2 cars or one?
Discussion
PHers: Do you have 2 cars - a sensible one and a fun one - or just the one car to cover excitement and useability? How do you get on with it? Should I consider finding one car that does it all?
I currently get my kicks with 2 cars. It's a bit of a pain but I don't think I could more cheaply experience the two ends of the motoring spectrum. One is a cheap 206 that is cheeky FWD fun around town but also very cheap to run, has loads of equipment, is comfy and very practical so great fun cheap everyday transport that has done most of its depreciation. But you wouldn't exactly do a track day in it - well not without wearing it out and having to upgrading some of the parts and probably making it a worse everyday car. The other car is a Mercedes 190 2.5-16 which is the opposite really - most of the time, for the usage that I do (1.5 miles to work!), it is worse than the 206 and the 25-29mpg a bit steep. However it is at home on the open road when in the company of other performance cars, and you get to experience excellent RWD handling not to mention having a genuine classic which gets people talking.
So I do always consider a car that could cover both bases but I haven't come up with one. E.g. A clio 197 surely isn't quite special enough and probably isn't all that brilliant around town - plus will depreciate a lot more than this pair. A BMW diesel is neither one nor the other. An Audi S3 is tempting but am worried the handling is a little uninvolving. MX5 very tempting but probably won't feel special enough and it's impractical. Golf Mk5 GTI - maybe but a little bit boring and would depreciate a fair bit. E39 5-series - would like to try one. Seems like a big car that could be pricey to run. Civic type-R... maybe, if it's really good to drive.
I currently get my kicks with 2 cars. It's a bit of a pain but I don't think I could more cheaply experience the two ends of the motoring spectrum. One is a cheap 206 that is cheeky FWD fun around town but also very cheap to run, has loads of equipment, is comfy and very practical so great fun cheap everyday transport that has done most of its depreciation. But you wouldn't exactly do a track day in it - well not without wearing it out and having to upgrading some of the parts and probably making it a worse everyday car. The other car is a Mercedes 190 2.5-16 which is the opposite really - most of the time, for the usage that I do (1.5 miles to work!), it is worse than the 206 and the 25-29mpg a bit steep. However it is at home on the open road when in the company of other performance cars, and you get to experience excellent RWD handling not to mention having a genuine classic which gets people talking.
So I do always consider a car that could cover both bases but I haven't come up with one. E.g. A clio 197 surely isn't quite special enough and probably isn't all that brilliant around town - plus will depreciate a lot more than this pair. A BMW diesel is neither one nor the other. An Audi S3 is tempting but am worried the handling is a little uninvolving. MX5 very tempting but probably won't feel special enough and it's impractical. Golf Mk5 GTI - maybe but a little bit boring and would depreciate a fair bit. E39 5-series - would like to try one. Seems like a big car that could be pricey to run. Civic type-R... maybe, if it's really good to drive.
Very very s
t sensible, economical boring box.
plus
Barely drivable road legal racing car.
Way to go IMO.
YOu can't have your cake and eat it, unless you are prepared to spend a silly amount of money, then, you will also be losing your licence to get the feeling of something stripped out with a bonkers engine.
t sensible, economical boring box.plus
Barely drivable road legal racing car.
Way to go IMO.
YOu can't have your cake and eat it, unless you are prepared to spend a silly amount of money, then, you will also be losing your licence to get the feeling of something stripped out with a bonkers engine.
I have more then one car.
It came about because I can't drive whatever classic car I happen to have every day. I just can't bare to use it in the rain/on salt covered roads/leave it parked up in tescos car park etc...If I go out for the evening and have had to leave it in a dodgy car park I spend the whole time worrying about it. Also it isn't much fun sitting in traffic jams to/from work every day or for motorway slogs. I may as well have something economical/comfortable/safe for those journeys so yes I keep something else I don't care about, which has now become my track day car too.
It came about because I can't drive whatever classic car I happen to have every day. I just can't bare to use it in the rain/on salt covered roads/leave it parked up in tescos car park etc...If I go out for the evening and have had to leave it in a dodgy car park I spend the whole time worrying about it. Also it isn't much fun sitting in traffic jams to/from work every day or for motorway slogs. I may as well have something economical/comfortable/safe for those journeys so yes I keep something else I don't care about, which has now become my track day car too.
Two cars here:
Legacy GTB - heaps of space (which I need for frequent trips away climbing etc), smooth, quiet, comfortable, rapid point-to-point in any weather and an enjoyable drive. Would be a great all-rounder as an only car too, but I also have...
Mk1 MX5 - Mostly owned for fun drives and trackdays, also does trips away when I don't need the space of the Legacy. Previous almost standard MX5 was a cheap thrasher and got used for driving to work etc as well, but new one is very modified so I get fussy and try not to use it unless I have time to warm it up properly.
