Two car solution needed c.£40k

Original Poster

1,275 posts

215 months

Wednesday 18th June

My wife has her driving test soon. Our do-it-all C63 estate is no longer suitable. The C63 was a compromise for me when our son arrived but my wife doesn't want to drive it and I want to get back on track so the plan is to sell up and buy two cars.

Budget is £40k for two cars with a contingency available for budget creep. Open to financing car one, not car two.

Car one - the family car we'll both drive, must be safe, reliable, four doors and auto, Apple CarPlay, isofix, can be ICE, EV or plug in and not too big a car.

Car two - fun, suitable for track days, auto a bonus so we can both drive it and ability to fit a car seat, whether that's in the front or rear.

Car decisions have always been easy before children, 100% of budget goes on one fun car. Car one is causing me a headache as I have no interest nor knowledge of 'normal' cars and how much budget is needed. Car two will be bought with remaining budget.

Car history to give you a flavour of what floats my boat...

Civic Type R
Focus ST
Impreza STI
Integra Type R
Clio 200 Cup
E46 M3
Exige S
Focus RS (mk3)
S204 C63
M4 Competition
S205 C63

Over to the PH hive mind...

skyebear

888 posts

20 months

Wednesday 18th June

Is it both the size and power of the C63 she doesn't like?

The obvious answer for the "normal" car is a 330d Touring unless it's too big. Wide spread of prices/condition to keep you flexible for the track car. Dull enough to not scare the horses but enough go to not bore you too much.

Original Poster

1,275 posts

215 months

Wednesday 18th June

skyebear said:

Bit of both I think which meant I'd not looked at estates. I think a 3 series touring being the same size as our car, is unlikely. The perception being estates are bigger than their saloon versions despite the almost identical dimensions.

I've been looking at EVs due to their ridiculous depreciation and they'd fit our every day needs. Polestar 2s are c.£20k. Musk's antics have dissuaded us from Teslas.

TechnoKnows

17 posts

4 months

Wednesday 18th June

I'd go for a used 2021 onwards Model 3, either LR or Performance. Low mileage performance models available for around 20k now. They're hard to ignore as a daily if you are considering an EV.

Leaves 20k for a fun car for you but it depends if maxing the budget for your fun car is more of a priority.

So is it 10k for her, 30k for you orrr?

Could go for
Best A3/Golf/focus for her for 10k leaving you an even healthier 30k to spend.

Or
30k daily for her and 10k track fun car you don't have to worry about binning

CG2020UK

2,578 posts

54 months

Wednesday 18th June

Not sure on your age but insurance could be killer for your wife on a lot of good cars.

Car one I’d suggest a nice Tiguan / qashqai / Kadjar or similar SUV for £15k. Your wife’s a new driver and will damage anything nice so no point going crazy for a few years.

Tesla Model 3 a very good shout I have one. Very fast, ridiculously easy and safe to drive and cheap on fuel but I’ve been hit by £2k for suspension work and I’m not alone. Insurance also high. It’s a big car compared to our 3 series we had and turning circle isn’t great. For a new driver I’d suggest the ID3, it’s no where near as good as the Tesla but nicer to new drivers and cheaper.

Car 2 treat yourself!

skyebear

888 posts

20 months

Wednesday 18th June

https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/bmw-3-202...

https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/polestar-...

Neat little website to compare sizes.

2 sMoKiN bArReLs

31,105 posts

249 months

Wednesday 18th June

VW Golf GTi or Golf R fits the bill for car 1?

Can't beat a Golf Gti I reckon.

Original Poster

1,275 posts

215 months

Wednesday 18th June

CG2020UK said:

Not sure on your age but insurance could be killer for your wife on a lot of good cars.

Car one I d suggest a nice Tiguan / qashqai / Kadjar or similar SUV for £15k. Your wife s a new driver and will damage anything nice so no point going crazy for a few years.

Tesla Model 3 a very good shout I have one. Very fast, ridiculously easy and safe to drive and cheap on fuel but I ve been hit by £2k for suspension work and I m not alone. Insurance also high. It s a big car compared to our 3 series we had and turning circle isn t great. For a new driver I d suggest the ID3, it s no where near as good as the Tesla but nicer to new drivers and cheaper.

Car 2 treat yourself!

We're both 42 this year so insurance not a huge factor despite the lack of her driving experience. With my wife as main driver and me as the named driver, a Tesla Model 3 Performance is £900, Mini Clubman plug in thing she's mentioned as liking is £600 so not a huge spread.

Those small SUVs you mentioned fill me with dread laugh

The ID3 less so.

I'm no stranger to higher than average running costs with my previous car history. Last year I spent several thousand on the C63.

My car two musing stretch from a cheap Clio 200 (or Meglio silly

) to M2 Comp stretching the budget, and everything in between.

Original Poster

1,275 posts

215 months

Wednesday 18th June

skyebear said:

https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/bmw-3-202...

https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/polestar-...

Neat little website to compare sizes.

What a great website tool! Thank you.

911Spanker

2,407 posts

30 months

Wednesday 18th June

Prius and a Caterham with a Sadev.

ZX10R NIN

29,126 posts

139 months

Wednesday 18th June

lufbramatt

5,480 posts

148 months

Wednesday 18th June

New driver inevitably going to have a little bump or scrape the bumper on a wall etc. I’d spend a couple of grand on a semi disposable car until she’s built up a bit more experience then get something nice in a year or two.

Coldplaya

2,154 posts

202 months