Good old bangers as 2nd car
Discussion
After being the proud owner of an elise for 2 months now, I am absolutely head over heels in love with it & don't regret a penny spent on it. However, I'm just about to get back into kayaking & need something to lug this around plus also would rather not risk having a nasty off with the liz in winter conditions, when the weather is particularly bad and I want to get somewhere. Plus getting the liz out of my garage requires a fair bit of effort, so also something I can quickly nip down the shops in without having to worry about the local hoddie scum going near my motor 
So, do any other elise owners have an old heap as a runaround & what would you recommend that is cheap to buy (less than 1k), bugger all to insure (only would do 3rd party) & runs like clockwork ?
Thanks
So, do any other elise owners have an old heap as a runaround & what would you recommend that is cheap to buy (less than 1k), bugger all to insure (only would do 3rd party) & runs like clockwork ?
Thanks
I'd agree with cej, having owned hondas in the past, they are very good cars but they can be expensive for an old second hand one when compared to something else. My last 2nd car was an Astra (2 litre) and that was great paid £500, had it 2 years and never done a thing to it (not even any extra oil) but it was very thirsty so when it was never going to go through the MOT (rusty) i went for a 1.3 Fiesta also £500 (bring on the jokes). it is very bad at going around corners and fairly gutless but its economical and cheap to insure, tax is also cheap. at the end of the day it gets me about when i need to transport something bigger than a sports bag.
Given the choice, i'd either go for a Honda if one is in your money bracket or something small from Vauxhall like a corsa/ 1.4 astra. Save the real money for the world of Lotus (upgrades etc)
Tanman
Given the choice, i'd either go for a Honda if one is in your money bracket or something small from Vauxhall like a corsa/ 1.4 astra. Save the real money for the world of Lotus (upgrades etc)
Tanman
As much as I love my Elise, it would drive me up the wall as an everyday car, plus as single chap I dont have the use of an other half's car for shopping trips or when I need to carry more than 1 passenger or boxes/mountain bike etc. So I have this...
£295 fully comp and very reliable. Huge boot is great and can carry 4 adults if needed.
£295 fully comp and very reliable. Huge boot is great and can carry 4 adults if needed.
Bloody hell, it's amazing how cheap cars can be to run these days!!!
Cheers for all the advice, good to see I'm not the only one who doesn't want to risk the elise in bad conditions!
Whilst I'm fully insured for any big shunts, its having the car off the road for potentially months that makes me want to get another one to avoid general problems (people reversing into it buggering the clam, yobs, hitting black ice in bad weather etc). Then I can enjoy the weekend even more by taking my pride and joy out of the garage and eating up the open roads.
Something that caught my eye today was those smart cars. I notice you can get them 2nd hand for a grand and a bit these days & it would fit into the garage with the elise, takes up bugger all petrol as it has a lawnmower engine & presumably is looked upon favourably for road tax by Gordy.
Only trouble is, it's not really a mans car is it ?
Cheers for all the advice, good to see I'm not the only one who doesn't want to risk the elise in bad conditions!
Whilst I'm fully insured for any big shunts, its having the car off the road for potentially months that makes me want to get another one to avoid general problems (people reversing into it buggering the clam, yobs, hitting black ice in bad weather etc). Then I can enjoy the weekend even more by taking my pride and joy out of the garage and eating up the open roads.
Something that caught my eye today was those smart cars. I notice you can get them 2nd hand for a grand and a bit these days & it would fit into the garage with the elise, takes up bugger all petrol as it has a lawnmower engine & presumably is looked upon favourably for road tax by Gordy.
Only trouble is, it's not really a mans car is it ?
I have a new Elise SportsRacer in which I'm not going to be doing / carrying anything it's not designed for / good at
As a family guy who also turns his hand at his original trade (building industry), I get asked what about the boy? What about all your gear?
Simple - the missus has an Alfa 147 and I also have a 1.7td Y plate Astra Van. So as an Elise owner, I still have all the family car & practicality I'll ever need!
Oh, and when I do open the garage door, the big broad smile and thoughts of "Haha! That's mine!" take ages to wear off
ok, not exactly 'old bangers' but the theory is there! Cheers!
>> Edited by Janitor on Monday 27th March 00:51
As a family guy who also turns his hand at his original trade (building industry), I get asked what about the boy? What about all your gear?
Simple - the missus has an Alfa 147 and I also have a 1.7td Y plate Astra Van. So as an Elise owner, I still have all the family car & practicality I'll ever need!
Oh, and when I do open the garage door, the big broad smile and thoughts of "Haha! That's mine!" take ages to wear off
ok, not exactly 'old bangers' but the theory is there! Cheers!
>> Edited by Janitor on Monday 27th March 00:51
Sportsracer, very jealous!!! Ideally I'd love an alfa as a second car as its got the amazing looks & they cost bugger all secondhand but they ain't cheap to service & not renowned for their reliability!
It's got to be something that literaly costs nowt in upkeep. I want something that will be less than 100 quid a year road tax, no more than a couple hundred in insurance & one that could easily get through it's MOT by bribing a few of my mates who know their stuff with beers & all parts obtained by a trip down the scrapyard.
The other problem is there's not much parking on my road & don't really want to further annoy the neighbours by taking someone elses space with a 2nd car. The other residents think I'm a flash git already & the residents committee have actually politely asked me to refrain from making so much noise when coming home late (B&C exhaust, it just sounds so nice revved in the garage! ). That's why the smart appeals as I could cram it in my garage at night or if left on the road wouldn't take up anyone's space. Plus the black and decker engine and pea shooter exhaust wouldn't annoy them as much. But the risk of owning one of these would mean I would either look like an estate agent or a gentleman who orders bicardi breezers...
It's got to be something that literaly costs nowt in upkeep. I want something that will be less than 100 quid a year road tax, no more than a couple hundred in insurance & one that could easily get through it's MOT by bribing a few of my mates who know their stuff with beers & all parts obtained by a trip down the scrapyard.
The other problem is there's not much parking on my road & don't really want to further annoy the neighbours by taking someone elses space with a 2nd car. The other residents think I'm a flash git already & the residents committee have actually politely asked me to refrain from making so much noise when coming home late (B&C exhaust, it just sounds so nice revved in the garage!
). That's why the smart appeals as I could cram it in my garage at night or if left on the road wouldn't take up anyone's space. Plus the black and decker engine and pea shooter exhaust wouldn't annoy them as much. But the risk of owning one of these would mean I would either look like an estate agent or a gentleman who orders bicardi breezers... Humm... lots of factors to satisfy there then mate!
If the main priority is being practically cheap, then I guess it doesn't really matter what you get... As long as it does what you need it to, then the Breezers are merely a side effect!
If it was your only car then yeah, plenty to worry about, but as you have the Elise then no worries
As for the residents group..? Christ
Space and economy..?
All weather practicality too..?
>> Edited by Janitor on Monday 27th March 01:21
If the main priority is being practically cheap, then I guess it doesn't really matter what you get... As long as it does what you need it to, then the Breezers are merely a side effect!
If it was your only car then yeah, plenty to worry about, but as you have the Elise then no worries
As for the residents group..? Christ
Space and economy..?
All weather practicality too..?
>> Edited by Janitor on Monday 27th March 01:21
Or you can buy one of these, they look like little cars but they are'nt
They are small not noisy and bring a smile on most people you drive by...
Maybe not the driver though, or the car who stucked behind you and can't past
But in terms of space and practicalitie its worth thinking of
www.greencarcongress.com/2006/01/chinese_microca.html
GTRene
They are small not noisy and bring a smile on most people you drive by...
Maybe not the driver though, or the car who stucked behind you and can't past
But in terms of space and practicalitie its worth thinking of
www.greencarcongress.com/2006/01/chinese_microca.html
GTRene
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