Running a second car

[MiniNinjaRob]

I reckoned that any second car cost a minimum of £1000 a year in tax, insurance, bit of maintenance etc. This was about the same as 10-15 days rental per year. So I sold the second car, intending to rent whenever I needed it...which has been 6 days in 5 years.

Spent £500 of the saving on a tandem, which gets used for taking the kids around locally instead of a car. It's a win/win/win: another bike, healthier and more fun!

When I got my company car we thought about keeping our Toyota Corolla - never broke down, nothing ever needed replacing, stunningly reliable, but I still worked it out that it would need £880 a year to keep it - that included insurance, tax, 1 major service per year (with no extra work needing to be done) and MOT.

I figured it would be cheaper to hire a car if we ever needed one that much.

 

[daugs]

you could get a retro car, known as a classic, pre 73 no tax, cheap insurance, pre 60 no MOT (but you'd keep it roadworthy anyway so only cost of MOT saved), and lots of tinkering with mechanical things in the way you can't with a new car.............we are a 5 car family !!

 

[David B]

you could get a retro car, known as a classic, pre 73 no tax, cheap insurance, pre 60 no MOT (but you'd keep it roadworthy anyway so only cost of MOT saved), and lots of tinkering with mechanical things in the way you can't with a new car.............we are a 5 car family !!

Not as daft an idea as it seems. Apparently a Morris Minor stands up quite well on "green" credentials/running costs against some far more modern cars, and as you say a lot of the maintenance is easy-peasy home workshop stuff (once upon a time Dad owned a 1974 Hillman Avenger and did almost all the jobs on it himself including fitting new front wing panels!!).

David

 

[john]

Not really a question of needing the vehicle - probably don't. Owned it for years, quite like it and would quite like to hang onto it rather than possibly sell it for buttons (which is what I estimate the value to be).

 

[MiniNinjaRob]

I'll give you a whole tray of buttons for it. ;-)

Is it the BMW? It is quite nice.

 

[john]

I'll give you a whole tray of buttons for it. ;-)

Is it the BMW? It is quite nice.

Thanks Rob, any chance of chucking in an old ball of string?

It is indeed.

 

[Neil]

Not really a question of needing the vehicle - probably don't. Owned it for years, quite like it and would quite like to hang onto it rather than possibly sell it for buttons (which is what I estimate the value to be).

I've been in a similar situation and let it go. And regretted it.

Sure, it may not make complete financial sense, but there's a certain something that's hard to quantify about convenience and still keeping hold of something that has little financial value, but still some practical value to you.

 

[highlandsflyer]

Hell, owning vehicles is rarely practical. The emotional side of it needs attending to as well as anything else.

I have full comp trade insurance, covering myself, the wife and three others, and anyone taking a test drive. Protected no claims, NO EXCESS, currently eight cars on it and six motorbikes. Less than a grand a year.

Have to sell six vehicles a year to keep it on the level.

I would never go back to multi vehicle or single vehicle policies.

The luxury of being able to jump in the driver's seat of anyone's machine at the drop of a hat is invaluable to me.

If I only had two cars I would look into the multi car policies, and look at the difference between that and a trade policy.

Buying and selling a few motors a year is fun, if nothing else.

 

[Spudly]

One thing you might want to think about when running a second car, is your no claims, if its in use on one car, and your insurers cant offer you a multi car policy, you will find you cannot start another policy on the other car and use your no claims bonus on that!

I run an astra mk4 as a daily, and have a 1986 vauxhall nova as a toy (i would be able to insure it as a classic if it werent modified) but, the company im with, have mirrored my no claims from the astra onto my second policy on the nova!

And in looking for a classic policy, youd probably be surprised as to what falls into the classic range now, iirc anything from the 90's can now be classed as a classic for insurance purposes, oh and definately go for limited mileage too, im limited to 5000 miles a year on the nova, but ive only done 3500!

 

[jimihendrix]

And in looking for a classic policy, youd probably be surprised as to what falls into the classic range now, iirc anything from the 90's can now be classed as a classic for insurance purposes, oh and definately go for limited mileage too, im limited to 5000 miles a year on the nova, but ive only done 3500!

Was surprised to find my 98 BMW 728 qualified for Classic insurance with Footman James, limited to 5K miles a year.

Was just as surprised when the insurance shot up when i sold my 1990 Polo (through lack of use) as the policy went from a multi car to a single car :roll: