The Answer: Multiple Cars Edition

We all like our sporty cars. This is Grassroots Motorsports after all.  We like our miatas, mustangs, and vettes. However, most of us don't drive those everyday. We really like our beater cars and our boring dailys. We also aren't the types to go out and finance some boring new appliance (mostly). We'd rather run the old Neon or Infiniti G20 until it's no longer economically viable. We also like to do things and tow things. There isn't really one car to do this all, so a lot of us have multiple cars. 

This is something I'm struggling with right now. Like most of you I've always bought, sold, and played around with a lot of different vehicle types. It's not so much that I lust after whatever is new and great. It's more the fact that I'm constantly trying to find that right balance of vehicles to do what I want at that time while also being feasible (space, reliability) and not wasteful. I.e. having a car that sits all the time. Trying to strike that balance of fun and pragmatism.  Like when I see a 2006 CRV for sale on the side of the road and think, "That would be soul crushingly reliable and boring. I'm sure I could run it into things and not care" I'm sure I can't be the only one. 

My background: I work from home mostly so I don't have a commute per se. That could change in the next year or so. I have a boat that needs to be towed. However the wife has an SUV that gets used for towing and most road tripping. I do lots of outdoors things and like having the convenience of a truck. I also have a motorbike that I take to track days and haul around occasionally. 

My Fleet:

- 2000 Toyota Tundra Ext cab. 220k miles. Runs great. I like driving it. Pretty much a hammer with the 4.7. I think I have $3500 into it. 

- 2009 BMW 328i "daily". Wagon. Manual. 135k miles. Typical BMW'ness. 22mpg premium. Blergh

- 2008 Corvette Z06. Track car lite. Lead a hard life. Don't drive it much. This is currently on the chopping block

I'm going to be selling the Corvette which will leave me with two perfectly good vehicles. But as I mentioned I'm always wanting to change it up. Maybe replace the bmw with an NB miata. Who cares, I don't have to commute. Buy a small trailer for the wifes SUV and go to a sporty car and a beater car? The options are endless. The question is, what is the fleet "answer"?

PS. Not really looking for advice here, just seeing what a bunch of other like minded people's answers are. 

I am halfway through a consolidation from 4 cars to 1. I went from driving a bunch to basically only on the weekends and no commute. My answer was a Golf R. Since I'm doing a total downsize (much smaller house, less stuff, etc.) having one car just simplifies life that has many other distractions. We will see how it goes. I do have all of the stuff in boxes to make a really nice miata track car if I I want to in the future or I'll decide over next winter to sell it all off. 

I'm tempted by the vette...

In reply to Nofive_0 :

My "fleet" will contain 1 pickup. I have 2 boats to put in and take out of the lake spring and fall. One weighs 7,000 pounds. 
     I pull a race car trailer around the country. And use it as a pickup is intended to be used several times a month. Hauling parts, lumber, furniture etc.  
Yesterday  I drove 438 miles  round trip to pick up a pallet of water. I'll repeat that trip on Thursday when I pick up a pallet & 1/2   That's something I'll do about 4 times a year. Plus my daily commute  driving a school bus. 
The wife's Honda CRV does the grocery shopping and her running around. Soon to be replaced with a Tesla. 
    There is my MGTD owned since 1962    Vintage raced driven across country and thousands of local trips.   It's a nice, reliable, fun, little car that always has me smiling. Plus gets thousands of friendly waves and happy strangers.  
 Finally the race car.  Cheap, fast,  and 40 years old. 
    

Me and my wife each have 3 cars. A summer car, a winter car and a work vehicle. The business has 3 Vans. I also have 2 project cars. Oil change time is almost a season. Most these cars are much cheaper than you'd think too

Wife's cars:

Summer: 13 Golf

Winter: 97 explorer

Work: 98 explorer

Mine

Summer: 02 zx2

Winter : 00 explorer

Work : 91 Ranger

Work Vans

89 e350 club wagon

88 e150 club wagon

97 aerostar

Project cars

82 Rampage

84 Caprice

I'm actually looking for a full sized work truck to add to that fleet too, plus something that gets good MPG for her work during summer. We live in the mountains with real winter so the cars have to cover everything from 100 degree days on smooth roads to 2 feet of snow and holy-shiznit-that-mud-ate-my-car. 

I've considered down sizing a lot but I have a lot of weirdly specific needs that wouldn't really work with one car, or 2.

Although if a car comes out that gets 40 mpg, has decent sized tires say.....28 inch minimum, can haul a ton of concrete forms/block, is easy to maintain and parts are cheap, can be driven fast, has a convertible top that can be covered in winter but open in summer and can haul a cord of wood.....I'm in.

The E91 is a fantastic do-it-all car. I bought mine last year and it has been great for my small family and dogs. The shocks blew, so I already have it on coilovers with basically no drop and summer tires year-round here in NC. The mpg was a little disappointing, but I like knowing I have such a simple engine to rack up miles with compared to DI turbos and the like. 

That being said, my Clubman JCW has also been fun and was a great family car when I just had one kid. I toyed with the idea of converting it to my track day car, but that's where the Elise comes in. 

My wife loves the Elise more than I do - I would've sold it many times over and gotten a better one. Definitely will always have an Elise, but sometimes I doubt I picked the best one I could've. Still, I keep slowly making progress and now a great car is within sight. 

