Does your choice of car reflect how much you drive?
Discussion
About a month ago my car got stolen (i made a post on here asking about what sort of car i should go for next)
My commute a few months ago was about 24 miles a day, so about 5000 a year or so . At the moment, my commute is about 6 miles a day in total, so literally about 1200 a year, either way, its significantly less, as i no longer drive 'to work', i drive to the station and then get a train.
The issue i'm having is, well, is there a POINT in me getting another high performance car? I had RTI gap insurance (Dont ever let anyone tell you its a rip off, it really isnt... best £349 i ever spent) on my last car, and my finances have improved quite a bit over the years, so my car fund (as i said in my post) is around 16k, and i still want a hot hatch type of car.
How many of you guys have 'nice' cars that don't see that many miles from you commute?? btw, i don't judge, when i say 'nice' cars, thats obviously quite relative to you, but i'm not talking about a £200 banger that you use for short trips, i mean people that have ONE car thats relatively high performance? Im still at a point where i want something with a lot of power, but im struggling with the idea of buying another car for 17k that i will literally, never drive to work
My commute a few months ago was about 24 miles a day, so about 5000 a year or so . At the moment, my commute is about 6 miles a day in total, so literally about 1200 a year, either way, its significantly less, as i no longer drive 'to work', i drive to the station and then get a train.
The issue i'm having is, well, is there a POINT in me getting another high performance car? I had RTI gap insurance (Dont ever let anyone tell you its a rip off, it really isnt... best £349 i ever spent) on my last car, and my finances have improved quite a bit over the years, so my car fund (as i said in my post) is around 16k, and i still want a hot hatch type of car.
How many of you guys have 'nice' cars that don't see that many miles from you commute?? btw, i don't judge, when i say 'nice' cars, thats obviously quite relative to you, but i'm not talking about a £200 banger that you use for short trips, i mean people that have ONE car thats relatively high performance? Im still at a point where i want something with a lot of power, but im struggling with the idea of buying another car for 17k that i will literally, never drive to work
Our Audi A6 is used solely for city driving - it rarely sees a motorway journey of longer than 10 miles and mainly does 4K miles per year. It has the supercharged V6 from the S4/5 and pushes 290hp. The low miles we do allows us to justify cars like these, albeit we would need 5 seats now and then, it is definitely not small. Double the mileage and then we would think about fuel. It is used for commutes, but the commutes are super short. A car like this never gets good fuel economy in the city, but low miles allows for that. Ultimately, it does great on the motorway, if driven sensibly it can see 30-35mpg which is great - they are motorway cars after all. But, running petrol means there is no worries about issues that arise from diesels. An A6 really should be seen on motorways, but we don't do that, the X5 is reserved for those duties.
Realistically, it does what we want for the price, offers good performance if you want it but 90% of the time it never sees more than 30mph and sits at traffic lights. It does have Valcona heated leather, DAB, AMI, bluetooth and is more importantly an Automatic, thus making the Commute very easy indeed. I simply say get what you want and can afford. Fast petrols never give great MPG anyway, simply because they are fast. You won't drive a Golf R to 30mph like how you would drive a Yaris to 30mph, unless you really watch your foot. The advantage however is that they are fast
You will only own a few cars in your lifetime, drive what you like!
Realistically, it does what we want for the price, offers good performance if you want it but 90% of the time it never sees more than 30mph and sits at traffic lights. It does have Valcona heated leather, DAB, AMI, bluetooth and is more importantly an Automatic, thus making the Commute very easy indeed. I simply say get what you want and can afford. Fast petrols never give great MPG anyway, simply because they are fast. You won't drive a Golf R to 30mph like how you would drive a Yaris to 30mph, unless you really watch your foot. The advantage however is that they are fast
You will only own a few cars in your lifetime, drive what you like!
I commute in an R-class. Nothing special, it's just a very good commuter.
I also have an F-Type that I use on weekends and on the commute for when the weather's nice. I'd happily say it gets a run at least once a week in winter, up to every day in summer.
My Impreza is the unloved one. Figuratively speaking. I love that car and I have no intention of selling it, but it sees fewer than 50 miles a month. It sits under a tree on my driveway and is usually covered in bird s
t. Yet when I want to drive it, it'll start on the button and give me the easy thrills that a Subaru can.
I also have an F-Type that I use on weekends and on the commute for when the weather's nice. I'd happily say it gets a run at least once a week in winter, up to every day in summer.
