Daily driver; how do you do it?
Discussion
jimPH said:
SidewaysSi said:
I have a Forester STI as a family holdall. Alongside is an old modified E36 BMW coupe. Wife has a Nissan Note Auto which is pretty good for what it is.
Also have a Caterham and modded Elise which get used as much as possible.
Problem is I use the tube to get to work and think I need a station s
tter so contemplating getting an old Citroen C1 or similar.
6 cars is a bit nuts when I take the train to work but I think I have a car for most occassions..
Why would you want another shi77er? You've got plentyAlso have a Caterham and modded Elise which get used as much as possible.
Problem is I use the tube to get to work and think I need a station s
tter so contemplating getting an old Citroen C1 or similar. 6 cars is a bit nuts when I take the train to work but I think I have a car for most occassions..
My daily commute was an 11 mile round commute 4 days a week. Lucky if I was doing 5k a year. Thought it was an ideal time to get a C63.
About a year after getting the C63 which I used as my daily, I started a short term secondment which was meant to last 3 months, but has lasted almost a year with no end in sight, resulting in me doing a 45 mile round trip 6 days a week.
I'd bought a Peugeot 207 for £400 to keep the miles off the Merc. I find that I'm using the Peugeot far to much for my liking.
About a year after getting the C63 which I used as my daily, I started a short term secondment which was meant to last 3 months, but has lasted almost a year with no end in sight, resulting in me doing a 45 mile round trip 6 days a week.
I'd bought a Peugeot 207 for £400 to keep the miles off the Merc. I find that I'm using the Peugeot far to much for my liking.
For years we had a 1/2 year old car for long journeys, and I would buy a daily runner for work costing no more than £2,500 to buy. I changed this every 6 months never loosing the original £2,500. I have to say I have had loads of fun trying different makes and models.
Recently I have broken the trend and bought a new Cooper S on tick only because we managed to squeeze a good £8k of the price - just good timing really. I do miss the 6 month system and will definitely go back to it when the contract runs out.
I do have a W12 sat in the garage for special occasions though.
Recently I have broken the trend and bought a new Cooper S on tick only because we managed to squeeze a good £8k of the price - just good timing really. I do miss the 6 month system and will definitely go back to it when the contract runs out.
I do have a W12 sat in the garage for special occasions though.
Edited by hammo19 on Sunday 1st December 08:27
What I’ve found works well for us: is to own 3 cars between the 2 of us. That way there’s always another car to grab if one of them lets us down.
We have a 996 C2 (which my girlfriend drives through the summer, and I do the occasional trip in it). We’ve done 40k miles in it over the last 4 years or so.
A 2007 1.4 litre, 3 cylinder Seat Ibiza diesel. Absolute peanuts to run, tax and insure. Cost me £600 from a mate who’d owned it from new.
My own chariot of choice is currently a 1998 Corolla1.6. Utterly dependable bombproof motoring (if not the most exciting).
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks filling it with bags of plasterboard and other crap for tip runs. I love being able to park it anywhere and not worry about it, but also knowing that a) it will start, and b) it will get me home. I often think about ordering up a new BMW (or similar) but can’t be bothered with all the hassle of owning a new car.
The Corolla cost me less than one day’s salary. What an era we live in here in the uk for being able to buy quality affordable Sheds.
We have a 996 C2 (which my girlfriend drives through the summer, and I do the occasional trip in it). We’ve done 40k miles in it over the last 4 years or so.
A 2007 1.4 litre, 3 cylinder Seat Ibiza diesel. Absolute peanuts to run, tax and insure. Cost me £600 from a mate who’d owned it from new.
My own chariot of choice is currently a 1998 Corolla1.6. Utterly dependable bombproof motoring (if not the most exciting).
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks filling it with bags of plasterboard and other crap for tip runs. I love being able to park it anywhere and not worry about it, but also knowing that a) it will start, and b) it will get me home. I often think about ordering up a new BMW (or similar) but can’t be bothered with all the hassle of owning a new car.
The Corolla cost me less than one day’s salary. What an era we live in here in the uk for being able to buy quality affordable Sheds.
SidewaysSi said:
I have a Forester STI as a family holdall. Alongside is an old modified E36 BMW coupe. Wife has a Nissan Note Auto which is pretty good for what it is.
Also have a Caterham and modded Elise which get used as much as possible.
Problem is I use the tube to get to work and think I need a station stter so contemplating getting an old Citroen C1 or similar.
6 cars is a bit nuts when I take the train to work but I think I have a car for most occassions..
Is the Forester STI not a perfect winter station car? Also have a Caterham and modded Elise which get used as much as possible.
Problem is I use the tube to get to work and think I need a station s
tter so contemplating getting an old Citroen C1 or similar. 6 cars is a bit nuts when I take the train to work but I think I have a car for most occassions..
Or is it a nice valeted one loaded with JDM trinkets?
When I returned to the UK and started a new job I was borrowing my mothers car to do the the daily 120 mile round trip commute. Day 1 of the new job, on the way home it dropped all it's coolant on the M25, so I had to get something very quickly. I went on to eBay, did a search of cheap diesels and found one I could look at on the way home on my commute (having borrowed another car from my parents in the meantime).
This was September 2017 and I ended up with a 2007 Megane Dci for £1200. At the start I was doing around 2500 miles a month, but after I passed probation I could work from home and only go to the office once a week.
