Max / VW Touran / Citroen C4 Picasso
The placement of ISOFIX seats often dictates where child seats should go and in a lot of MPVs there is still only two and these are usually in the outer two seats of the second row. We answered a question on this recently.
This article by JD Power and Associates is good. As regards the rear row, the information is a little unclear on whether there is a greater danger to be in the rear seats in a rear impact, but it is something that we will investigate further. The strength of the modern MPV at the rear is pretty impressive though and as long as the child is front facing they are well protected.
What recalls were the Volvo S80 subject to?
Thank you for your advice re Volvo S80 (see this question). Could you let me know what are the faults that you refer to? Also, I am consious that the BMW is rear-wheel drive and couldn't locate a four-wheel drive 520d. I can get a 2007 Volvo S80 D5 AWD Tiptronic for the same price as a BMW 520d SE auto. Thanks for all your help.
Justin Mc Elwee (Sligo)Mar 2011 Filed under: recall
Expert answer
Hi Justin,
BMW does sell four-wheel drive versions of the 5 Series in mainland Europe, but we don't believe that any have been made in right-hand drive.
With regards to the Volvo S80, it's not unusual for any car to have a few recalls. Those affecting the S80 include issues with the wipers, an air leak causing an engine malfunction warning, an ECU problem indicated by reduced power, faulty engine mounting bracket screws leading to stalling and finally a short circuit in the heating system.
Please note that not all of these recalls would have affected all versions of the S80, but we'd advise you to call your local dealer with the chassis number of the car to ascertain if any have been missed on the car you're thinking of buying.
Hope that all helps.
Can I bypass my interior heater?
Thanks for the last answer.
Could I take the heating pipes going through the bulkhead off and join them back to back with a bit of copper pipe? Wouldn't this bypass the radiator in the car and to hell with the heater as I think the dashboard has to come out to fit a new heater radiator. Or am I only looking for trouble?
Thanks again
Ruairi Mc Carthy (Mullagh Co Cavan)Jan 2011 Filed under: fault
Expert answer
Hi Ruairi,
While we'd always advise you to have it fixed properly, the workaround you're suggesting should work just fine. Though you'll be freezing! If you're doing this yourself, please ensure that you bleed the coolant system after it's all back together...
Good luck
Is €10,999 a suspicious price for an 06 Ford Galaxy?
Is €10,999 a little suspicious for a 2006 Ford Galaxy? It has 55,000 miles on the clock, it's NCT'd, 1 owner but no service history. The garage is not SIMI registered but we're tempted as were on a tight budget.
What do you think?
Tonya Kirwan (Wicklow)Jun 2010 Filed under: used car values
Expert answer
Hi Tonya,
Our advice on all used car purchases is that if something seems fishy then just walk away. A service history is important for peace of mind and of course we'd urge you to use a SIMI registered dealer when possible.
All that aside, the price seems quite low in comparison to others of similar age and mileage on the market. Especially when the mileage is so low.
Take a read through our guide to watching out for clocked cars here.
I understand your need to get value for money and if you're happy with the car perhaps get a mechanic to look it over, or a proper check by someone like the AA.
Finally, carry out a car history check. It's relatively cheap to do and gives you extra peace of mind. Just pop the car's registration into the box on the bottom left of this page.
Hope that helps