running two cars, is it worth it?

[KM666]

I'm spending alot on petrol at the moment and piling on the miles with an older turbo petrol car, it can get decent mpg but only at a steady 70. I'm doing over 300 miles a week and it's needing more and more maintainence as the miles pile on.

I'm not hugely attached to it so could sell it but I have spent a bit on it I'll never get back so want to keep it a bit longer. I had a plan for it I want to finish.
I also intended on getting rid of it for a 330d but the economy in real life is too close to make the manmaths work.

So my original plan was to buy a little mr2 or something sporty for work as a sporty second car with my tax rebate but things changed and I'm moving further away from work so I'm thinking about a cheapo oil burner like a mk1 focus tdci or 307 hdi, see both for £500 or so around my way.
Am i onto a false economy here or a good way of saving some money, I look after any car in my care so I can't see losing money?

I just want to stop spending £500 a month just getting to an entry level job, the money will go up when the company puts me through my c1 licence and I've completed all the installer training but for now I'm running the car on a payday to payday basis.

[abbotsmike]

Running 2 cars will never be cheaper than running one car.

I have a sensible hatchback (Ibiza Diesel) to run alongside my Defender. I do ~400 miles a week just getting to and from work. The fuel cost of running the defender all the time would outweigh the total running cost of the ibiza, coupled with the extra maintenance on what is as advanced as a horse and cart.

The cheapest option is to sell the defender, but it's my toy.

[carmadgaz]

I currently run a MX-5 and a Range Rover (Classic) diesel

I have the toy car for just tootling around and the sensible 5 seater tow car/ camper /van for everything else. I insure both for the same amount as it costs my girlfriend to insure her Golf and they both do similar to the gallon.

I get the best of both and as I enjoy my cars I don't really begrudge the cost.

We won't go into the Transit motorhome and Series Landy awaiting TLC or the motorbike (£59 VED, £90 insurance, 'tis a very cheap toy) that I also have

[ZX10R NIN]

Anything you buy for £500 in diesel form won't be the greatest go for a budget of £1000 & you'll find something, but I'd look past the normal options & you can find some good reliable barges made just for the job of pounding the miles out.

Nissan Primera
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

They should get you into the 40's dependent on how well they've been looked after, only you will know if you really can afford to run two cars.

[V88Dicky]

I was doing 10k miles per year in my XKR which at current fuel prices is £2000+ per year. Now I do around 2500 miles in the Jag @ 24mpg (£515) and 7500 in a little Colt @ 55mpg (£675). The difference alone in the first year has offset the purchase price of the daily driver, which cost £900.
That's my man maths anyway, however I did actually need a general duties car for school runs and visits to the tip etc, and when I take the XKR out now, I actually enjoy it more.

[P700DEE]

V88Dicky said:

I was doing 10k miles per year in my XKR which at current fuel prices is £2000+ per year. Now I do around 2500 miles in the Jag @ 24mpg (£515) and 7500 in a little Colt @ 55mpg (£675). The difference alone in the first year has offset the purchase price of the daily driver, which cost £900.
That's my man maths anyway, however I did actually need a general duties car for school runs and visits to the tip etc, and when I take the XKR out now, I actually enjoy it more.

I ran an XKR and a 4.2 S Type for a couple of years. The additional 5-10mpg made a difference and I needed a five seater. I now have a work 5 series touring with the back up of the XKR. 5K miles XKR, 30K miles BMW. This works great

[steve-5snwi]

I run 4 .... What I do find when you run a banger is that you appreciate your nice car much more. For me I would look at an old 306/406 hdi, quick and comfortable.

We picked a 306 hdi up for a friend, it owes him some services, rear exhaust 2 tyres and that's about it. We paid £650 for it and it's worth £500 now. Not bad for 40,000 miles use.

[Alex_225]

abbotsmike said:

Running 2 cars will never be cheaper than running one car.

Completely agree, the outgoings on a second car will undo the savings on a more economical car. When you factor in buying cost, insurance, servicing etc it will cost you more.

I do run a daily/workhorse car and more of a weekend beast. An average journey in my diesel E-Class is a lot cheaper than in my CLS63, as in double the fuel costs but realistically, if I add up the insurance/tax/purchase cost of the E-Class it would totally cover the additional cost of the fuel in the CLS. My reasoning is that I'd like to keep the miles down in the CLS, it's on 17,500 miles (and I consider a keeper) and the E is on 106,000 so I know which one I don't mind going up.

If the idea behind buying a second car is literally a cost saving then I don't think it works out. But if it's to preserve a car that is special to you or one you want to enjoy rather than have to drive, I'm totally behind that.

[zebra]

Running two cars is a waste.

That's why you have to run three....

I run a hatchback for day to day travel, an Elise for weekends and an Exige V6 Cup when only track time will do.

[lostkiwi]

zebra said:

Running two cars is a waste.

That's why you have to run three....

I run a hatchback for day to day travel, an Elise for weekends and an Exige V6 Cup when only track time will do.

Agreed. My three are:
Smart Roadster to commute (45mpg and grin inducing on the country lanes between home and work).
Mercedes 500SL for weekend cruises with the missus and the trips to France.
Mercedes E240 Estate for when we need 4 seats. Or 5. Or 6. Or 7. Or to pick up wardrobes or do tip runs.

The other half has her Mini Cooper S for commuting or doing girly things.

[zebra]

lostkiwi said:

Agreed. My three are:
Smart Roadster to commute (45mpg and grin inducing on the country lanes between home and work).
Mercedes 500SL for weekend cruises with the missus and the trips to France.
Mercedes E240 Estate for when we need 4 seats. Or 5. Or 6. Or 7. Or to pick up wardrobes or do tip runs.

The other half has her Mini Cooper S for commuting or doing girly things.