My Impreza is the unloved one. Figuratively speaking. I love that car and I have no intention of selling it, but it sees fewer than 50 miles a month. It sits under a tree on my driveway and is usually covered in bird s
t. Yet when I want to drive it, it'll start on the button and give me the easy thrills that a Subaru can.Second Best said:
I commute in an R-class. Nothing special, it's just a very good commuter.
I also have an F-Type that I use on weekends and on the commute for when the weather's nice. I'd happily say it gets a run at least once a week in winter, up to every day in summer.
My Impreza is the unloved one. Figuratively speaking. I love that car and I have no intention of selling it, but it sees fewer than 50 miles a month. It sits under a tree on my driveway and is usually covered in bird st. Yet when I want to drive it, it'll start on the button and give me the easy thrills that a Subaru can.
Wow, a R-Class. Very different choice! How is it? Is it more like a SUV or more like a MPV? Always wanted to know, as always have considered one of these for a 7 seater for us.I also have an F-Type that I use on weekends and on the commute for when the weather's nice. I'd happily say it gets a run at least once a week in winter, up to every day in summer.
My Impreza is the unloved one. Figuratively speaking. I love that car and I have no intention of selling it, but it sees fewer than 50 miles a month. It sits under a tree on my driveway and is usually covered in bird s
t. Yet when I want to drive it, it'll start on the button and give me the easy thrills that a Subaru can.If I didn't drive 22k a year in a totally unsuitable car due to the fuel economy, but really comfortable. I'd have a small fast hot hatch with rock hard suspension.
Actually I'd probably have a V8 A8 Quattro like this https://autoste.com/topic/35506-1998-audi-a8-d2-...
Even more uneconomical than the car I have.
Actually I'd probably have a V8 A8 Quattro like this https://autos
te.com/topic/35506-1998-audi-a8-d2-...Even more uneconomical than the car I have.
I don't know if this will help you. I still live abroad but returning to live in the UK again in the near future. Until quite recently I was planning to buy a V8 Mustang when I got back. But now i'm planning on an Infiniti Q30 (2 litre turbo petrol variety). My ex had an Infiniti Q50 for a while in South Africa (same 2 litre turbo petrol Mercedes engine) and it drove very well. My son has a new A-Class on which the Q30 is based, and size-wise it's fine for me.
I won't buy new, I'll pick up a low mileage 12-24 month old car from a main dealer. Its a hatch with 4WD, and when the manufacturer's warranty runs out it maps up to about 250bhp. Base is about 200bhp. I'm expecting to pay between 15-18k for the car.
I won't buy new, I'll pick up a low mileage 12-24 month old car from a main dealer. Its a hatch with 4WD, and when the manufacturer's warranty runs out it maps up to about 250bhp. Base is about 200bhp. I'm expecting to pay between 15-18k for the car.
I bought my Focus ST knowing it would cover less than 5k a year as I commute on a motorbike. I’ll have had it 2 years next month and it’s covered 6k miles so far. Fuel economy is poor (25 mpg over it's lifetime) but at less than a tank a month it’s not an issue. Most of the time I use it to take my wife to and from the station, and do the weekly shop, but as I want only one car I decided to get something I really wanted after many years of drudgery in a diesel Focus.
Another consideration is not just what you drive but where you drive. I do about 20k a year up and down the M6 in a boring diesel A3.
If I was doing 20k a year on good country roads I would be much more inclined to get a hot hatch/ sports car. But I can’t see how I’d prefer one over my car on my current commute.
Thus I probably need two cars but I digress!
If I was doing 20k a year on good country roads I would be much more inclined to get a hot hatch/ sports car. But I can’t see how I’d prefer one over my car on my current commute.
Thus I probably need two cars but I digress!
If you want a nice car and can afford it then go for it regardless of miles travelled. If I had my choice i'd like to do less commuting miles so you're in a good position.
As someone has already suggested, why not buy something older where depreciation isn't an issue? You could always cycle to the station.
My suggestion (based on the fact I own one) wpuld be a 987 Porsche Boxster 2.7 for circa. £7-£10k. That way you get a great car and save a few pennies in the bank and it's a little more justifiable in your mind?
As someone has already suggested, why not buy something older where depreciation isn't an issue? You could always cycle to the station.
My suggestion (based on the fact I own one) wpuld be a 987 Porsche Boxster 2.7 for circa. £7-£10k. That way you get a great car and save a few pennies in the bank and it's a little more justifiable in your mind?
We went for a 5 door M135i facelift auto for my fiance's 5 mile a day commute in the suburbs - comfortable, easy to drive, shortish so easy to park and goes well enough/fuel efficient when doing a longer trip.
