# Second Car Suggestions??



## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

Not for me unfortunatley, but for the wife.

Looks like she'll be needing her own car within the next 2-3 months, as her Company Car will be going back (had a feeling this may happen), so i need some experience/suggestions for a family car??

Needs to be able to seat 4 in reasonable comfort, so 4 doors may be best, not that bothered about styling or the badge but i'd like the car to have a little character if possible. The budget is around Â£10K or less & perhaps some interesting 0% finance deals may be a good idea. Of course i want it to be a safe car, preferably new or fairly new as i'd like a decent length warranty & it to be solid & reliable & have strong residuals. Not really bothered petrol or diesel but the extra economy of a diesel would be handy to have & although the car will spend 90% of it's life doing local runs, it will sometimes get used as the family bus for longer trips so nothing too pokey.

That's about it really. Cheers in advance.


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## che6mw (Nov 13, 2003)

possibly not enough of a badge for you or the missus but I really like the new Toyota Yaris.


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

BMW 318i (E46)?


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

Audi A3?


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## Dr_Parmar (May 10, 2002)

merc A class?


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## gcp (Aug 8, 2002)

Honda Jazz

Seat Leon

Most have some sort of financial incentives going on at the moment to get new buyers in.

Take a trip to a car supermarket and see what she likes the look of.


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

dj c225 said:


> BMW 318i (E46)?


Both good suggestions, however their would be no warranty as either the Bimmer or A3 would most likely be over 3yrs old & anything newer would blow the budget by a long way.


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## The Silver Surfer (May 14, 2002)

My top choice would be the all new Seat Leon. A rare sight on the roads and more distinctive than the average car in this range. I've done an Autotrader search and for Â£10k you can easily pick up an almost new car with nominal miles on the clock.

For example; 2006 06 Reg SEAT Leon 1.6 Reference
5 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Petrol, 15 miles, Emocion Red, 1 Owner. ABS, Adjustable seats, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Air conditioning, Driver airbag, Electric windows, Head restraints, Folding rear seats, Immobiliser, Passenger airbag, Power assisted steering, Remote locking, Side airbags, Radio/CD, Rear headrests, Traction control. Please phone for more details. Choice of colour. Picture for illustration purposes only. Â£9,995.

05 55 Reg SEAT LEON 1.6 Reference 5dr - NEW SHAPE
5 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Petrol, 4,000 miles, Metallic Luna Grey. ABS, Air conditioning, Electric windows, Folding rear seats, Power assisted steering, Immobiliser, Remote locking, Side airbags, Traction control, Radio/CD, Rear headrests, Park distance control. Â£9,995.

2006 SEAT LEON 1.6 Essence 5dr Hatchback,
Manual, 350 miles, Competition Win! Brand New - Secondhand Price! Driven home and then put on sale! CD, PAS, Rear wiper, 3x3 point rear seat belts, airbags, 12 months tax, Manufacturers warranty and breakdown cover! Beautiful car, Would love to keep but just not able to, Viewing available! Crosby, Liverpool. Â£9,995. ono Pics below.



















The first two are at dealers, the third one appears to be a private sale.


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

W7 PMC said:


> dj c225 said:
> 
> 
> > BMW 318i (E46)?
> ...


True, but not much goes wrong with them, quick search shows the 4 pot 1.8's are still living strong at over 160k.

If you find a 3 year old 318i with under 40k, I am certain you will have no problems for many years and the wife would be very happy.

I guess if you want piece of mind, warranty etc, go for something new/demo/nearly new though will be a different class of car.


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

Out of interest what is her present car (just to get an idea of what she is used to).


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## shao_khan (May 7, 2002)

How about a used Civic Type R? Pretty much bullit proof build so even if an older car reliability shouldnt be an issue and has plenty room and a bit of performance if you borrow it. Residuals should be strong - we have a few ex co cars come through work from time to time. cheaper than trade prices but not a lot, so residuals must be pretty strong.


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

dj c225 said:


> Out of interest what is her present car (just to get an idea of what she is used to).


She currently drives a TDi Passat (think it's a 130ps & is now 18mths old). This by her own admission is a little too big for her, but 4 doors is useful & enough room to comfortable seat 4 adults plus baby seat is handy.


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

shao_khan said:


> How about a used Civic Type R? Pretty much bullit proof build so even if an older car reliability shouldnt be an issue and has plenty room and a bit of performance if you borrow it. Residuals should be strong - we have a few ex co cars come through work from time to time. cheaper than trade prices but not a lot, so residuals must be pretty strong.