I have toyed with getting a lease car, and even bought another shed to replace it but I didn't like the new shed so sold it and went back to the Megane. It has passed every MOT with zero advisories and I have not spent a penny on it other that tyres, wiper blades and service filters from eBay.
It cost £30 a year to tax and does 60MPG all day long, so I only have to fill it up every 3 weeks or so. Planning on keeping it now until it gets weighed in.
This was September 2017 and I ended up with a 2007 Megane Dci for £1200. At the start I was doing around 2500 miles a month, but after I passed probation I could work from home and only go to the office once a week.
I have toyed with getting a lease car, and even bought another shed to replace it but I didn't like the new shed so sold it and went back to the Megane. It has passed every MOT with zero advisories and I have not spent a penny on it other that tyres, wiper blades and service filters from eBay.
It cost £30 a year to tax and does 60MPG all day long, so I only have to fill it up every 3 weeks or so. Planning on keeping it now until it gets weighed in.
acme said:
Over the years I’ve varied my approach to the daily driver, I’m intrigued to know how others have done it and what has/hasn’t worked.
I’ve varied from a sensible Golf to company cars and having returned my company car earlier in the year I’ve now got two; a relatively sensible hot hatch and a what feels a very indulgent V8 on the commute. I’m wondering if wrapping them up into one isn’t a better option, an inline six.
So what do you do and what works?
Cheers
I’ve learned that the more mundane the daily, the greater pleasure is had from the second car, if the second car is a bit silly. I think it important to maintain a distinct separation if running two cars for yourself, whether that is the type of car or the mundanity, there needs to be a clear divide so that both can be a pleasure. I’ve varied from a sensible Golf to company cars and having returned my company car earlier in the year I’ve now got two; a relatively sensible hot hatch and a what feels a very indulgent V8 on the commute. I’m wondering if wrapping them up into one isn’t a better option, an inline six.
So what do you do and what works?
Cheers
If contemplating one car then blending practicality with fun is the easiest it has ever been with so many hot hatches, estates and even performance SUVs to chose from.
The 130 is a decent daily. I have found that when using sheds there is always a certain time and day i'd say...'wish I had one of the others'. With this, not so much. It's also anonymous to most people but has enough power to make it genuinely fun. The only downside is ICE in this generation of cars, I became very used to car play and all that stuff. It's a minor first world problem though.
Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 1st December 12:45
DoubleD said:
ElectricSoup said:
Nissan Leaf. As near to free motoring as it's possible to get.
Do they not depreciate? Given it needs no fuel, does that actually make it close to shed money in real terms?
MikeM6 said:
DoubleD said:
ElectricSoup said:
Nissan Leaf. As near to free motoring as it's possible to get.
Do they not depreciate? Given it needs no fuel, does that actually make it close to shed money in real terms?
Between my wife and I, we own 8 cars.
The dailies are my Supercharged L322 Range Rover, my Defender, her Jaguar S-Type and my diesel C30.
The C30 was bought purely for my 60 mile daily motorway commute and deliberately so as not to threaten any of the others in terms of family usefulness. It doesn't command much driveway space, which helps. Ideal for just me and the occasional school collection.
We seem to have a problem with selling cars due to emotional ties, so the others are rotated by my wife on a weekly basis for her much shorter commute.
The dailies are my Supercharged L322 Range Rover, my Defender, her Jaguar S-Type and my diesel C30.
The C30 was bought purely for my 60 mile daily motorway commute and deliberately so as not to threaten any of the others in terms of family usefulness. It doesn't command much driveway space, which helps. Ideal for just me and the occasional school collection.
We seem to have a problem with selling cars due to emotional ties, so the others are rotated by my wife on a weekly basis for her much shorter commute.
I had my 540i on the road as my only car when I worked at my previous job as I had a company Van that I used to commute to and from work, when I switched jobs because I started uni the 540 absolutely killed me, at one point I worked out that taking into account the fuel costs I was left with £100 or so a month. So I parked the 540 up and got an Alfa 147 Diesel.
The Alfa is a great car, in Lusso spec there's not much else that you'd need. Plenty of speed (this was only a 115 mind!), a decent enough steer and it sipped on Diesel so it was ideal. Then I was fortunate enough to secure a different job and I wanted to get back into a barge as my commute changed to two different motorways 3 days a week.
I'm now in an E39 530i Sport Manual and it's bloody great, I've been on holiday in it and ran it for over 12 months without issue. If you can be bothered doing 62mph on the motorway it'll return in the region of 40mpg (the OBC reads anywhere from 42 to 43.8) but when I want to go out for a good drive it's still rewarding. For me it's the ideal daily car.
The Alfa is a great car, in Lusso spec there's not much else that you'd need. Plenty of speed (this was only a 115 mind!), a decent enough steer and it sipped on Diesel so it was ideal. Then I was fortunate enough to secure a different job and I wanted to get back into a barge as my commute changed to two different motorways 3 days a week.
I'm now in an E39 530i Sport Manual and it's bloody great, I've been on holiday in it and ran it for over 12 months without issue. If you can be bothered doing 62mph on the motorway it'll return in the region of 40mpg (the OBC reads anywhere from 42 to 43.8) but when I want to go out for a good drive it's still rewarding. For me it's the ideal daily car.
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