Can two cars be as economical as one?

[anonymous-user]

Or a cunningly disguised what car

So I have a Mazda 6 MPS, it is a very good car but is costing quite a lot to run, £400 a year tax, 98 Ron required, insurance at £600 etc etc

I intend to change but the OH is learning to drive at the moment and I would like her to be able to share the car with me, or have a car of her own

The original idea was to sell the Mazda and then get an MX5 for myself and a focus/fiesta/a.n.other for the OH and me to share

She doesnt however really WANT a car of her own more that it would be foisted upon her allowing me to have an MX5

So if I don't go down the 2 car route, what car, for 5k could we get that would suit me and be ok to go on a hoon, whilst achieving 30+ on a run and not be dull as dishwater

Insurance shouldnt be too much of an issue as my insurers quoted an extra £300 to put her on the Mazda and that is Group 17

So far I have been thinking

Leon Cupra R
Audi S3

But hot hatches don't really float my boat

So bearing in mind I wouldn't save a huge amount on the Tax is the MX5 and Focus route the best option? Or shall I bite the bullet and return to my hot hatch roots

[Garlick]

As I have always run between 2 and 4 cars, just be aware of mounting costs that you don't think will be an issue. With my two car fleet you have to account for

2 x tax discs
2 x annual service
2 x MOT (if applicable)
2 x fuel
2 x tyres
2 x anything that breaks
2 x insurance policies

It does all add up, so make sure that's all accounted for. In addition, make sure the second car is used often, as if not you need to increase the budget for things that might go wrong.

[anonymous-user]

The 2 tax discs is pretty much covered by the single tax disc on the Mazda

Servicing yeah agreed although as I would be intending to keep both for a while I would probably tackle this at home

Tyres and MOT agreed and of course Petrol

I should have mentioned in the OP the reason for the change is that I am now working out of a different office every other week which means driving to work on those weeks, its 50 miles a day so appx 500 a month

[Chris71]

OP said:

Can two cars be as economical as one?

Yes. But it depends on your circumstances.

If you have a reasonable budget and you fancy something relatively extreme then it can be far cheaper to get something light and simple that lacks the creature comforts you might want during the week.

A Caterham, for example, will keep up with an M3 or 911 on a B-road. True, you wouldn't necessarily want to drive it to work on a wet Monday morning, but with all the money you save through specialist insurance, cheap VED, acceptable fuel economy and minimal service costs you can afford to have a daily shed with luxuries like sound deadening and a roof.

Eventually, however, you get to point where the basic cost of keeping the second car becomes a significant portion of the total budget. At that point you're better off with one car.

[Chrisw666]

We considered sharing a car when the OH was learning to drive, she saw the shared car as mine and was a nervous wreck when she drove it.

I don't think they can be justified as economical but her having her own car means she can treat it as badly as she wants without worrying and she can go out when she wants as can I.

[anonymous-user]

To the first Chris, I would love a Caterham or the like but with a budget of 5k for both cars I think this would be realistic

To the second Chris, a good point actually, I would have to discuss this with her, I wouldnt mind her driving the Mazda and she is always begging for a go but 25Mpg on a run with Super Unleaded is unsustainable at the moment

I suppose rather than the MX5 I could go for a Spitfire or MG and then that kills the roadtax cost

Lord knows, why can't petrol just be cheaper

[antspants]

I would advise getting two cars, not necessarily from a budgetary perspective but just so you can keep your own car on the road.

My wife and I shared a car for a year after she passed her test. I spent well over half of that year driving a courtesy Vauxhall Corsa from the accident repair centre, as she tried her utmost to write off my car.

You'd be surprised at the amount of damage that can be done whilst parking

[Chris71]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Fair point.

Could you get by with sharing an MX5 between you? They're not huge and they're not great motorway cars, but in most respects they're pretty sensible. And that, to me, makes them a great all-rounder but a slightly underwhelming weekend toy.

Financially, I think two cars makes sense when the basic ownership costs are small compared to the combined resale value. You'll probably pay just as much VED and insurance on a £1,500 MX5 as you will on a £15,000 Seven - possibly more. I know the latter isn't an option, but it illustrates the principle...

As for jutsifying it personally, well it comes down to how different the two cars are and what you're going to use them for. If you commute for 20 miles across Snowdonia every morning it's fair to assume you'll want a good all-rounder that can bring a smile to your face every time. If you're stuck in the urban sprawl and live for the weekends there's a much stronger argument for a second toy.

[Captain Muppet]

Garlick said:

As I have always run between 2 and 4 cars, just be aware of mounting costs that you don't think will be an issue. With my two car fleet you have to account for

2 x tax discs
2 x annual service
2 x MOT (if applicable)
2 x fuel
2 x tyres
2 x anything that breaks
2 x insurance policies

It does all add up, so make sure that's all accounted for. In addition, make sure the second car is used often, as if not you need to increase the budget for things that might go wrong.

Fuel and tyre wear are mileage dependant, you wear them out as you drive and if you are only driving one car at a time your fuel and tyre costs don't go up. Also failures of the wearing-out or cycles-to-failure kind happen less often per car with a two car fleet. So your bills don't double.

I do enough miles that I'd need a couple of services a year anyway, so my servicing bill isn't higher.

So it's just insurance, tax and the MOT for me. Pick the right cars and MOT won't cost you much (5 years with the MX5 and it's only ever failed on one light bulb, the Elise has failed once because of an exhaust leak)

[falkster]

Its impossible to run two cars on one budget unless you split your initial budget in a way to include the wear and tear of the second.

I have always had between 2 and 7 cars, when you add all the insurance premiums up it doesnt make good reading!

[anonymous-user]

An MX5 wouldnt be practical enough if it were a sole car we regularly shop at Costco and I have garden supplies and things I need to buy

The commute is all A roads normally sitting at 50 ish although there is the opportunity to get the foot down at some points

[BoRED S2upid]

Definately two cars if the second is an MX5 and the first some ecobox thats giving you a high MPG. You can pick up the MX5 for £1000 - £1500 if its a MK1 parts are VERY cheap as is a limited mileage policy £200. Instead of one car for say £5000 split your budget £3000 for the daily hack and £2000 for the MK1 MX5.

[pantera chris]

I had a Ford Focus daily and a RX7 track ready weekend toy. The Focus got 40+mpg but it was boring as hell so I replaced it with a Honda DC2. Excellent, reliable car and I can get 30mpg out of it if driven sensibly.

The RX7 gets about 18 if im lucky lol...

[Chris71]

falkster said:

I have always had between 2 and 7 cars, when you add all the insurance premiums up it doesnt make good reading!

True, but insurance is also one of the main incentives to run two cars.

Thanks to the marvel of classic insurance I can insure all three of my cars for significantly less than the cost of covering one E36 M3 through a mainstream insurer.

I've got something with four seats; something that will do nearly 40 mpg on a run; and something with a big V8 that will do 0-60 in under five seconds. They just don't happen to be the same thing...

[Garlick]

Captain Muppet said:

Fuel and tyre wear are mileage dependant, you wear them out as you drive and if you are only driving one car at a time your fuel and tyre costs don't go up. Also failures of the wearing-out or cycles-to-failure kind happen less often per car with a two car fleet. So your bills don't double.

Well yes if both cars are bought with brand new tyres and no incidents occur.

After running multi cars for years I disagree with most of what you say here. For me, there is always something that needs doing to one of the cars, and it has never worked out the same as running just one. Regardless of incident/ breakage you at least need to allow for MOT. annual servicing, tax and insurance for both.

My experience is just different to yours though, and I guess that neither of us are incorrect.....just depends how fortunate you are.

[SCR Racing]

I have joined the 2 car gang. The 1999 bargetastic C Class is my daily driver. In the garage sits the Supra, which is taxed for 6 months (to be used during the good weather season / that trip to Le Mans). Insured on a multicar policy.

Win.

[kpb]

I'd say it depends on how you split the budget and the depreciation curve on both cars. I think it is 'doable' as a concept if you're factoring in a cheap daily hack which you can run for peanuts and doesnt cost you anything to shift on or scrap, because you can offset the limited depreciation against that which you incur on the 'better' car. Sometimes it comes down to the specific choices you make in terms of the cars. Buy one below book price and over 12 months you can make it work...just. But one big bill on the cheap hack and your plan is up in smoke, as you might need to replace it entirely.

I also run two cars - one a £800 406 diesel for a motorway plodder, the other a £7k hot hatch for the weekends, but I think it probably costs me something like £800 a year on top of owning and running one car.

[Ozzie Osmond]

Old enough to be very low road tax (even zero!), low insurance, no depreciation, cheap to fix....

...but the fuel consumption is likely to be poor by modern standards unless you're talking about a small engine in a light car. Depends on annual mileage of course.

[anonymous-user]

The plan as it stands is

5k budget

2k on an MX5 for me, this will be my fun car plus using it for the commute if/when the missus is using the 2nd car

2k on a Ford Focus 1.8, this will be a joint car for us both to use but mainly so she can think of it as her car

1k in a slush fund for any issues, maintenance etc

Working on the basis that keeping them for a year or 2 they will be worth the sum total of sod all at the end I will prob take on servicing myself to keep costs down

[Chrisw666]

That seems a sensible way to go about it, you won't get bored driving a dull car, she won't worry she is going to kill your P&J.

You get two cars to go out in meaning you can take the one your mood fits best or that the weather dictates if you're out together, it also means you can drive to the pub and have a few beers before ringing her to come and collect you as you need to leave your car there