Should I? Or shouldn't I?
Discussion
Dr_Rick said:
Neeeever goin' to happen.
You're listing to your wife and letting her call the shots over changing your Car, saying she won't like a c63. It's only a matter of time before she says she wants you to have somethingBig and safe and you end up without your Testicals driving a mum mobile.
She's getting the big and safe car. My only parameters were 4 seats and a boot. She even pushed for an RS6 Avant, but my view was that we wouldn't really need two large family cars. One would do the trick, with my one doing ferrying duties when necessary.
My wife also knows better than to try and eliminate my car fettish. She's known me long enough.
My wife also knows better than to try and eliminate my car fettish. She's known me long enough.
CGJJ said:
I am 45 with 3 kids- 19,16,12.
Please allow me to give you a piece of life advice-
Never sell anything you love because your missus doesn't like it.
You will resent her for it and your Lotus keeps you young.
Get your missus an RS6 Estate or an M5 estate and keep your Lotus.
I think there's an element of truth in your comments that can be applied to my situation. And looking at your garage I can see the evidence to back them up.Please allow me to give you a piece of life advice-
Never sell anything you love because your missus doesn't like it.
You will resent her for it and your Lotus keeps you young.
Get your missus an RS6 Estate or an M5 estate and keep your Lotus.
However, I suppose there's also an element of knowing that I'll need some extra seats at some point and if I keep on with 10k miles pa on the Elise I'm going to cripple the resale. I'm dead against purchasing on the basis of resale, but I'm very pragmatic; I know that on the car I have resale appears to be heavily influenced by mileage. Spec is there too but being the type of car it is almost every car is an individual. So, with that in mind, if I do need to jump, I'd rather do so before I've put the value through the floor (I have an 'acceptable' figure from the dealer I purchased through).
Rick,
I'm not sure if it is relevant but when my kids were the same kind of ages as yours I had pressure from my missus to
sell my Impreza (the first and only car I've ever bought new and one that had 9K of prodrive extras fitted to it).
I halted that idea by compromising and buying her a Volvo estate.She was very happy we had a "family" vehicle.
It had 80K on the clock and cost me 5K.It was a lovely 850 T5 which meant I immensely enjoyed family driving.
Right now,as well as what you see in my garage (the RS6 is the missus's but I get to drive it on family days out including our annual skiing trip :-).
We also have a £500 R reg low powered Volvo estate that costs £150 to insure,I can throw the kids bikes in,the dogs,stuff for the dump and my boys little motocross bike.
That way the RS6 is retaining condition.
Regarding the commuter mileage- this is a conundrum I am facing with the 997.
I do a 50 mile commute daily and the commute is surely damaging resale but EVERY time I arrive at work I am happy,and EVERY time I arrive home I am happy so for my career and my marriage it is a win-win and I have concluded that life isn't a rehearsal and it needs living,and if I can drive a 911 everyday I will die happy!
Good luck with your decision.
I'm not sure if it is relevant but when my kids were the same kind of ages as yours I had pressure from my missus to
sell my Impreza (the first and only car I've ever bought new and one that had 9K of prodrive extras fitted to it).
I halted that idea by compromising and buying her a Volvo estate.She was very happy we had a "family" vehicle.
It had 80K on the clock and cost me 5K.It was a lovely 850 T5 which meant I immensely enjoyed family driving.
Right now,as well as what you see in my garage (the RS6 is the missus's but I get to drive it on family days out including our annual skiing trip :-).
We also have a £500 R reg low powered Volvo estate that costs £150 to insure,I can throw the kids bikes in,the dogs,stuff for the dump and my boys little motocross bike.
That way the RS6 is retaining condition.
Regarding the commuter mileage- this is a conundrum I am facing with the 997.
I do a 50 mile commute daily and the commute is surely damaging resale but EVERY time I arrive at work I am happy,and EVERY time I arrive home I am happy so for my career and my marriage it is a win-win and I have concluded that life isn't a rehearsal and it needs living,and if I can drive a 911 everyday I will die happy!
Good luck with your decision.
