Is a 3rd car really the best option?
 

Guys,

I'm after a bit of feedback from those of you that have gone the route of the 3rd fun/weekend car option. Has it been the right decission? Do you use it as much as you thought? Is it costing what you envisaged to run?

My situation is as follow:

I drive an Audi A4 Avant Sport 1.9TDi and cover 12k miles a year, my wife has a Ford Fiesta 1.4 Zetec and covers only 5k miles a year. We have a 7 month old daughter.

Options for vehicle change as follows:

(a) Stay as we are currently but add a 3rd fun vehicle which can reside in the garage and be tinkered with and used when the mood takes me. This vehicle would be either a Porsche 911 RS replica (£25k) :notworthy which I have always fancied, a Lotus Elise 111R or a Caterfield model.

(b) Sell the Audi and buy a used 996 Porsche 911 or Audi RS6 and forget the 3rd car option. Obviously, day to day running costs will increase by running this kind of car as my only vehicle but at least I get to enjoy it. If we go for this option, we would also sell the Fiesta and buy a diesel MPV type vehicle for family useage.

Lets have you opinions then.:thumb:

My Westfield costs more to tax than it does to insure :D 40mpg and 300 BHP/ton, servicing cost minimal, depreciation low.

I've loved every minute of driving it, but I will say that with a young family and a house move this year I've hardly had any time in it.

In fact its regretfully up for sale soon to fund a garden renovation and double garage (the irony)

how good is that!!!!

how much for?

Instinctively I'd go for (b), and get her an MPV. You can concentrate on something small, fun, and reliable, assuming you don't need back seats/ boot space for work. Ins will go up but choose well and petrol won't go up by much.

Without totally hijacking the thread, £9k for a 1999 SEiW 208 SBD Vx XE engine, 13k miles

Gotta get the Porsche-Why not

As you mention above, the young family has contributed in your decission to sell up owing to lack of use. This is my greatest fear if I take option (a) and buy a 3rd fun car plaything.

I am seriously leaning towards the 996 Porker and a diesel MPV as the family wagon. If I got the RS6 I know i'd be using it also as the family vehicle due to it's load lugging abilities. Whereas in the Porsche I would run less miles as it could not cope with the family outings and therefore the running costs would significantly reduce.

OK, so will it be Carrera 2 or 4, GT3 or not, 996 or 993?:wonder: And less importantly, which MPV?

I reckon with selling my Audi private and p/ex on the Ford we will have a budget of £45k for the 2 vehicles.

Right, off to do some research.:thumb: :cool: :D

Zafira is the best people carrier out there i think.


Ive got a 04 04 Zafira Club with 18,000 miles for sale if interested at £7200

A bit of MPV help:

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=522757

It depends on your persona. I had 3 cars last year, and looking after all 3, servicing, taxing, insurance etc etc did my head in, so we went back to 2.

I've also spent the last 2 years, and a large amount of money creating my 205 weekend car, but now it's finished I cantbe arsed :D

Weekend cars, especially if you create a trackday special, take a lot of looking after - you can't just jump in them and drive off, they take more maintenance etc.

But...I like an easy life, so maybe that's just me :D

It's an interesting one. I have tried both methods over the years, chopping between tasty road car that is used everyday, to owning a runaround and a garage toy, (sometimes more than one).

To date I personally still haven't come up with an ideal solution.

Problem is that if you buy something tasty and use it every day, you soon get used to it. The honeymoon period wears off. It all too quickly becomes less desirable than when you first bought it. You soon want more power. It gets grubby, and you can't be arsed washing it. Some goon scratches it or dings it. Then when you decide to sell it, you discover that you have lost thousands. And when you sell it, you start missing it, kick yourself and deeply regret ever getting rid.

On the other hand, garage toys can be a pain. You pay the insurance, pay the tax, pay for the service, pay to fix some bits. And then do 50 miles a year. Cost per mile= hundreds. Once you have spent a sunday polishing it, it doesn't need it for another year: it is still gleaming because it hasn't been anywhere. You don't take it to work for fear of vandalism. When you go out, you leave it in the garage for fear of blatant vandalism and take the runaround. You find that your runaround actually does the job perfectly adequately and can be entertaining. So you sell the garage ornament. And when you sell it, you start missing it kick yourself and deeply regret ever getting rid.


You cant lose (or win) either way. So get the toy. Then keep it a year and revert back to plan A. And let the cycle begin...

You have a point Olly. In the back of my mind I knew I wouldn't get the useage out of the Westfield that I'd have liked, but at the same time at least I've experienced track toy ownership. The good thing about doing 1000 miles a year is that I shouldn't take too much of a hit in the pocket when I come to sell either :)

I have been in a similar situation, used the tuned (Track day ready) DC5 for weekends and the oil burner for daily use but I thought life is too short to use this car for special occasions and now I make an effort to use it every day!

Why change at all? Its not like you have 3 kids who are fighting for space in the back of the Fiesta

well my daily commuter is my pride n joy and fun car also (scoob). the wife has a punto for her and the 2 brats which they can abuse as much as they want. if i was to have a sensible daily commuter as you have then i would rarely get to use the scoob and couldnt really justify owning it.
if you can afford the running costs go for b and enjoy the daily drive, its certainly puts a smile on my face getting into the car for work everyday .:)