An economical, reliable second car ?

WellKnownSid

Parkhall said:

paul_c123 said:

Where do you live where there's no public transport or hire cars available? It might influence where you could physically buy (and later sell) a car from.....

I live out in the country and there is very little public transport. The nearest bus stop is a long walk away and there are only a few buses per day. The nearest car hire is more than 20 miles away. It really is the kind of place where you just have to have a car.

If you are going the second car route, then you should plan to use it regularly.  It'll mean that you'll pick up issues sooner (nothing worse than jumping into a car that has been sat around to find it doesn't start or has a broken spring).  This has the added benefit of reducing the mileage demands on the main car.

We've always lived remote so over the years we've typically run 3-4 sometimes 5 cars (we have four at the moment plus the two belonging to the older kids so five cars we could potentially call upon as backup).  From experience, a single spare car is no guarantee - especially if you mis-time the MoT or you need a part that's on backorder.  Use it or lose it.

Parkhall

WellKnownSid said:

  From experience, a single spare car is no guarantee - especially if you mis-time the MoT or you need a part that's on backorder.  Use it or lose it.

Thanks. You obviously appreciate just how stuck you are without a car in remote areas. If I do proceed I will have to create a routine of alternating car usage. I will also have to put both MOT dates into Google calendar to remind me.

That's the bit that I won't like. One MOT is a pain. Two will be twice the pain.

FreeBear

Parkhall said:

paul_c123 said:

Where do you live where there's no public transport or hire cars available? It might influence where you could physically buy (and later sell) a car from.....

I live out in the country and there is very little public transport. The nearest bus stop is a long walk away and there are only a few buses per day. The nearest car hire is more than 20 miles away. It really is the kind of place where you just have to have a car.

I live on the outskirts of a largish town. Bus stop at the end of the road, and busses every 10-15 minutes during the day time. Evenings & sundays, this drops to 30 minutes to an hour. Most of the major car hire outfits have an office within city limits, so pretty accessible and prices are always up for negotiation due to the competition.

At times, I forget that some people may only see a bus two or three times a week if they are lucky.

Gsaver1

If it was me I'd buy a Nissan Pulsar. I'd think about buying it from Copart. A Cat N would be the category as this is non-structural. 1.2 petrol. £35 tax. 

born_again

Parkhall said:

paul_c123 said:

Where do you live where there's no public transport or hire cars available? It might influence where you could physically buy (and later sell) a car from.....

I live out in the country and there is very little public transport. The nearest bus stop is a long walk away and there are only a few buses per day. The nearest car hire is more than 20 miles away. It really is the kind of place where you just have to have a car.

Guessing you have your own driveway then. What about a EV, far cheaper to run.

Parkhall

born_again said:

Parkhall said:

paul_c123 said:

Where do you live where there's no public transport or hire cars available? It might influence where you could physically buy (and later sell) a car from.....

I live out in the country and there is very little public transport. The nearest bus stop is a long walk away and there are only a few buses per day. The nearest car hire is more than 20 miles away. It really is the kind of place where you just have to have a car.

Guessing you have your own driveway then. What about a EV, far cheaper to run.

EVs seem to be high insurance costs.

WellKnownSid

Parkhall said:

born_again said:

Parkhall said:

paul_c123 said:

Where do you live where there's no public transport or hire cars available? It might influence where you could physically buy (and later sell) a car from.....

I live out in the country and there is very little public transport. The nearest bus stop is a long walk away and there are only a few buses per day. The nearest car hire is more than 20 miles away. It really is the kind of place where you just have to have a car.

Guessing you have your own driveway then. What about a EV, far cheaper to run.

EVs seem to be high insurance costs.

The wife's insurance went down switching to an EV.

The really big problem that no-one wants to talk about when switching to an EV is that you suddenly realise just how much money you are spending at the pumps.

We went from 16,000 miles a year in the ICE plus 1,800 miles a year in the ICE to around 9k in each.  If it wasn't for the size difference the main car would have become the second car.

Had we realised we would have just bought a bigger EV and a small ICE...

Parkhall

I would be doing less than half that mileage per year because I'm retired. 

Arunmor

Put  your MOT date in 30 days before it is due, gives you a month to get any non critical issues sorted before the previous MOT sorted.  Leave it until the last minute and you will be stuck until it can be repaired.

paul_c123

born_again said:

Parkhall said:

paul_c123 said:

Where do you live where there's no public transport or hire cars available? It might influence where you could physically buy (and later sell) a car from.....

I live out in the country and there is very little public transport. The nearest bus stop is a long walk away and there are only a few buses per day. The nearest car hire is more than 20 miles away. It really is the kind of place where you just have to have a car.

Guessing you have your own driveway then. What about a EV, far cheaper to run.

Not if the mileage is really low.