You mention you are taking a pragmatic approach and you are harming the Lotus resale value but surely adding the same mileage to the M3 would harm its future value even more so?
The Lotus will depreciate slower than the M3, the 10k going on the M3 per annum plus the 'M-Tax' of running the car will surely be higher than running a 3rd car (Volvo estate) and keep the Elise for the summer / weekends or if you want something for everyone to enjoy chop it in for a 2+2.
For me it would have to be three cars, whether the 'sports' car remains an Elise or swaps to a 2+2 for everyone to enjoy - BMW are just too run of the mill!
The Lotus will depreciate slower than the M3, the 10k going on the M3 per annum plus the 'M-Tax' of running the car will surely be higher than running a 3rd car (Volvo estate) and keep the Elise for the summer / weekends or if you want something for everyone to enjoy chop it in for a 2+2.
For me it would have to be three cars, whether the 'sports' car remains an Elise or swaps to a 2+2 for everyone to enjoy - BMW are just too run of the mill!
Trexthedinosaur said:
You mention you are taking a pragmatic approach and you are harming the Lotus resale value but surely adding the same mileage to the M3 would harm its future value even more so?
The Lotus will depreciate slower than the M3, the 10k going on the M3 per annum plus the 'M-Tax' of running the car will surely be higher than running a 3rd car (Volvo estate) and keep the Elise for the summer / weekends or if you want something for everyone to enjoy chop it in for a 2+2.
For me it would have to be three cars, whether the 'sports' car remains an Elise or swaps to a 2+2 for everyone to enjoy - BMW are just too run of the mill!
The age of the M3 I'm looking at is a low mileage 08 plate, so I'm hoping that the significant amount of depreciation has been through the system already.The Lotus will depreciate slower than the M3, the 10k going on the M3 per annum plus the 'M-Tax' of running the car will surely be higher than running a 3rd car (Volvo estate) and keep the Elise for the summer / weekends or if you want something for everyone to enjoy chop it in for a 2+2.
For me it would have to be three cars, whether the 'sports' car remains an Elise or swaps to a 2+2 for everyone to enjoy - BMW are just too run of the mill!
CGJJ said:
I am 45 with 3 kids- 19,16,12.
Please allow me to give you a piece of life advice-
Never sell anything you love because your missus doesn't like it.
You will resent her for it and your Lotus keeps you young.
Get your missus an RS6 Estate or an M5 estate and keep your Lotus.
I completely disagree.Please allow me to give you a piece of life advice-
Never sell anything you love because your missus doesn't like it.
You will resent her for it and your Lotus keeps you young.
Get your missus an RS6 Estate or an M5 estate and keep your Lotus.
OP, you have children now. Your life as you knew it is over.
Accept your fate, buy a diesel people carrier and live on in abject misery like the rest of us.
DJP said:
CGJJ said:
I am 45 with 3 kids- 19,16,12.
Please allow me to give you a piece of life advice-
Never sell anything you love because your missus doesn't like it.
You will resent her for it and your Lotus keeps you young.
Get your missus an RS6 Estate or an M5 estate and keep your Lotus.
I completely disagree.Please allow me to give you a piece of life advice-
Never sell anything you love because your missus doesn't like it.
You will resent her for it and your Lotus keeps you young.
Get your missus an RS6 Estate or an M5 estate and keep your Lotus.
OP, you have children now. Your life as you knew it is over.
Accept your fate, buy a diesel people carrier and live on in abject misery like the rest of us.
I'm only allowed to be miserable either:
(a) when I'm classed as middle-aged (parents aren't allowing that as I'm only 37, and it would mean they couldn't be middle-aged and would have to be old-aged).
(b) when I hit 40, as it's the rules.
Anyway, the 'other' car will be the diesel people carrier ... it'll probably be a Discovery 4 as my wife loves them.
Mr Tidy said:
Parking space is such a problem, otherwise you keep the Lotus and buy a cheap daily.
Otherwise surely a C63 AMG would work, or maybe an M3 - can do daily school run but has some entertainment value for you when on your own.
