Should I? Or shouldn't I?
Discussion
So, age and stage and all that.
Currently my daily is a Lotus Elise S, which is awesome for all the right reasons.
But, I have two young kids,one about to start a school that also includes a bunch of after school activities / clubs, and the other is going to start nursery at the same site soon.
The problem I'd one of quart into pint pot as two plus one definitely doesn't fit into the Lotus. Plus luggage is not a Lotus strong point.
My wife drives a 5 seater so we're covered for a range of events, but my mind turns to 'sensible' /flexible driving options. Namely a need for another car with 4 seats for the times when I'm called into play.
Now my wife won't sit in the Lotus let alone drive it so a temporary straight swap is out. We can't justify 3 cars,so an alternative would be the only option. I've found an M3 saloon (early, low miles, good nick with full history, reasonable price) but I'm torn. I know I'm damaging the value of the Lotus by doing commuter mileages, but I still don't know. As an aside the drive of the M3 was great; with an exhaust tweak I could even get a similar and stellar pop / bang soundtrack I'm sure, handling spot on, creature comforts aplenty relative to the Lotus. But it's lacking the sense of occasion.
Head vs heart I suppose. Someone reassure me I'd be doing the right thing doing the swap.
Currently my daily is a Lotus Elise S, which is awesome for all the right reasons.
But, I have two young kids,one about to start a school that also includes a bunch of after school activities / clubs, and the other is going to start nursery at the same site soon.
The problem I'd one of quart into pint pot as two plus one definitely doesn't fit into the Lotus. Plus luggage is not a Lotus strong point.
My wife drives a 5 seater so we're covered for a range of events, but my mind turns to 'sensible' /flexible driving options. Namely a need for another car with 4 seats for the times when I'm called into play.
Now my wife won't sit in the Lotus let alone drive it so a temporary straight swap is out. We can't justify 3 cars,so an alternative would be the only option. I've found an M3 saloon (early, low miles, good nick with full history, reasonable price) but I'm torn. I know I'm damaging the value of the Lotus by doing commuter mileages, but I still don't know. As an aside the drive of the M3 was great; with an exhaust tweak I could even get a similar and stellar pop / bang soundtrack I'm sure, handling spot on, creature comforts aplenty relative to the Lotus. But it's lacking the sense of occasion.
Head vs heart I suppose. Someone reassure me I'd be doing the right thing doing the swap.
You sound like you've already made your mind up, deep down, and are just looking for people to agree with you so you can sleep easy. 
It's a nice predicament to be in. I don't have children, however in my uninformed opinion I agree with your switch. The M3 has back seats so you can install the kids on your drive - and by doing so, you can get them interested in cars from the start. After all - would you rather have a Lotus and a family that doesn't get to travel in it, or an M3 and a pair of kids that'll prod your knee and say "look daddy, an Elise!" whenever one drives past after your family hoon?
It's a nice predicament to be in. I don't have children, however in my uninformed opinion I agree with your switch. The M3 has back seats so you can install the kids on your drive - and by doing so, you can get them interested in cars from the start. After all - would you rather have a Lotus and a family that doesn't get to travel in it, or an M3 and a pair of kids that'll prod your knee and say "look daddy, an Elise!" whenever one drives past after your family hoon?
This, I think -
And for the psychoanalysts in the room, notice I said reassure me rather than convince me. I know where family time is concerned I currently have to choose, but with the M3 everyone can play. Head to allow heart. There's always retirement!! Not sure I'll be able to get into a Lotus at 75 but there you go.
f1nn said:
You are doing the right thing. You are on borrowed time with the Lotus due to the kids.
And, a lot of this rings true -sebhaque said:
You sound like you've already made your mind up, deep down, and are just looking for people to agree with you so you can sleep easy.
It's a nice predicament to be in. I don't have children, however in my uninformed opinion I agree with your switch. The M3 has back seats so you can install the kids on your drive - and by doing so, you can get them interested in cars from the start. After all - would you rather have a Lotus and a family that doesn't get to travel in it, or an M3 and a pair of kids that'll prod your knee and say "look daddy, an Elise!" whenever one drives past after your family hoon?
And as for the 'start them young', that's easy and done. My 5yr old daughter loves the booster seat ride to school in the Lotus, and my 2yr old boy is a petrol head; he hears my car over all others coming down the road (even in his sleep) and come running out for a ride, and shouts 'fasser, fasser!!' at any opportunity.It's a nice predicament to be in. I don't have children, however in my uninformed opinion I agree with your switch. The M3 has back seats so you can install the kids on your drive - and by doing so, you can get them interested in cars from the start. After all - would you rather have a Lotus and a family that doesn't get to travel in it, or an M3 and a pair of kids that'll prod your knee and say "look daddy, an Elise!" whenever one drives past after your family hoon?
And for the psychoanalysts in the room, notice I said reassure me rather than convince me. I know where family time is concerned I currently have to choose, but with the M3 everyone can play. Head to allow heart. There's always retirement!! Not sure I'll be able to get into a Lotus at 75 but there you go.
soad said:
Something tells me that OP probably has no space for the third car. 
I'm sure there are plenty of PHers that'll happily volunteer to look after the car on behalf of Rick!It makes sense to be able to take all of the kids for a run when you can as opposed to just the one. After all, how else are they supposed to decide that Mummy drives too slow and Daddy has the best show and tell toy?
DavidJG said:
With this, your wife will drive it...... once. Then she'll either refuse to drive it, or refuse to get in it all. Been there, done that. Got three cars now!
I'm sort of with you on this. She was a passenger in the Lotus once, hated it and has refused ever since. From an aesthetic and practical perspective she likes the M3 which we viewed. However, and as you suggest, she may not like it from either the passenger or drivers seat on the move. I think I need to get her down there to have a drive of it. If that's a goer, we're good, otherwise I'm back to the drawing board.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff