pros and cons of having a 2nd car.

[bowlofturtle]

I picked up a car for my mother, she is not pleased with being a coupe and the suspension is a little sporty for her.

So now i'm stuck with 2 cars. I have a solid daily driver in my G35x but now i'm tempted to use the 240sx as a 2nd car and or taking over daily driving task.

I don't need it, it will cost me roughly $350 to plate/register the car. And about $800/ (adding a 2nd car lowers my g35x prem. by $10)yearly cost not including maintenance work. I'm in need of a little pushing one way or the other.

Other then the fact that i don't mind having a 2nd car "JUST IN CASE" I do have a lot of other cars at my disposal, its just more or less a phone call and a minor hassle. I could sell it for what i bought it for minus the parts that i put into the car to bring it up daily driving status, but sporty RWD cars dont sell fast in the winter here in chicago. So i might have to sit on it.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I have a focus that I (mistakenly) got for my last job where I was traveling, and still have the Jeep Cherokee that it replaced.

I never want to go back to having one vehicle again - even if it is just two "@#$box" vehicles. I will not, however, lend one out unless it's to my parents.

Pros:
-When one breaks, you have a spare.
-They can serve different purposes (I used my Cherokee to move, used it to haul my couch back), and if I get a few feet of snow the Cherokee is going to be called into action
-The Jeep only costs me $16 a month to insure!

Cons:
-Parking if you're an apartment dweller
-Slightly higher insurance, registration
-Higher maintenance

 

[BISCUT]

I've got a 2nd car (95 Camry) and totally love it. Without it my daily driver would be the F-150. The Camry saves me a good deal in gas $$. Doesnt sound like this is a situation like that for you. Maybe have a little fun with it and sell it late spring/early summer when rear wheel drive will fetch you a few more dollars. You'll at least reap a tiny bit out of the parts you put in.

You can laugh at this one...I got my mother into a Maxima super hot and sporty. She complained but thank God she still has the car. Boy was she livid when she went to get new tires. Its the sporty Maxima with larger low profile tires. What fun!!!

 

[Astro14]

I have found that having more cars (7) than drivers (4) is very convenient. I always have a spare if there is one in for maintenance and I have a couple of vehicles that are specific-purpose: e.g. A truck that is great for trips to Home Depot or going 4 wheeling but which is a bit rough and thirsty for a daily driver. I also have a hobby/fun car...so that might not count. The con is the cost, of course....

 

[LeakySeals]

I like having 2. But not 2 that are old junkers. One has to be newer and in better condition than the other. Wear the old one out, switch to the newer one. Replace, do it again. Its that or pour money into 1 junker that will eventually die no matter what you do (In MA rust never sleeps). IMO its cheaper just to keep the 2.

 

[eljefino]

It's great. Standing costs (plates and insurance) are about $200/year for me. Only issue is idiot in-laws borrowing something for weeks on end and being the de facto Enterprise branch for those clowns.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
I picked up a car for my mother, she is not pleased with being a coupe and the suspension is a little sporty for her.

Buying a car for someone is like buying them a pet: you're better off letting them do it, as good as your intentions may be.

 

[opus1]

All depends on how much hassle you want to deal with.

At the very lest, I'd hang on to the second car until spring, when RWD becomes more palatable and people are getting their tax refunds and itching to spend the money...

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

I had two cars back in the late 90's, a Honda del Sol Si for fun and a Plymouth Sundance for bad weather and a back seat. Both were fine for what they did but having two cars was really more trouble than it was worth. I sold both and bought a new Subaru Impreza RS sedan. It's sporty, reliable, comfortable, has 4 doors, and is fantastic in bad weather. It does everything the other two did but is even better at them. No regrets at all. I still have it after 12+ years.

I know this is a different case than having a Corvette and an F-350, but once you find one vehicle that does everything you want, it's great. Just one less thing to worry about.

 

[gfh77665]

I would LOVE to have just a "2nd car". Having 5 is TOO MUCH. With a large family driving, no real choice in the matter, though. I dread the "empty nest" that will surly come because I know I will miss my kids, but speaking just car wise, it will be great!