Knew I was not alone.

[slipstream 1985]

N+1

[cat with a hat]

abbotsmike said:

Running 2 cars will never be cheaper than running one car.

Thats a bit of a sweeping statement.

Completely depends on the cars involved and how sensitive they are to miles or cost to maintain.


e.g. you wouldn't commute 6k a year in a Ferrari 430 and another 3k pleasure miles. It would be much cheaper to run a bland hatch along side for commuting.

[Cutmore]

I had a £1,000 307SW as a quick car to tie me over when I had a car written off. Not a bad car entirely, but it had its niggles, anti pollution problem, melted relays etc. All the things to expect from a cheap 10+ old car, but all in all things sharp added up. For the overall savings of driving something as dull as ditch water it just wasn't worth it either.

[phil4]

More than one might not be cheaper, but is a better way, surely.

Lets say you do a boring, stop start commute year round. But you also like a weekend blast in sunny weather.

Buying one car that can do both well is unlikely, usually there will be a compromise, for example the competent, economic cruiser isn't exciting. Or running a convertible 2 seater in the winter isn't the greatest. Sure you can spend more money, but that doesn't mean you'll get a "jack of all trades"

If you can get 2 cars, you can get something a bit more specialised, and so better at each thing you want it to do. No need for the weekend car to be practical, nor for the commuting car to be fun. You'll find it suddenly opens up a whole world of opportunities, and things you'd never have thought of getting before suddenly make a whole lot of sense. So much so it's almost the first thing I recommend to petrol heads that are still only have one car.

Be honest with yourself though, if it's to save money so be it, but choose carefully, if you don't really want something for a weekend blast, don't bother, as it may not get used.

[LordHaveMurci]

I run a 996 & a Clio 172 Cup, can't bear to be parted from either & the Clio is much cheaper to run on the commute & I don't care so much about parking it in multi storeys etc.
Neither would make a practical single car so I'd have to sell both & buy what to replace them? A further benefit is that neither should depreciate any further & one, or both may actually appreciate in the coming years offsetting some of the cost of owner ship

OH has a nice practical hatch with starship mileage that she won't be parted from!

[200Plus Club]

zebra said:

Running two cars is a waste.

That's why you have to run three....

I run a hatchback for day to day travel, an Elise for weekends and an Exige V6 Cup when only track time will do.

agreed. dont forget a bike as well though.

[dlockhart]

DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.

sitting in traffic around town & steaming up and down motorways is not really driving its just getting from A->B. going for a spirited drive and a roast on a sunday that is when your nice (but not necessarily practical) car comes into its own.

[Tickle]

DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.

Driving an Elise 6 miles a day through the seasons to the train station, on 30mph roads is not too enjoyable, just like going to the mountains to enjoy empty roads in an Aygo isn't.

[RobM77]

abbotsmike said:

Running 2 cars will never be cheaper than running one car.

Alex_225 said:

the outgoings on a second car will undo the savings on a more economical car. When you factor in buying cost, insurance, servicing etc it will cost you more.

I must admit I've never found this. When you add up depreciation and cost of fuel, running an interesting and an ordinary car (e.g. 330i and an Elise) for me has always come to a lot less than running one nicer car (e.g. 911, M3 etc).

I now have a racing car as my second car, so the comparison isn't really relevant, but prior to that I ran a Lotus 2-Eleven and a BMW 320d as follows:

Lotus 2-Eleven per annum costs: (1500 miles per year)
Servicing: £700
Insurance: £400
Tyres: n/a (I never changed them)
VED: £280
Depreciation: £800
Fuel: £500

BMW per annum costs: (30,000 miles per year)
Servicing: £300
Insurance: £350
Tyres: £180
VED: £105
Depreciation: £1700
Fuel: £2800

Total of both cars per annum: £2680 + £5435 = £8115.

BMW M3 per annum costs (guesses based on a friend of mine's M3):
Servicing: £800
Insurance: £800
Tyres: £1700 (1 set of fronts and two sets of rears)
VED: £490
Depreciation: £3500
Fuel: £7128

Total for the M3: £14418

I realise people will now pick holes in my costs, or criticise my annual mileage, but you'd have to pick some pretty big holes to equate £14k with £8k. For all you diesel haters out there, if you plug in 35mpg for a 330i into the above figures (the equivalent to my 55mpg cruising), you get £4481, or £1681 more expensive - still way off the M3's total costs.

Having owned and driven various cars over the years I can say with no doubt in my mind that I'd be happier in an ordinary 3 series and a 2-Eleven than in just an M3 on its own; the reasons for that should be obvious, not least because when sat with the cruise control enabled on the motorway the M3 is marginally noisier but otherwise an identical experience. Not only that, but the 2-Eleven was way more expensive to own than my Caterham, which arguably gives similar fun and is certainly way more practical, so swings the argument further in favour of two cars.

In the past I've run the following two car combos:

325i and Caterham
330ci and Elise
Celica Carlos Sainz and Metro race car
328i and Caterham race car
320d and 2-Eleven
320d and Formula Renault

All of them have worked out cheaper than what I'd have as a single car (similar to the above costs), even when doing much lower mileage than I do now. When looking at getting a single car, I've driven a fair few nice cars and I've never found anything that I'd rather have than a daily plus a weekend car, provided the daily is FE/RWD with a manual box and the weekend car is something like a Caterham, Elise etc. I'd go further than the above calculations actually and state that I'd rather pay a premium to run two cars than just the one car.

No doubt this is largely down to personal taste and annual mileage. If you only do about 8k miles a year, don't like lightweight sports cars and never need four seats or a roof rack, you'd probably be happier in a 911 or Evora than in a two car combo like mine. For me though, it's an easy choice.

Edited by RobM77 on Tuesday 27th September 14:24