Keeping a second/sports car on the street inner London

[eastsider]

Hi all

Interested to hear any experiences of keeping a second car on the street. Clearly some level of hassle is going to be inevitable, but all over London inc my area I see nice metal parked up so it can't be all bad right?

Live in Bow E3 - the move out one day will have (double) garage as a pre-requisite, but we're a few years away from that yet and I'm getting bored waiting to buy a second/fun car. Main family wagon is an E39 touring which will stay on the fleet, so the second car will get occasional use for fun at weekends, but will sit much of the time.

I'm looking at a £20k budget and at something modern that can stand out ok.

I have investigated renting garages (extremely rare and £150-200/month) and 'secure' spaces (still £120-150/month) but that is well over £1000/year, plus the inconvenience of it not being outside when I want it.

Appreciate any real experiences.

Thanks in advance.

[alane29]

Hello

Unfortunatley i have to keep my Z4 roadster on the street in London as its too low to get up the ramp onto my driveway ,never had any issues i live in Whetstone N20 .
The car is fitted with a tracker and a dashcam . In winter it has the hardtop fitted but in summer its just the canvas top .

[Animal]

I think as long as you follow the usual precautions (not leaving ANYTHING on show - it's amazing what people will go to the effort of trying to nick) then it's a question of whether or not your car stands out on your street. If it does, expect a greater level of interest, whether that be good or bad.

[Iang84]

Bloke who lives at the end of my road had an M3 and has now changed to an I8 hasn't had any problems in the 3 yrs Ive been near him so should be fine and I live just round the corner from Elephant and Castle

[strattonkillick]

I had a Boxster for a couple of years that lived on the street in Lewisham, no problem at all apart from tree sap!

[eastsider]

Thanks chaps for the reassurance. I think I'm going to go for it and see how it works out - life's too short to not have a fun car and we're not moving out of central anytime soon! Will resort to renting a space and/or winter storage if I need to.

[Yanto]

Keep CSL in underground car park and recently bought 12 plate Golf GTi (5 door / 18" alloys for a more subtle look) in silver as a second car.

As said, don't leave anything on show inside the car.

Lives on street on E14. No dramas yet.

[johnnyreggae]

Take a look around at what is on the streets near you - that'll give a good hint as to what is viable - bet you'll MX5 and probably whatever else might float your boat - not far from me there's everything from an MGBGT to a Porsche 944 on the street but I only really noticed them when specifically looking out for unusual cars on the road

[Shaoxter]

I lived in Bow about 6 years ago and would NOT leave a flashy sports car on the street. However there are lots of new developments there so maybe you could look into renting a space which is off street and a bit more secluded?

[DS197]

Anything nice should be locked up in a garage if your postcode starts with E imo

[JJ55]

I'm based in e3 too & would say it depends which bit you live in. North or South. Mine have always been fine on the street. Tree sap is a bigger problem.

Im lucky these days as have secure parking behind my house but sadly no cash at the mo to put anything worth nicking in it!

[eastsider]

JJ55 said:

I'm based in e3 too & would say it depends which bit you live in. North or South. Mine have always been fine on the street. Tree sap is a bigger problem.

Im lucky these days as have secure parking behind my house but sadly no cash at the mo to put anything worth nicking in it!

I'm north end bow, between tredegar square and roman road. There is plenty of nice metal on the streets, but it tends to be new ish 4x4 rather than 10+ year old sports cars, which i feel somehow is more conspicuous than a volvo xc90, x5, range rover etc. Audi RS4 round the corner and a Cayman R is a regular visitor. Tredegar Sq has multiple new range rovers, 2x twisted defenders, and a masarati GT that live there!

Renting a space fairly close by is feasible for around £100/month - not insignificant yearly cost but I am considering it.

Thanks all

[JJ55]

Sending you a pm