Hi Jennifer,

Our stock answer for a good family car on a budget is normally a Skoda Octavia. A quick search shows that, for between €2,000 and €3,000, there are a number of 2007 vintage models available for sale. They’ll have high mileage on them, probably around 200,000km, but as long as they look clean, drive sweetly and have a full service/maintenance history, they’ll be a reliable motor. Realistically, your regular usage and only occasional long cross-country slogs between Galway and Dublin mean you could get away with a petrol model, but if you see a good 1.9 TDI of that era, give it a whirl. Your three kids should fit across the back bench, as presumably only the youngest still requires a car seat – this will depend on the older children being more than 150cm tall or 36kg, otherwise they’ll need booster seats and if so, they may not fit in an Octavia. That's where it gets tricky.