Having 2 daily drives - is keeping the costs down possible!?

[un1eash]

Are you after an E92 Coupe or an E91 Tourer?

The problem I had with running 2 dailys especially when my son came along was finding time to use the "weekend" car, it got to the point I did 1200 miles in 2 years. With it needing a major service, tyres, brakes etc it was time to say goodbye and I put the money from both cars to get one all rounder.

[buzyg]

There are loads of cheap old reliable barges out there, if you take a look. Just don't get hooked up on a Badge. I have been running my daily shed on a shoestring, along side the daily/weekend toy for twenty years. Personalty I tend to buy Asian cars. As they are mostly bullet proof, compared to any thing you can pick up made in Europe for similar money. I'll buy one for under 1k run it for 18 months. Then take it down to the scrap yard and get £150 to put some fluids in the next one. If any think major does go wrong then. It would mean an early trip to the scrap yard. But thus far they have all done at least 18 months. Presently running a Mazda6 Sport, full leather all the toys you could think of back in 2003. Cost me £800. Almost time for that one to go though.

[VRSteve]

I have a Z4M and a 530d touring.

I'm insured with Chris Knott, both cars are on separate policies. The Z started with no NCB and has been earning its own over the last few years. CK gave me hefty discounts so its no difference in terms of costs to having a full NCB

Both cars are taxed all the time.
Both cars are insured all the time.

MOT is what it is!

[pvr]

Cars are my hobby so I just don't calculate the actual costs. When you mention IKEA, you really need a third car to deal with that one

I use a new daily, an X5 for when I know I can park it safe, a Golf for the convertible feeling (and now value increasing investment) and a 911 for the summer. My wife has her own car but shares the daily as well, and we use that for during the snow now as it is a Jeep.

[Havard]

Unless you are doing mega mileage I can't see it ever being cheaper having more vehicles. Insurance, MOT and tax alone on a second vehicle, put a serious dent in any savings that could be made. Maintenance costs too, can be time related and not just how much you use said second vehicle.

We have 5 vehicles at home and although one is on lease through work, lately all the costs have been eye watering when you add it all up.

I think if you are doing as an economical exercise it is impossible. If you want to have the luxury of the Zed for "best", then it is worth spending the extra money to protect it. Easy for me to say, I was meant to sell my car for "best" after getting the Cayman and ended up keeping both. Got to tax the Zed tomorrow.....£535..ouch.!!

If you do go with a second car, go with A-plan or Admiral on a multicar policy as they will mirror the no claims. I have now got 14 years on all three vehicles I have insured with them and only been with them 3 years.

H.

[Mr Tidy]

Interesting thread OP.

I had a similar issue - back in 2014 I sold my 123d and bought my first Z4C, which was obviously no good as transport for a nonagenarian parent! So I bought a 1996 Mazda 323f - only 1500cc so in the cheap tax bracket for pre-2000ish cars, and it did almost 40 mpg. I had it 6 months, but was bored with it within 3 months so it got sold when I found a good 325ti Sport Compact!

I got that insured with a firm that offered a deal to match No Claims Discount, so paid about £300 a year for each car.

The only other major additional cost is road tax on 2 cars in Band K - MOT is only expensive if there is anything that prompts a fail, but as has been said wear and tear, fuel, tyres and so on only happen about half as often as you only use one at a time.

Anyway last week I bought an E91 325i Touring (E92 is the Coupe) and sold the 325ti so I've pretty much got what you are thinking about!

The 325i is a daily and will do about 7K a year, my Z4C is my fun car and might do 5K a year. I use the Z4 all year, but not when the weather is like this - I don't want it sliding around and getting covered in salt so I put winter tyres on the daily and use that instead.

So I reckon the only additional costs are road tax and insurance, but £600 a year is a price I'll happily pay to be able to enjoy a Z4.

[paddy wright]

If you have more than 9 years ncd you can split them between the cars as most insurers offer max of 9 years.

[Fishy Dave]

I have tried these combinations:
1. One nice car for everything
2. One snotter for the winter/wet weather and one nice car for summer/fun
3. One fun (but cheap) daily driver and one nice car for summer/fun.

Of these the only one I wouldn't do again is option 2. I'm not wealthy but option 2 just crushed my spirit just to save a few pounds each days on fuel and have to drive something with no soul. As I work on my own cars I like the security of having two cars (option 3), just in case one is off the road needing a part/MOT, plus I can keep the nice car clean if I intend to go somewhere that weekend. I try to keep the purchase cost of the fun daily car less than £2000 and run it on winter tyres all year, at present the 325ti fulfils this job perfectly.