Legacy GTB - heaps of space (which I need for frequent trips away climbing etc), smooth, quiet, comfortable, rapid point-to-point in any weather and an enjoyable drive. Would be a great all-rounder as an only car too, but I also have...
Mk1 MX5 - Mostly owned for fun drives and trackdays, also does trips away when I don't need the space of the Legacy. Previous almost standard MX5 was a cheap thrasher and got used for driving to work etc as well, but new one is very modified so I get fussy and try not to use it unless I have time to warm it up properly.
Edited by GravelBen on Tuesday 20th April 12:43
Pentoman said:
PHers: Do you have 2 cars - a sensible one and a fun one - or just the one car to cover excitement and useability? How do you get on with it? Should I consider finding one car that does it all?
I don't think there is a 1 car solution for a petrol head.Currently I've got 4 main vehicles:
-smart Roadster, because it's modern, small and economical. So is my current daily driver to the station and back. But it's also a lot of fun in itself.
-Triumph TR7 V8, mostly because I've owned it for about 10 years and heavily modified it. But it's a classic, rare, different, huge fun and I like to take it to classic car shows. It's also pretty quick, makes a nice noise and not stupid money to run.
-Camaro z28, modern(ish), comfy, fast, good on fuel for performance. Lots of fun, even better noise than the TR7. Seats 4, usable boot. More of a weekend car or going out in, also used for shows and Santa Pod.
-Land Rover, because I like off roading, compete in local off road events, uncle is a farmer, so handy for going over the fields, good for hauling stuff in and tip runs, still fun, but a different kind of fun, rugged and very useful in the snow.
Works fine as long as you have the drivespace. And can work out cheaper (If you don't need day to day practicality and performance from a car they work out a lot cheaper and with lower running costs).
I would also add that if you have a special weekend car you will appreciate it all the more when you don't associate being in it with sitting in traffic on the way to work spewing money into the atmosphere.
I would also add that if you have a special weekend car you will appreciate it all the more when you don't associate being in it with sitting in traffic on the way to work spewing money into the atmosphere.
ctallchris said:
Works fine as long as you have the drivespace. And can work out cheaper (If you don't need day to day practicality and performance from a car they work out a lot cheaper and with lower running costs).
I would also add that if you have a special weekend car you will appreciate it all the more when you don't associate being in it with sitting in traffic on the way to work spewing money into the atmosphere.
id find myself jumping in the fun car for journey to work though.I would also add that if you have a special weekend car you will appreciate it all the more when you don't associate being in it with sitting in traffic on the way to work spewing money into the atmosphere.
and my commuting car would sit there rotting.
homerjay said:
ctallchris said:
Works fine as long as you have the drivespace. And can work out cheaper (If you don't need day to day practicality and performance from a car they work out a lot cheaper and with lower running costs).
I would also add that if you have a special weekend car you will appreciate it all the more when you don't associate being in it with sitting in traffic on the way to work spewing money into the atmosphere.
id find myself jumping in the fun car for journey to work though.I would also add that if you have a special weekend car you will appreciate it all the more when you don't associate being in it with sitting in traffic on the way to work spewing money into the atmosphere.
and my commuting car would sit there rotting.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
In my household we differ on this.
I have one car, a 996 Carerra 4 (well, picking it up on Sat!) as I want a fast, comfortable sports car and I refuse to drive a boring eco-box every day and keep a fun car for the weekend. If I could run 3 or 4 cars I wouldn't mind, but I utterly refuse to spend each and every day in a car I don't find very exciting while staring at the 'fun option' sitting on the drive. A Carrera 4 is (for me) the perfect all round, daily sports option. I wouldn't get enough free time of a weekend to make the most of a toy. Driving is one of my greatest pleasures so I need it to be enjoyable every time I leave home and need to use my car.
OH runs two cars, admittedly his daily commute is longer than mine, but he likes to keep his weekend car for special use only, something I don't really get as I think a good car is there to be used! He has a 306 GTi-6 as the daily drive, and an Exige S for weekend fun. I'd say that was a pretty good combination
But I don't know how he can bear getting into the crappy old Pug while the Exige sits unused for 5 days a week. Everyone is different I guess!
I have one car, a 996 Carerra 4 (well, picking it up on Sat!) as I want a fast, comfortable sports car and I refuse to drive a boring eco-box every day and keep a fun car for the weekend. If I could run 3 or 4 cars I wouldn't mind, but I utterly refuse to spend each and every day in a car I don't find very exciting while staring at the 'fun option' sitting on the drive. A Carrera 4 is (for me) the perfect all round, daily sports option. I wouldn't get enough free time of a weekend to make the most of a toy. Driving is one of my greatest pleasures so I need it to be enjoyable every time I leave home and need to use my car.
OH runs two cars, admittedly his daily commute is longer than mine, but he likes to keep his weekend car for special use only, something I don't really get as I think a good car is there to be used! He has a 306 GTi-6 as the daily drive, and an Exige S for weekend fun. I'd say that was a pretty good combination
But I don't know how he can bear getting into the crappy old Pug while the Exige sits unused for 5 days a week. Everyone is different I guess! homerjay said:
ctallchris said:
Works fine as long as you have the drivespace. And can work out cheaper (If you don't need day to day practicality and performance from a car they work out a lot cheaper and with lower running costs).
I would also add that if you have a special weekend car you will appreciate it all the more when you don't associate being in it with sitting in traffic on the way to work spewing money into the atmosphere.
id find myself jumping in the fun car for journey to work though.I would also add that if you have a special weekend car you will appreciate it all the more when you don't associate being in it with sitting in traffic on the way to work spewing money into the atmosphere.
and my commuting car would sit there rotting.
Tangent Police said:
Very very st sensible, economical boring box.
plus
Barely drivable road legal racing car.
Way to go IMO.
Astra currently on the drive for me, and a fund building up a head of steam for a Westfield. Best of both worlds. Something reliable, safe, cheap to run, comfortable and mundane for everyday use that I don't really care about, and something that is my P&J in the garage at my disposal for when I want a blast that will blow the cobwebs away that even a supercar would struggle with. t sensible, economical boring box.plus
Barely drivable road legal racing car.
Way to go IMO.
ctallchris said:
homerjay said:
ctallchris said:
Works fine as long as you have the drivespace. And can work out cheaper (If you don't need day to day practicality and performance from a car they work out a lot cheaper and with lower running costs).
I would also add that if you have a special weekend car you will appreciate it all the more when you don't associate being in it with sitting in traffic on the way to work spewing money into the atmosphere.
id find myself jumping in the fun car for journey to work though.I would also add that if you have a special weekend car you will appreciate it all the more when you don't associate being in it with sitting in traffic on the way to work spewing money into the atmosphere.
and my commuting car would sit there rotting.
Tangent Police said:
Very very st sensible, economical boring box.
plus
Barely drivable road legal racing car.
That pretty much sums me up too!t sensible, economical boring box.plus
Barely drivable road legal racing car.
I think two cars do make more sense. Rather paradoxically, however, it works best when you have two cars which are very different, but that also maximises your chances of being in the wrong car at the wrong car. You just can't win.
The answer, I feel, is to be rich enough to run something genuinely interesting as your sensible car. Sadly I haven't got there just yet.
It does work financially even at a more modest level though. The example I use is it costs about a grand a year less for me to run a Focus and a Caterham combined than, say, an E36 M3 would. That's before you factor in track day costs too - if you have a featherweight track car with skinny 13" tyres and a reasonably simple 4-cylinder engine then the consumable costs improve the savings (over a big heavy all rounder) even further.
Two for me every time. I've yet to drive a car that does everything. It's also cheaper to run a performance car for 3k miles a year and a more mundane car for the other 7k than to run a performance car for 10k. Insurance and petrol are per mile, so you really only end up spending a bit more on things like tax.
RobM77 said:
Insurance and petrol are per mile
...and the insurance premiums for the sort of insane rollerskate you can use as a weekend car are tiny even mile-for-mile compared to a mass produced performance car. An M3 would be well over £1000 a year for me to insure. In contrast a 420bhp AJP Cerbera or a Caterham Superlight R would be about £400. Go figure.Chris71 said:
RobM77 said:
Insurance and petrol are per mile
...and the insurance premiums for the sort of insane rollerskate you can use as a weekend car are tiny even mile-for-mile compared to a mass produced performance car. An M3 would be well over £1000 a year for me to insure. In contrast a 420bhp AJP Cerbera or a Caterham Superlight R would be about £400. Go figure.
Crazy isn't it.By the way, I didn't realise that Cerberas were cheap insurance, although both my Caterhams were.
2 cars!
2 seater convertible - recently the Alfa Spider, in the past it was my old MG B.
The practical car has varied between a 2 litre mondeo, to an Mk 1 MR2 (very practical!) to a Capri.
Currently, it's a volvo V40 (2 litre) which will be replaced soon by another comfortable estate for the dog, ideally a 156 sport wagon...then I'm getting close to matching up ideals.
2 seater convertible - recently the Alfa Spider, in the past it was my old MG B.
The practical car has varied between a 2 litre mondeo, to an Mk 1 MR2 (very practical!) to a Capri.
Currently, it's a volvo V40 (2 litre) which will be replaced soon by another comfortable estate for the dog, ideally a 156 sport wagon...then I'm getting close to matching up ideals.
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