Replacing your whole fleet?

I get the feeling that exactly 0 of our current 3 1/2 cars are long for our garage. Lots of family changes are afoot, including job and location changes, and our current fleet is just getting too needy and not meeting our actual needs.

The 914 I co-own is 95% going away over the offseason. The 50.1% owner wants to actually be FTD and win an SCCA Nats/PCA Nats title so he's looking at 951/944S2/968's to build up for Improved / Prepared. I would remain a 49.9% interest owner in whatever (and I'm pushing him hard to a 928, preferably a late GTS).

The Grand Prix is starting to get miles on it (135K+) and has been here 7.5 years. It's been low maintenance until this year and now it's starting to nickel and dime. SWMBO wants way better in-town MPG's and better HVAC (heated seats maybe?) as well as pull-type door handles. If we do the move thing, she won't need to highway travel at all. We'd really like to nab a Leaf for her.

The 5 has been great for me and my needs, but if the move/job stuff happens then I really won't need it's highway capability anymore (I'd be going from 50% on the road to basically nil). The 5 would become a massive waste at that point and probably never get driven. I'd probably keep it just as our occasional road trip car, though I would be sorely tempted to sell it and get a truck to tow a car trailer/boat trailer. I'd prefer an old Wagoneer, but far more likely would be something way newer to use on family vacations. Dreamer me would have a Cayenne Turbo or a Grand Cherokee SRT8, but the reality is probably an XTerra.

And finally, the 3,300Lb elephant in the driveway, the Javelin. I love this car, but SWMBO won't touch it, let alone ride in it, and the kiddos can't go in it yet, either. If it ever went I'd either go family ice cream cruiser, like a 59 Buick convertible, or all-out nutso AMC racecar AMX. On the other hand, I really suck at carburetors and points and drum brakes and SWMBO loves Mustangs. An 05-09 GT coupe with a ton of mods would be a sweet car to play with.

I dunno, half of this isn't likely to happen, but I needed to vent/type out my thoughts. It would be kind of crazy to swap out all 4 cars and the house within a year, but science knows I would love it. With a truck/trailer I could even go back to a 5-car fleet and do more flips, which I really enjoy.

I see your Auto ADD is kicking in. I consider this on a regular basis. Then again I've bought 3 cars in the last year so maybe I did more than consider it.

In reply to Toyman01:

Last year I sold the 944 and did a Jeep J20 for my Dad, that was it. This year I flipped the F-150 and helped the neighbor on the Fiero, and that's been it. I've had the 5 for 2.5 years and the Javelin for 3. The longest I had ever owned a (running) car was the P71, which was a little under 3 years.

Flip them. Cars are like underwear, sometimes you just need to change them.

I love all my cars almost as much as I love the next car.

Dad has done it a few times. Usually brought on by some combination of boredom, cars going out of warranty, car accidents, kids turning 16, kids going to college, and cars close to hitting a mileage marker that would bring the value "way down".

Javelin wrote: I really suck at carburetors and points.

I won't ask about the SWMBO not even riding in your car, that's a personal issue and mine doesn't like to ride in my 924, so I won't get into that. I do sorta understand the kiddos not riding in Daddy's car (I'm guessing the lack of proper seat belts among many other things)

I'll just point at the part I quoted and respond with:

http://www.diyautotune.com/tech_articles/megasquirt-carb-to-efi-part1-nova.htm

I've got a spare MS1 V3.0 board here, jus sayin'

As to the brakes and stuff, well I'm sure there's a rear disc solution available.

I agree that it sounds like the GTP and the 5 are on their way out. I'd hate to see you get rid of the Javelin, but that's a personal choice and you would know better than anyone when it is time to let something go.

Replacing the whole fleet would be fun. As I like to live vicariously through the adventures of others on the board, I heartily recommend you do it and report on the process. I'm not sure that I've ever not been in love with at least one car at any given time, though there have been times I've wanted to sell all but that one and start over.

I rarely change cars. I guess I'm not a real GRMer

In reply to turboswede:

On the Javelin, SWMBO just doesn't like it. I brought it home without permission, it's ugly and old and rusty and stinky and leaks, and she things humpsters are not pretty. She'd be okay with a nice 68-70 AMX or Javelin. A Gremlin would result in a divorce. On the kids, it's the total lack of a good interior. I would need new seatbelts and a new backseat, plus real insulation and carpet before even I would be okay to cart them around. My daughter has "driven" the Javelin with me a few times (moving it in the driveway at idle). At least the front does have shoulder belts and hi-back seats.

As for the carb/etc, I really want to swap out the AMC Model 20 rear for an Exploder 8.8 rear end (3.55's! LSD! Rear discs! One piece axles!) and build a port EFI setup for it. I just don't have the money for it. L( On the up side, my Dad is looking for a Javelin so it would stay in the family.

JoeyM wrote: I rarely change cars. I guess I'm not a real GRMer

Frequency has nothing to do with GRM-ness.

