Winter tyres or winter car?

[andysat]

+1

 

[BMWZ4MC]

I bought an E46 320d a couple of years ago when I had to commute 50 miles a day for work. It paid for itself (purchase price if not tax and insurance) in the first year through fuel savings over the Zed. Also, it kept the miles down on the Zed. Having another car has proved useful on numerous occasions when I've needed extra seats or load space, or if the Zed is bring serviced. It works very well in snow and is pretty nippy especially when chilly arctic air is filling the intercooler. I expect you'd find that a second car bought for winter would prove itself so useful that you'll want to keep it all year , especially of the only car in your household currently is the Zed.

 

[buzyg]

With a couple of exceptions, you are all a bunch of big girl's blouses

Nothing better than a frosty/icy morning commute with the roof down, sucking up all that still winter's air. You prefer to start the day on a bus or on some diesel ecoshitbox, more fool you

Worth considering that, for many, the second/third/fourth, car will be used so that their P&G stays out of the salt and crap, not so that they do.

Weird. Why buy a car if you aren't going to use it to its full potential? If the purpose of having the thing is to protect the thing, then you've lost sight of why you bought it in the first place.

(I have more than one car but still use the M on every possible occasion as it's by far the most fun, and never commute in anything else)

I really hate driving the MR with the roof up. It’s a claustrophobic, pillar box. I also don't particularly enjoy driving it in the rain either roof up or down. I don't have the skill required to make the most of it.

With my little front wheel drive Mazda, the forward visibility is far better, than the MR, plus I can drive the wheels off it, on a wet road, without fear of ending up in a hedge. Which, with my level of driving skills, makes it more fun to drive than the MR, in those situations.

My daily commute is pretty short about 20miles. I drive a lot more miles in the evenings and at weekends, just for the fun of it. Sometimes in the little Mazda, usually in the MR. I have actually done more miles in the MR than the Mazda in the past 18 months. Just a case of which car I prefer for which occasion. The MR is not a car for all occasions IMHO. Though of the two, it is my favourite.

 

[IKZ4]

I bought my Z4MC last October and managed to find a minter that had been garaged and protected from the elements. I had planned to sell my 320d immediately and use the zed, but couldn't bear the thought of putting such a clean car through snow, ice, salt, potential damage, parking dings (or more) at the station, etc etc. So I kept the 3 series through the winter and sold it afterwards, with the zed kept in the garage and only used on clear days. I put winter tyres on the 3 series, as it was truly appalling in the snow on 255/35/18 runflats.

By doing this I realised that having a daily car that I wasn't bothered about damaging (within reason!) was much more preferable than risking ruining a mint condition car. I've since bought an old X3 auto that I use as the daily bus, and like someone else posted, having an older, bigger auto 4x4 is strangely relaxing and should cost me bugger all in depreciation, and help maintain the zed in great condition - which makes me happy.

I'm surprised at some comments along the lines of 'just get out and drive the thing' even in the worst of the winter. I know it's a drivers car, that's why I bought it. But I wouldn't get much pleasure or excitement from nursing it through 6 inches of snow or on black ice.

Why use it if you don't want to or need to? Ownership pleasure comes in many ways, I'm sure many of us on here enjoy having a zed to drive on occasion and look after, and a daily driver that can do the trip to the tip, etc.

 

[Franzino]

My daily car is a 325i touring, the Z4M is my sun and fun car... My girlfriend also uses the car daily to go to work and I bought some winter wheels an winter tyres (oem BMW M3, Z4M set up). Works great!



If the Z4M was my only car I would still use it during winter... On the other hand; if I had only one car it would probably not be a Z4M...

 

[RedUn]

Ok for anyone as boring as myself i've done some sums purely on running costs including..

Insurance
Tax
Servicing
Wear and Tear
Fuel

Z4M for 12 months doing 10k a year = 4.9k
Z4M for only 6 months a year 5k miles + diesel rep mobile winter car 5k miles = 4.1k
Z4M as second car 2.5k a year + diesel rep mobile daily 8k a year = 4.4k

I know they are only rough figures but I did do a fair comparison so I bet it's not far off?

 

[BMWZ4MC]

I did exactly this comparison when I was facing a particularly arduous daily commute for 12 months. I bought a 7 year old 320d and the fuel saving essentially paid for the car. I continually find it useful having a practical car available.