Family of 3

We'll be arriving in Perth on 30/12 and moving into an empty house. We'll therefore be doing lot of trips to IKEA etc in the first few days and we also need to collect 4 cats from the quarantine station.

So we need a vehicle that is at least big enough to fit in a queen size mattress (everything else really big will flat pack). But if it's a van then we'd also need a car too as we have a 3 year old so I'm presuming he's not allowed to/it's not safe to/his car seat won't connect to the front seat of a van?

Any suggestions for a people carrier type thing that will convert to carry all that luggage? Or if we need a van and a car how big a van do we need that (that can be driven on normal UK licence)?

Any suggestions which hire companies to use (arriving at airport approx 9pm).

Thanks in advance.

mark213

why not get a normal full size car with a tow bar and then hire a trailer as and when you need

Amazulu

Cheaper option would be to get a normal size car and get all the big stuff delivered. You can hire a Toyota Corolla from Bayswater for peanuts - start getting into the people carrier/large SUV bracket and you will pay big bucks.

Centurion

+1 for NOT going to IKEA and finding much better furniture elsewhere and having it delivered.

Amazulu

Yeah, save your money for proper furniture.

Kooky.

Are you buying a new mattress for long-term use, Fo3, or just until your stuff arrives from Sg? If it's for short-term use, you can get some really good inflatable mattresses here quite cheaply - Tas lent us a Queen Size one when we moved the other month.

Otherwise I'm with the delivery option. For smaller, oh crap I need one of those right now kind of stuff, well we can get quite a bit in the back of our Golf but of course that's without having a Mini in the back seat.

I wonder if you can hire those 2+2 ute thingies?

Family of 3

The mattress is for the spare room bed, which we're planning to buy from IKEA. I thought we could sleep on that till our real stuff arrives.

Along with piles of shelves. Oh and loads of sofas.

I'm sure you can get better stuff elsewhere, but I can't imagine trailing a 3 year old round furniture shops being much fun. Plus IKEA does washable sofa covers which is a priority with a 3 year old and 4 cats - our last sofa lasted 10 years.

But I guess it might make sense to manage on inflatables until I get everything including sofas delivered in one go.

How much bigger are "airline" cat baskets than normal cat baskets?

I'm thinking a corolla probably won't be big enough to get all our airport luggage in............

Kooky.

We've had our "temporary" Ektorp 8 years now

Our crates are a lot bigger than those you take to the vets. We got 3 in the folded-down back of the Golf.

I think you're right on the Corolla. We usually end up with a Focus when we go to the UK and we struggle with 2 cases plus hand luggage.

lapin_windstar

IMVHO: get a cab from the airport the first night unless it's ridiculously expensive. You'll be completely shagged out and the last thing you'll need is to be getting lost from the airport at night.

Rent a normal sized car for everyday use. Station wagons/MPVs are twice as expensive as normal cars, plus it's Christmas time so everything will be expensive anyway. On the days you need to do IKEA - rent a ute from a nearby petrol station or just get the delivery service to drop it off.

B1K3R

And I thought IKEA was a good option...

We too have to fill our house with furniture and stuff. So where can we....."find much better furniture elsewhere and having it delivered" ?

Cheers
B!K3R

Kooky.

Ikea is what it is, and that includes being bloody handy when you're in a strange land and just need some essentials and basic items until you find your way around and supplement them with nice, individual pieces you won't see in all your neighbours' houses

It's been my saviour on two continents already (although the only item of Ikea furniture I have is the ageing sofa-bed).

Family of 3

I think IKEA is great for shelves and sofas with washable covers - and you can get different covers from Bemz.com.

Wouldn't have the whole house full of it, I've lots of Asian bits which'll go nicely, and I'd not buy "artwork" there, but you can pay a lot more for not much better quality IMHO.

But then I've been living in Singapore where the alternatives are plastic/chipboard (cheap) or Asian/Italian leather (expensive). IKEA is a godsend, and sells cheap ice-cream for the nipper.

Family of 3

Going back to the inflatable beds - are they sold in Target/KMart (since I'll be going there anyway)? Otherwise I may just buy in Singapore and pay the $18/kg excess baggage if neccessary to save messing around.

Discussing the car with Mr this morning we thought we'd hire until the day after the cat pick up, get a broker to deliver a car on 4/1 if possible, then we'll have 2 small cars to collect cats.

Kooky.

Def a good selection in KMart.

scrubbedexpat055

Hire a normal car (i30, focus, astra). Get quotes on the net and then ring the depot direct (do not ring the central call centre). Tell them what you want, and they will give you a price to beat your current quote. Can often be alot cheaper renting fromn a non-airport depot, so may make sense to taxi on first night, and get car on next day.

Not sure about Perth Ikea, but the one in Melbourne has a haulage company based just after the tills. You buy the stuff as normal, then just push it 10 yards to their holding area, pay the man and arrange delivery date. (normally next day, if purchased before 6pm)

I think Ikea is a godsend when compared to hunting round lots of shops you don't know, in a city you are still trying to get your bearings in. Plus, you can have meatballs for tea.

Peter