[mmm-five]

I did option 1 for a long time...i.e. from about 1994 I was in the one car for everything camp (hence the switch to the e34 M5). £1000/month bills didn’t scare me at the time, but when something big comes along you realise you’ve not got a big slush fund available. The Z4MC by comparison was a lot cheaper to run...if a little restricted by its size for other duties.

I bumbled along for 6 years, doing the boring 220 mile each way motorway commutes, and took advantage of traffic jams to divert off the motorway and through Wales on the way home.

Then you realise that some of the things you’d like to do to the car won’t be viable unless you restrict the mileage/usage.



Btw, What makes option 2 and option 3 different in your opinion.

My take on a snotter/shitbox is basically what you’ve used as option 3, and no one who’s been out with me in my puny 115bhp Alfa diesel has had anything but fun

Of course, if repairs are going to cost too much, then it gets dumped - otherwise I’m happy to spend less for a whole year’s worth of maintenance/consumables (excluding fuel of course) on the Alfa than I do on a Recaro seat for the Z4MC.

But as has been pointed out, it only makes sense for bigger mileage’s...e.g. mine is 25k of just commuting, plus another 5-6k for fun.

[Fishy Dave]

Btw, What makes option 2 and option 3 different in your opinion.

That just comes down to your idea of fun.
For me, a 1.4 LX Peugeot 206 was horrible to drive and not worth the fuel and tax saving. The 2.5 litre straight six BMW is more costly in every regard but is enjoyable, it's depreciation free too.

[Theog]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I'm not in a massive rush so great to process all this and hear the different feedback.

Just to add additional levels of clarity:

I'm looking for an E92 touring. Ideally with an N52 engine.

This might sound like a crazy logic (so stop me now if you think so) but BMW parts aren't that much more expensive than other brands really, so if you find a good garage (mines ~£50 an hour), then it's just as much of a gamble going for a BMW in comparison to anything else. I do agree though that Asian cars tend to be more bullet proof. That being said, I don't think they have the soul of a solid Euro car.

Based on this, I have a few things to expand uppon:

1) Depreciation. If I get a £6k N52 E92 and have it for 3 years, I can't imagine it would depreciate much more than £2k. If so, then that's roughly the same price as buying some crap car and chucking it away. If I look after it, then I would like to think it would last just as long as a good Zed. I have heard the N52 is pretty dam reliable, so that's why I'm thinking the N52 varieties. Also if I'm traveling abroad with it, then ideally I want something that isn't right on it's last legs.

2) I try to go driving with mates that also have 2 seaters. We normally use phones / walkie talkies to chat and so on when driving around. That being said not all friends have nice cars. Therefore I will ideally like to have a nice car to go abroad with so everyone can be in the same car. I went driving around europe in my wifes are (Mitsubishi Colt) and it very much felt like commute rather than an experience. So this makes me think spending a little more on the initial sum wount. Also once we have kids, we will need a place to put them for family journeys etc.

3) My local garage is an independent BMW garage. They only charge ~£50 an hour. I trust them, so this makes me want to go with BMW regardless due to the trust factor. This does however limit my range of cars a little. Not interested in a Mini FYI.

I suppose I could sell the Zed and buy another Z4M later down the line. But the thought kills me. I don't think I could do it. Only reason for this would be budgetary as I'm also renovating my house at the moment!

[un1eash]

There is no E92 Touring, its an E91 Touring.
E90 Saloon
E91 Touring
E92 Coupe
E93 Convertible

[Theog]

There is no E92 Touring, its an E91 Touring.
E90 Saloon
E91 Touring
E92 Coupe
E93 Convertible

Ah sorry getting things mixed up! E91 Touring it is then!

[un1eash]

There is no E92 Touring, its an E91 Touring.
E90 Saloon
E91 Touring
E92 Coupe
E93 Convertible

Ah sorry getting things mixed up! E91 Touring it is then!

Just weren't sure which you meant, I had an E92 and still think its one of the best looking cars on the road.

[Theog]

There is no E92 Touring, its an E91 Touring.
E90 Saloon
E91 Touring
E92 Coupe
E93 Convertible

Ah sorry getting things mixed up! E91 Touring it is then!

Just weren't sure which you meant, I had an E92 and still think its one of the best looking cars on the road.

I agree, somehow the styling is still looking really quite modern.