She would probably kill herself, if she was a more careful driver (not saying anything she does not already know  ) then the CTR would be high on my list, as i'd get a giggle out of it, but practical, safe, good residuals, economical & slightly interesting are the priorities for this purchase.


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## dubbers (Jul 30, 2005)

Should be able to get a new/nearly new Fabia VRS for that money thro' a dealer or off the web. 3 yr old Audi A2 1.4 TDI should also be in the same money zone.


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

dubbers said:


> Should be able to get a new/nearly new Fabia VRS for that money thro' a dealer or off the web. 3 yr old Audi A2 1.4 TDI should also be in the same money zone.


Cheers, i'll investigate the Fabia.

Any others i should consider??


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## Neil (May 7, 2002)

I'd second (or 3rd, or whatever we're up to now) the Leon - just seen a couple for sale at my local Skooby dealer, very good value for what you get. Woman at work has one, and loves it - copes with lots of miles, all her baby stuff, and was pretty cheap as well.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

I suppose it depends on how long you want to/are willing to keep it. If you get a two year old with some warranty, but want to keep the car for three years but don't want to own one without warranty, then you're forced into new cars.


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## Neil (May 7, 2002)

Kell said:


> but don't want to own one without warranty, then you're forced into new cars.


...or use Warranties Online, say, if you want the security of a warranty, but also want the "value" that a 2nd-hand car represents.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

HAve you done this:

Stick 9-11k in the minimum/max price, then select 0-1 year old, then put in five door and see the results. Lots of Ford Focuses (Focii?), Zafira etc - but all with the 1.4/1.6 engines.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

neil1003 said:


> Kell said:
> 
> 
> > but don't want to own one without warranty, then you're forced into new cars.
> ...


To be honest Neil - thta would be my answer, but I rmember Paul saying he didn't want to own his RS6 outside of the manufacturer warranty - so wondering how flexible that is this time.


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## Neil (May 7, 2002)

Kell said:


> I rmember Paul saying he didn't want to own his RS6 outside of the manufacturer warranty - so wondering how flexible that is this time.


I can kind of see the point re the RS6 - was there anything "standard" on that car that would have been covered by any warranty? :lol:

If it's a run-about / practical sort of car, that will be kept standard, then someone like WO seems ideal, for a couple of hundred Â£ per yr. I've found them very good, as have others on here. And overall, the saving over the cost of a new car would be lots of Â£Â£Â£Â£Â£.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

neil1003 said:


> Kell said:
> 
> 
> > I rmember Paul saying he didn't want to own his RS6 outside of the manufacturer warranty - so wondering how flexible that is this time.
> ...


I'm not arguing with you - I wouldn't buy a new car. :?

THe only reason we bought our TT new was because it was cheaper new than SH.


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

Kell said:


> neil1003 said:
> 
> 
> > Kell said:
> ...


Not really considering brand new, i like the idea of 6-12months old, then keep for 18-24months. Not keen on 3rd party warranties, as they always seem to exclude the fault you get (just my luck). Stand by my RS6 decision, even standard it's a scary proposition owning one out of warranty & whether the total gearbox failure i had was a result of the modifications or not (many others gone on standard cars), i'd never want to ever be faced with a Â£10K+ repair bill.

If we have a good couple of years & i do get the 997Turbo, then i'd quite like to get Judith a 12mth old A4 Cab around the Spring of 2008, so a 6mth old car for now would be ready for changing in 2yrs.

The Smart (think it's Plus Four) crossed my mind, as did the Skoda/Seat brand. A Focus would be fine but really don't fancy a mini MPV such as a Zafira or Picasso etc. just too much family car for us.


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

Kell said:


> To be honest Neil - thta would be my answer, but I rmember Paul saying he didn't want to own his RS6 outside of the manufacturer warranty - so wondering how flexible that is this time.


I can understand why, repairing a fault on a "normal" car is okay, repairing a fault on an RS6 or something similar usually costs big $$$.


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

VW Golf - MK4 or MK5?

I used to own a GTI, was a pretty good car, cheap to run, front wheel drive wasn't very fun, don't think your wife will have any troubles.

Guess you can go for a 1.6 - 4 door?