In reply to JoeyM:

I'm still driving an Oldsmobile that had a tree fall on it back in 2002. It's been fixed, sorta, but you get the idea. I never change cars. And I don't race.

I'm not even sure what I'm doing here half the time.

Back to the cars... I can't imagine selling a car like your Javelin if I was in your position. Wife won't ride in it? That's... not getting into it but that's something.

And yeah, throw a Pertronix breakerless setup in it, go searching for a TBI unit from a 454 truck and a matching adapter, etc etc. I dunno, carbs shouldn't scare you out of this thing. Points stink, I'll grant that, but still.

JoeyM wrote: I rarely change cars. I guess I'm not a real GRMer

I'm jealous of you. Not changing cars is way cheaper and less stressful.

Every year one of my new years resolutions is "I will not buy or sell a car this year". I've broken it 7 years in a row :(

From what you're saying I'd definitely sell the Javelin and the Grand Prix. Didn't you talk about potentially buying or leasing a Leaf or two?

Javelin wrote: On the up side, my Dad is looking for a Javelin so it would stay in the family.

This changes things entirely! If you sell/give it to him on the condition he only sells/gives it to you when he is finished, I see no reason not to go ahead with FleetSwap2013

Sometimes you just need a clean slate. A do over. I have been thinking about doing the same thing. I always have a couple older cars that need attention and sometimes that's good and sometimes not. I am in the sometimes not camp right now. I have actually been researching the upcoming Porsche Macan due out next year. I know, I know. An expensive German P car based on an Audi. Complete insanity. But it really interests me which is odd because I am not a big "crossover" fan. Oh ya, I would keep the Miata for auto crossing. The other three would have to go. So from five down to two for me. Clean house my friend, you only live once!

ProDarwin wrote:

JoeyM wrote: I rarely change cars. I guess I'm not a real GRMer

I'm jealous of you. Not changing cars is way cheaper and less stressful. Every year one of my new years resolutions is "I will not buy or sell a car this year". I've broken it 7 years in a row :(

Not quite 7 years straight, but it sure does feel like it... especially if I add in the ex-g/f's cars that were under my care as well...

As far as purging the fleet and starting over? Abso-berking-lutely...

I'm sure someone here may have me beat but I haven't BOUGHT a car in seven years. In the nine years I've been driving, I've only owned five. Although I did have them all at one time though. The fleet has been down to two for seven years now, not including SWMBO's Escape.

JoeyM wrote: I rarely change cars. I guess I'm not a real GRMer

Yeah, I see cars I'd like to buy all the time. And then I pretty much realize that you lose money on every deal unless you are the type to spend all your free time and a little cash improving them to flip.

And even then I wonder how much you're truly paying yourself per hour.

As a result I haven't bought a car since the Manic Miata 3 years ago. And I haven't bought a DD since 2006.

I guess I am in the buy and hold camp. I have had my drivers license for 30 years. I have owned five cars in that span of time. Two of them I still own. One was a flip. One was beater I drove for 9 months. I have owned my daily driver since 1997.

SWMBO gets something different about every 4 years.

i only kept the Mustang for 2.5 months...and have had 3 cars this year. i've been married for 5 years and have had 11 cars since...my wife thinks i buy constantly...i try to tell her i've slowed down.

Just made me realize I'm pretty sure there hasn't been a calendar year since I got married (10 years ago) that I haven't either bought or sold at least one car. This may finally be the year, but that has more to do with my rallycross car finally being mostly sorted, and getting into motor scooters.

Of course, I've been jonesing for something more comfortable and option-laden than my extremely practical Honda Fit daily driver...

I'll probably have my Mustang until the next round of 1/2 ton truck revisions come out in 2015, or someone releases a decent mid-size truck again (not holding my breath, even with the new Colorado/Canyon coming and the Tacoma/Frontier both up for major remodels). I'm buying with an eye to keep that truck for a solid 10 years... and constantly buy and sell powersports toys instead.

I see a rotating fleet of ATV's, motorcycles, and karts with the odd sports or old car thrown in as more fun, easier to store, and easier to justify financially than constantly changing my DD.

I say change it up. As long as you won't get fleeced, or feel bad about them, try out something new!

My ADD is terrible, I've got a $3k in parts sitting in the spare bedroom for the Miata and I'm thinking "WOulnd't something else as an HPDE/TT car be nice?"

This one does sound like you may need to change everything out. The first three sound like they are a real risk for outliving their purposes. And the Javelin - it needs a lot of work, nobody else in the immediate family will ride in it, and it could stay in the family - it sounds like you really like it, but that it isn't a great fit and there are other cars you would be equally happy with (and the rest of the family would be much happier with them). If that is the case, I'd sell it.

Getting rid of my entire fleet and then replacing it with an equal number of new cars is such a logistically daunting task that you'd have to pay me a lot of money to do it.