Yep, this.Otherwise surely a C63 AMG would work, or maybe an M3 - can do daily school run but has some entertainment value for you when on your own.
Drove a C63 yesterday as a counter to the M3. Interesting that they're so similar yet so different.
Not sure yet. Will try for a second test drive of the M3 today.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
Done and done. Keep it on a road around the corner if there's literally no space for a 3rd car. There's always a way. Don't sell the Lotus. It'll only make you sad. Even if others in the family don't understand because it's just a car... You'll pine for it.
As another poster said I do find it amazing that the fairer sex can convince us to part with something we love dearly just because it's a little inconvenient a few times a month (and which could be entirely solved by the Mrs getting over herself and just driving the bloody thing when necessary instead of outright refusing).
Done and done. Keep it on a road around the corner if there's literally no space for a 3rd car. There's always a way. Don't sell the Lotus. It'll only make you sad. Even if others in the family don't understand because it's just a car... You'll pine for it.
As another poster said I do find it amazing that the fairer sex can convince us to part with something we love dearly just because it's a little inconvenient a few times a month (and which could be entirely solved by the Mrs getting over herself and just driving the bloody thing when necessary instead of outright refusing).
3 cars is the solution. My wife has a 5 year old V70 which is brilliant at what it is designed for. I have a golf Gti for everyday use.
And my wife ok'd a brand new V6 exige in January which I picked up in April. Having previously ok'd an S2 exige when pregnant with our first child. Don't sell the lotus!!
And my wife ok'd a brand new V6 exige in January which I picked up in April. Having previously ok'd an S2 exige when pregnant with our first child. Don't sell the lotus!!
We faced the same issue with two kids who inconveniently arrived while we had two two door cars. I spent 3 years building up my back muscles by inserting and removing them into the back before we finally went sensible...
I bought the wife a 7 seat family wagon ( grandparents were knocking on and were possible the most frightening drivers I have ever had the misfortune of sitting in with or driving behind) and persisted with my two door car.
It has two doors, but it also seats 5 easily and has a big boot. It also weighs 1250kg, has 570bhp and aftermarket race suspension/ transmission/brakes, etc. Impreza P1.
I've had it for 15 years now and it's slowly getting more extreme - the other half won't drive it and will only tolerate sitting in it for short trips, but the kids love it.
It still does stuff like the below very happily - Nothing better than turning up to a track day full of exotica in a 15 year old Japanese tin can and knowing that you are probably quicker than most things despite being worth less than their annual depreciation
She did wear me down in the end about why not get something with 4 doors - it's not fair that the the kids have to climb into the back of " that bloody thing" all the time, etc.
So I bought a 4 grand 1990 Bentley 8 to address that issue. Cue rolleyes and an exasperated silence from her.
Kids love that too, but it does take up around the same space as a middle sized aircraft carrier.
Joking aside, the merc would be fun, but it would be a bit of a departure from the "add lightness" Lotus.
I bought the wife a 7 seat family wagon ( grandparents were knocking on and were possible the most frightening drivers I have ever had the misfortune of sitting in with or driving behind) and persisted with my two door car.
It has two doors, but it also seats 5 easily and has a big boot. It also weighs 1250kg, has 570bhp and aftermarket race suspension/ transmission/brakes, etc. Impreza P1.
I've had it for 15 years now and it's slowly getting more extreme - the other half won't drive it and will only tolerate sitting in it for short trips, but the kids love it.
It still does stuff like the below very happily - Nothing better than turning up to a track day full of exotica in a 15 year old Japanese tin can and knowing that you are probably quicker than most things despite being worth less than their annual depreciation
She did wear me down in the end about why not get something with 4 doors - it's not fair that the the kids have to climb into the back of " that bloody thing" all the time, etc.
So I bought a 4 grand 1990 Bentley 8 to address that issue.
Cue rolleyes and an exasperated silence from her.Kids love that too, but it does take up around the same space as a middle sized aircraft carrier.
Joking aside, the merc would be fun, but it would be a bit of a departure from the "add lightness" Lotus.
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