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

Some examples:

Mk4 with warranty

Mk5 with warranty

*just examples


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## DGW131 (Feb 20, 2005)

dj c225 said:


> Some examples:
> 
> Mk4 with warranty
> 
> ...


what about a alfa 147 :wink:


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## shao_khan (May 7, 2002)

Probably a bit over budget but we have a Vx Signum TDi150 and its a good car - 4 doors, but not too big, good second hand buys and good discounts off new.


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

DGW131 said:


> what about a alfa 147 :wink:


Funny you say that, I was going to list it as one of the cars I would choose, but thought I would get flamed for it  most people don't trust Alfas, which is a shame.

My friend had a 147 GTA, what a car, in red of course, looked so mean, sounded grrrrreat! :twisted:


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

Alfa reliability would worry me greatly, however could we really get a nearly new 147GTA for Â£10K??


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## TTwiggy (Jul 20, 2004)

Just for info... my 04 plated Alfa 147 GTA has covered 30k miles and not missed a beat


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

TTwiggy said:


> Just for info... my 04 plated Alfa 147 GTA has covered 30k miles and not missed a beat


I still doubt i could get a nearly new one for Â£10K & assuming they are reliable, what sort of running costs can be expected??


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

Have you considered a horse?


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

jampott said:


> Have you considered a horse?


NO :wink:


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## PaulS (Jun 15, 2002)

W7 PMC said:


> Alfa reliability would worry me greatly, however could we really get a nearly new 147GTA for Â£10K??


Always liked Alfas. We had a fleet of 156s in the co I work for - the most frequent fault was the engine management light on. We were forever running them down to the dealer - who'd 'fix' the prob in 5 mins with a ecu error code reset (i.e easy). Never had any mechanical probs, although they were all run up to a max of only 15,000 miles. Their engines were _sweet_ and the handing good for fwd.

The Alfa 147 GTA is very cool 8) Interiors are fantastic. Looked at getting a 2.0 TS before opting for the TT. :roll:

Wasn't Lisa thinking of getting one, at one point? :wink:


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

PaulS said:


> W7 PMC said:
> 
> 
> > Alfa reliability would worry me greatly, however could we really get a nearly new 147GTA for Â£10K??
> ...


Lisa who??


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## PaulS (Jun 15, 2002)

W7 PMC said:


> Lisa who??


 :roll:

Hopefully she'll be along to tell us about it. She's often here :wink:


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## TTwiggy (Jul 20, 2004)

W7 PMC said:


> TTwiggy said:
> 
> 
> > Just for info... my 04 plated Alfa 147 GTA has covered 30k miles and not missed a beat
> ...


No, I doubt 10k would get you a GTA (at least I hope not!!) and yeah, with an average consumption of 19miles to the gallon they're not exactly cheap to run. But Alfa reliabilty is much better than the general perception, so maybe a 147 jts or twin spark could be an option, definately pick up one of these for the budget, and as it will still be under warranty there's really nothing to worry about - advantage (IMHO) is that they are quite rare and very nice looking (even if they haven't got the V6 howl)


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

PaulS said:


> W7 PMC said:
> 
> 
> > Lisa who??
> ...


Lisa as in Tim & Lisa?? I think you're right, she may well have looked at the Alfa before deciding on the A4 Cab


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

TTwiggy said:


> W7 PMC said:
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> 
> > TTwiggy said:
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Ok, i'll pop it on the possibles list.


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

W7 PMC said:


> PaulS said:
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> > W7 PMC said:
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Nah.


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## scavenger (Jun 25, 2002)

What about a Saab 9-3, bit different, 4 doors, safe, reasonable badge.

A Mazda 6, modern/good reviews.

A Mini for a laugh..!! May get a good deal as they are end of life. Mrs W7 PMC may like the fun factor too.


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

jampott said:


> W7 PMC said:
> 
> 
> > PaulS said:
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Tim i think he may be confusing our respective better halves, although i know Judith would not recognise an Alfa Romeo if she tripped over one so she's certainly never looked at one :lol:


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

scavenger said:


> What about a Saab 9-3, bit different, 4 doors, safe, reasonable badge.
> 
> A Mazda 6, modern/good reviews.
> 
> A Mini for a laugh..!! May get a good deal as they are end of life. Mrs W7 PMC may like the fun factor too.


Is the current Mini at end of life already?? Certainly a fun car & the budget may just bag a fairly recent one. Not considered Saab so defo an option, although the Mazda 6 may be a little too big, as Judith fancies something a touch smaller than her current Passat.


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

W7 PMC said:


> Mini


Great car, leasing a few as company cars for staff, very wizzy, ideal for the missus, quality car as well.


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## GW1970 (Jul 4, 2005)

I would recommend an old shape Audi A3, you should be able to bag a decent spec '03 plate for 10k (looking at the Audi website). Buy it from an Audi dealership and of course you have the 12 month warranty/roadside assistance.


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

dj c225 said:


> W7 PMC said:
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> 
> > Mini
> ...


Is you an Estate Agent??


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

W7 PMC said:


> dj c225 said:
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> > W7 PMC said:
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Nope, most of them are :evil:

But correct they are very very popular with estate agents in London, especially Foxtons.


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

Some examples: (all with warranty remaining)

ELECTRIC Blue Cooper

Blue Cooper

Silver Cooper

Blue Cooper Â£8k 

List goes on...


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

I love spending *virtual* money, especially others :twisted:

Rock and roll. 8)


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

Cool, this gives me some ideas & marques/models to look at closer.


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

Good luck.

I'd say the Mini is most suitable for her, she will enjoy it, quality car that looks good and has style, don't know why I didn't think of it earlier!


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## The Silver Surfer (May 14, 2002)

Paul, I thought you said you were looking for a four door car? When did they start producing a four door Mini? :wink:


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## che6mw (Nov 13, 2003)

dj c225 said:


> Good luck.
> 
> I'd say the Mini is most suitable for her, she will enjoy it, *quality car *that looks good and has style, don't know why I didn't think of it earlier!


I thought they had been plagued with reliability issues???


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## The Silver Surfer (May 14, 2002)

che6mw said:


> dj c225 said:
> 
> 
> > Good luck.
> ...


I'm not sure if 'plagued' is the the correct term? However, I have heard there have been a fair amount of problems with reliability. They are probably on par with TT's when it comes to reliability. Certainly nowhere close to Japanese reliability.


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

No problems to report on our end.

A few of my friends have Minis too (in the main chicks) and have never had issues, Mini dealers seem okay too.

Most still have warranty, buy a one year old car your sorted, imo of course.

4 door, 2 door - not important, small kid won't mind flipping the front seat and slipping in the rear, adults do it with no problems. :?


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

The Silver Surfer said:


> I'm not sure if 'plagued' is the the correct term? However, I have heard there have been a fair amount of problems with reliability. They are probably on par with TT's when it comes to reliability. Certainly nowhere close to Japanese reliability.


Most cars have faults, newer models (those I was referring to) are much better in that department.

When I say *quality* I mean german quality, when you step into the drivers seat it feels good, the build quality is good, and its a fun car to drive.

Infact - I bought the X5 d as a winter/day-to-day/business car, now I can see that I should have gone for a Mini Cooper (maybe even a works version) a lot more fun in a way - though maybe that would be defeating the point.


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## The Silver Surfer (May 14, 2002)

dj c225 said:


> The Silver Surfer said:
> 
> 
> > I'm not sure if 'plagued' is the the correct term? However, I have heard there have been a fair amount of problems with reliability. They are probably on par with TT's when it comes to reliability. Certainly nowhere close to Japanese reliability.
> ...


I thought we were discussing reliability?


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

The Silver Surfer said:


> I thought we were discussing reliability?


Well scroll up and somebody highlighted the words quality in my post... I simply answered to that and the reliability issue.


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

The Silver Surfer said:


> Paul, I thought you said you were looking for a four door car? When did they start producing a four door Mini? :wink:


Ideally, but 4 seats is more important than 4 doors.

Judith will be using/driving the car 80% of the time with just her & Joshua in it so 4 doors not that important as Joshua is now nearly 2 so fine in the front (assuming passenger airbags can be disabled in the Mini?). As long as the odd time i'm also in the car, access to the back seats for fitting baby-seat & installing/removing Joshua are fine then 2 doors would be ok. I quite fancy the idea of a Mini & may gievn my recent Bimmer purchase be able to swing a nice deal as the dealer i bought the 535D off also has the Mini franchise on the same lot.


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## NaughTTy (Jul 9, 2003)

dj c225 said:


> 4 door, 2 door - not important, small kid won't mind flipping the front seat and slipping in the rear, adults do it with no problems. :?


Yep, really easy for a 2 year old......:? :roll: :wink:


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

NaughTTy said:


> dj c225 said:
> 
> 
> > 4 door, 2 door - not important, small kid won't mind flipping the front seat and slipping in the rear, adults do it with no problems. :?
> ...


1) Sorry, I wasn't aware of his age.

2) Yes you can disable the airbags.


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