How many is too many?
Discussion
RobDown said:
On the basis you don't appear to have an Alfa, at least one more 
On the basis I have 8 Alfas .... do I need to go and buy something else? Actually the total tally is:
8 Alfas, all working, taxed MOTd etc
2 Landrovers, one road going, one used about the place
2 Tractors, one working, one project
1 Alfa (parts car)
1 Alfa (severe project)
Yes, it costs a lot in VED and insurance, but loads of people waste their time playing golf, which is far more expensive and much less interesting than fiddling with cars.
TiminYorkshire said:
Given that N+1 is normally the ideal where N = current number of cars owned (or substitute any other man toy in here (or woman toy!!)) I'd suggest N+2 is too many. The easiest way to avoid this scenario is to buy cars in a singular quantity.
This. Although the speed that N+1 becomes N means that N+2 is a mathematical impossibility rather like dividing by zero.
I'm down to one weekend car, used to have 3 but never got the time to drive any or work on them, even the one i have now its been parked up for most of the year, just checking the MOT and I've done 20 miles since last Nov ! So left the old girl parked outside so i can use it more and sort a few bits and bobs on it
not sure how you lad manage with several cars
not sure how you lad manage with several cars
layercake said:
I'm down to one weekend car, used to have 3 but never got the time to drive any or work on them, even the one i have now its been parked up for most of the year, just checking the MOT and I've done 20 miles since last Nov ! So left the old girl parked outside so i can use it more and sort a few bits and bobs on it
not sure how you lad manage with several cars
I'd agree with this.not sure how you lad manage with several cars
my e46 is driven most days.
my e36 is driven on the odd summers day (and is less reliable now it's not the daily)
my TVR S2 is in fine fettle but just never gets driven due to pressures of work/time/number of seats.
my Saab 900 is legal but needs fettling but I will never get around to it while I have so many other cars.
my Saab 9000 is out of sight, out of mind. No MOT or Tax, worthless but with a nice interior.
Need to sell the TVR, hope to get rid of the 9000 soon, then down to 3. Should probably lose the e36 too but I would miss the ragtop.
Just spent £500 taxing 2 cars - one did a couple of thousand miles this year, the other about 100...
The answer will obviously depend on your circumstances, however the key criteria for me are
Money
Space
Time.
Don’t underestimate the last one. Think how long you spend on washing, repairing, moving (to allow access to other cars), MOT, insuring, etc. Most people have lots of demands on their time, particularly if they work full time and have a young family.
I have space for 3 cars on the drive and 1 in the garage in addition to my partners car (which also gets parked on the drive) but have limited myself to 2 cars. Any more cluttering up the drive would drive me mad. I have often thought about an off-road toy but the reality is that it would only get used now and again and would just get in the way and cost a disproportionate amount of time and money to keep running.
Money
Space
Time.
Don’t underestimate the last one. Think how long you spend on washing, repairing, moving (to allow access to other cars), MOT, insuring, etc. Most people have lots of demands on their time, particularly if they work full time and have a young family.
I have space for 3 cars on the drive and 1 in the garage in addition to my partners car (which also gets parked on the drive) but have limited myself to 2 cars. Any more cluttering up the drive would drive me mad. I have often thought about an off-road toy but the reality is that it would only get used now and again and would just get in the way and cost a disproportionate amount of time and money to keep running.
Having had up to 15/16 cars between myself and the old boy on the drive (and on the road) at the same time in the past, I think the ideal number is about 5 or 6. It all got a bit mad over 10 as you're constantly booking MOTs and services or renewing tax and insurance as well as anything else that comes up as you try and use them regularly enough to keep them all going, which in itself is a challenge.
Currently it's one of 2 for daily use (one modern, reliable diesel for the mileage and a barge for carrying people), a modern hot hatch, an old warm-ish hatch, an 80s 911Targa plus something Italian for the 20/30 days a year where the weather is right. They're all in good condition and therefore don't require masses of maintenance. A multi-car collector's insurance policy helps too (approx 1% of the total values).
As others have said, it depends how deep your pockets are. If I had £50k a year to pay a good mechanic to look after them all and another £50k a year for more space and upkeep I'd probably have 20/30! There's definitely a sweet spot though where you get to use them and enjoy them without it being a chore, and for me that's at 5/6 cars.
Currently it's one of 2 for daily use (one modern, reliable diesel for the mileage and a barge for carrying people), a modern hot hatch, an old warm-ish hatch, an 80s 911Targa plus something Italian for the 20/30 days a year where the weather is right. They're all in good condition and therefore don't require masses of maintenance. A multi-car collector's insurance policy helps too (approx 1% of the total values).
As others have said, it depends how deep your pockets are. If I had £50k a year to pay a good mechanic to look after them all and another £50k a year for more space and upkeep I'd probably have 20/30! There's definitely a sweet spot though where you get to use them and enjoy them without it being a chore, and for me that's at 5/6 cars.
If you are a collector: As many as you want / can afford / have place to store (although the Sultan of Brunei has clearly too many)
If you want to drive them on a regular basis: IMHO the sweet spot is 3-5 cars. 1 DD; 1 sports car; 1 classic; 1 for the wife/GF; 1 convertible (if none of the other is one already)
I'm pretty happy with my line up of 3 cars and wouldn't want any more than that (although I constantly look for other cars, I wouldn't want an additional one)
Too many is when you spend all your time fixing / maintaining them rather than driving them.
I got to around 20, many were projects and they were deteriorating - I sold 7 in January and found it quite liberating - some I'd owned for 25 years !
Realistically I don't see myself managing to get below 6
4x4 for towing
Van for carrying stuff
2 seater convertible for fun
2+2 sportscar for taking kids out
Track car
Family car
Plus project cars obviously.
I got to around 20, many were projects and they were deteriorating - I sold 7 in January and found it quite liberating - some I'd owned for 25 years !
Realistically I don't see myself managing to get below 6
4x4 for towing
Van for carrying stuff
2 seater convertible for fun
2+2 sportscar for taking kids out
Track car
Family car
Plus project cars obviously.
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