I've then got an Exige for the weekends/trackdays but commute on a motorbike/pushbike myself (24 miles a day into City of London)
I've then got an Exige for the weekends/trackdays but commute on a motorbike/pushbike myself (24 miles a day into City of London)
Now i know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but i drive a Chrysler 300c 3.0l V6 diesel, something i wanted for a while but just got tied up in everything else (small family) and so never bothered, I can't justify having a big diesel really, I'm lucky if i do 6k a year at best, I work 12 hour days most days, on the occasion it does get a run out majority of the time it'll be about 30 miles on a round trip and the occasional run out what with it having a dpf, it's got a decent amount of power, it's comfortable, got all the things i need inside, but realistically, i could get away with nothing more than a astra or something for what i use a car for.
I've used the fact that I do low miles to run a succession of large engined petrols.
In the last 20 years I've never done more than 10k pa. Last year was below 5k. In the last 12 months maybe 3.5k.
I've got something large on the drive with c400bhp and all the toys. It's brilliant at weekends away and longer driving holidays with all the family & tons of luggage. It's also a super-relaxing place in which to glide around London.
Loads of my mates have done the same thing.
Low miles = lots of interesting alternatives.
In the last 20 years I've never done more than 10k pa. Last year was below 5k. In the last 12 months maybe 3.5k.
I've got something large on the drive with c400bhp and all the toys. It's brilliant at weekends away and longer driving holidays with all the family & tons of luggage. It's also a super-relaxing place in which to glide around London.
Loads of my mates have done the same thing.
Low miles = lots of interesting alternatives.
I’ve got an M140 that I have had for nearly a year, it’s done less than 4000 miles in that time which includes a round trip to Orkney (500 miles) and a Trip to St Andrews and Stirling which are around 250 miles each.
There’s also an R32 Golf and a Vito V6 in the household
I almost purchased an E90 M3 that I once owned before last week, this got me thinking, that both that and the 140 are a waste, I just don’t drive enough these days to justify anything. Truth be told I can’t be bothered and my enjoyment of on road driving has pretty much gone. I certainly don’t find myself going out for a drive like I once did some years ago.
Given that, I would financially be better off in a 118i/ TDi/ Vito 4 cylinder I like having range topping vehicles, with the biggest engines possible. It bears zero reflection on the amount I drive, but I hate driving anything that I need to work to actually get anywhere.
I have always been like this in my mindset, my father was Exactly the same, and given that most of my previous vehicles have always had at least 5+ cylinders under the bonnet
There’s also an R32 Golf and a Vito V6 in the household
I almost purchased an E90 M3 that I once owned before last week, this got me thinking, that both that and the 140 are a waste, I just don’t drive enough these days to justify anything. Truth be told I can’t be bothered and my enjoyment of on road driving has pretty much gone. I certainly don’t find myself going out for a drive like I once did some years ago.
Given that, I would financially be better off in a 118i/ TDi/ Vito 4 cylinder I like having range topping vehicles, with the biggest engines possible. It bears zero reflection on the amount I drive, but I hate driving anything that I need to work to actually get anywhere.
I have always been like this in my mindset, my father was Exactly the same, and given that most of my previous vehicles have always had at least 5+ cylinders under the bonnet
For a 6 mile round trip per day, even I would be using a bike, I think (and I'm the least fitness oriented person you're likely to meet)!
I don't do that much annual mileage (maybe 15K miles), but a high proportion of it is long trips from North Norfolk to South Devon or South Wales, so I drive big, comfortable cars (a Range Rover and a Mercedes S500) to make those journeys more bearable.
If I was doing more, but shorter trips, I'd drive something smaller and more sporty (and more economical - the Merc would probably average <20mpg on your pattern of usage, as it would never get properly warm).
I don't do that much annual mileage (maybe 15K miles), but a high proportion of it is long trips from North Norfolk to South Devon or South Wales, so I drive big, comfortable cars (a Range Rover and a Mercedes S500) to make those journeys more bearable.
If I was doing more, but shorter trips, I'd drive something smaller and more sporty (and more economical - the Merc would probably average <20mpg on your pattern of usage, as it would never get properly warm).
I no longer have a car. I want one, but I have moved to London and can't see the point. I would drive it every other weekend, and would be paying 1500 quid a year in insurance for anything mildly interesting for the privilege, on top of tax and maintenance. Can't see the point. Although buying something interesting and depreciation free is tempting...(Elise?).
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