 

[javacontour]

Since 1992 I've had a second, third or fourth car, married or not. For the first time since then we have as many cars as drivers and I'm really looking to add a beater to the motor pool. The teens have taken up the extra cars. I could always pull rank as they didn't buy any of them, so if oilBabe or I needed a car, we could say give it up for a day or two.

I found that when I had more cars than drivers, I got a small discount on insurance for more cars than drivers. I also avoided piling miles on the newest cars as I drove 20-30K/year. Therefore I saved money in depreciation and a small amount on insurance as the daily driver was listed as the work ride, keeping the newer car at about 5K annual miles on the policy.

 

[hypervish]

We had six cars till this past summer, when I got rid of two of them. Down to 4 cars now, but will likely be buying one more as we have 4 drivers in the house and we prefer to have at least one extra car.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Another purpose: One of mine (Jeep) is an auto. I have bad knees. There's some days where I'm not able to operate a clutch with my left knee or my right knee is bothering me and I'd need to do left foot braking.


Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
I like having 2. But not 2 that are old junkers. One has to be newer and in better condition than the other. Wear the old one out, switch to the newer one. Replace, do it again. Its that or pour money into 1 junker that will eventually die no matter what you do (In MA rust never sleeps). IMO its cheaper just to keep the 2.


Not so sure about the new and low rust thing.

After my father was taken out of work for health reasons, we had his truck as a spare. The two rotbox 10 year old Fords were always working, in fact, we had to always playing juggle the fords when the 2 year old Chrysler product was broken.

 

[shell_user]

I dont mind having more than one vehicle, since I just got a older GM 4x4 and passed on the gas guzzling cad.

 

[VicVinegar]

If I had a place to store it, I'd probably get a second "weekend" car to give me something fun to drive that wouldn't be practical for everyday duty. In a pinch, it could serve temporary commute duty and allow me to try more of my own wrenching on the Civic as I wouldn't be under a 48 hour gun to have the car ready by Monday AM anytime I attempted something.

 

[Quattro Pete]

I contemplated getting a beater truck as a second vehicle at one point. The idea was to have a transport vehicle when buying larger items from Home Depot and such. However, doing the math, it was cheaper just to rent a truck/van from HD on those few occasions than to pay extra insurance/registration/maintenance, etc. On top of that, I'd have no place in the garage for it and parking it in the driveway would be an eye sore in my case.

Nowadays I drive so little that even one car seems too much. If it's down, I can always borrow my wife's car to run an errand, or I can hop on the bike if it's not too cold.

 

[Donald]

Two vehicles may fit your needs better than one. I have my Jeep as kind of a "normal" car that has 4 WD and I can put things in the back and carry a few people. The pickup is good to haul trailers and larger things in the back. And gets better mileage.

Also being divorced, having two vehicles means a lot less depending upon others if one needs to be in the shop or is broken.

 

[RF Overlord]

Not sure if I'm typical, but I have a "good" car, that I don't drive in the winter (snow, salt, no traction) and a daily driver that I'm not as emotionally attached to. Makes my life a lot less stressful.

See my sig.

 

[Tdbo]

My wife and I have 4 vehicles. Our daily drivers are her Odyssey and my Accord. My Mustang convertible only comes out in good weather and I use my Ranger pickup as a backup vehicle and it services as a Lowes Limo as well as a yard cart.

We pay $1390/year full coverage on all 4 vehicles (just went up $130./yr with the new car.) Tags for everything run $286./yr. Advantages are we have our daily drivers, our fun car, and a truck for utility, having a car down is not a big deal, and we can average all our mileage over 4 cars instead of 2. Disadvantage is parking. I had to put an extension on the driveway to park all 4.

Everyone has their vices. Mine just happens to be cars.

 

[volk06]

I have my truck and now the Taurus. I've already saved miles and gas from driving the Taurus and it gave a another to run around in instead of the focus. I got a discount on insurance for another vehicle so insurance only cost me 500/yr on the Taurus and $50 to register it. I save more than 550/yr on gas and less depreciation on the truck.