I could also track my FZ-07 but that will never get the wife's approval. Something about wrecking my Elise at a track day nearly ten years ago will follow me forever. So the FZ is the sunny day commuter. The Elise will be the "it is sunny now but might rain later so I'll need a roof" commuter. 50mpg and cheap insurance is nice, and I have a short commute now. 

My wife has a G8 GT also on coils and with exhaust and tune. That is a great GT kind of car and probably has the best highway mpg of the fleet (except for the bike of course). We are missing a tow vehicle in the fleet and will need one in the next few years when the Elise gets relegated to track-only. The plan then will be to swap the G8 with an Evora and a Macan S. The Macan should suffice as a tow vehicle with an open trailer, and my wife just loves those. Macans, not trailers. 

frenchyd said:

Yesterday  I drove 666 miles  round trip to pick up a pallet of water. I'll repeat that trip on Thursday when I pick up a pallet & 1/2   That's something I'll do about 4 times a year. 
    

Can I ask why you're buying pallets of water?  And why you do it four times a year?

Over the past 5 years, I consolidated from a Tacoma, an E90 and an R6 down to just an E91.  With that said, I did get married in between, and I count my wife's vehicle (2017 MDX...with payments lol) as our "boring reliable appliance".  Its actually a perfect setup, my wife doesn't care at all about driving engagement so we can own a reliable appliance without actually having to drive it most of the time.  With a toddler in the house, I'm not doing a whole lot of grassroots "motorsporting" anyways, so its good to not have a bunch of vehicles to maintain.  

I've used my 04 Focus Wagon to do more truck things than most people with pickups. (Those weirdos who's truck beds don't have a single scratch) Half the time, I drive it like my hair is on fire. I'm not a FWD guy, at all,  but I keep thinking how much fun this thing would be with suspension and boost. Or a lift and Super Swampers. I found fun and utility when I wasn't even looking for it.

You're choices are totally sound. You'll figure out a way to make it work. And have fun doing it.

I guess I hadn't even considered that people need to have a winter vehicle. I live in NC so that isn't a necessity for me. 

I didn't realize so many GRM'ers have e91's. They are a good car, certainly less BMW that a lot of other BMW's. They do get poor mpg's. However I went to change the harmonic balancer on mine and ended up breaking the inlet off of the radiator. Shocker, a BMW with a brittle cooling system. It really does everything pretty well. I may put a b12 kit on it so then I "have" to keep it since I have another $1k in it. 

I suppose there is no real problem with keeping the truck and the BMW. At least until I figure I want something else, or gain a commute. Glad to see I'm not the only one with these "problems"

I am in a similar situation.  My current fleet which includes the wife's car is as follows:

• 2013 Nissan Pathfinder (her car, owned since new, 4x,xxx miles)
• 2018 Audi S4 (my car, owned since new, 14,xxx miles)
• 2008 Corvette (toy, 3rd owner, owned since 2015, 49,xxx miles)

All 3 cars are currently on the chopping block, the wife wants a new car as the Nissan has been with us for 8 years, the Audi is a lease and has to go back in September.  The wife thinks life would be simpler if we had only 2 cars, living in Chicago I can't daily a 2008 corvette and do need a car several times a week to run errands (gym, grocery store, take dog to vet, etc.) 

If anybody has any suggestions for one car to rule them all (autocross, drive to and from HPDE, errand shopping) I'm listening, I have been window shopping M3's, the new Cadillac CT4-VB and perhaps the yet to be announced Lexus IS500.  

Outside looking in, you have a pretty cool garage.   Truck is handy, cheap and reliable.  Bmw is unique and highway trip friendly, back road fun and daily driveable.  I'm not a corvette guy, but yours is sexy.  

cyow5 said:

 

My wife loves the Elise more than I do - I would've sold it many times over

 

 

 

I ordered mine new and had it a long time, with multiple cross country trips. Similarly my wife loves it more than me. I have been wanting to dump it for an Atom for 3 years now, can't seem to sell it due to her. 

The Everyday Driver guys have a good system I think; if you're thinking about selling it then its already gone. You've had the experience, go find a new one.

The car guy in me loves that advice so I tried and it so far its been a good experience. The saver in me is less thrilled about this.

Ultimately it ended up being perfect for my wife and I. Her Subaru is the do it all commuter/camper/roadtripper and the Boxster is the date/fun/occasional commuter. We each have a bike for fun too (these are hard to not let pile up, both of us could easily find 2-3 more and justify having them.)

We are holding the line here for practical reasons but also because maintaining all of these cars keeps me busy enough. Project cars sound nice but I know that the stress of the project isn't worth it for me. If you have something that sits, or doesn't get used much and the stress of it sitting there is a daily thing then its time for it to go. There is something freeing about the simplicity of having just what you need. Drop what you don't need and try something different. Swap cars out instead of accumulating and find an experience compelling enough to justify its existence (and cost). This is general advice that so far has worked for me.

edit since its a thing: I cant sell the Boxster either, the wife loves it. I can't blame her and its part of the reason she likes cars so... this is fine lol

I have always driven sports cars as my primary transportation. I usually arranged for my wife to own a minivan or sedan for moving things too big for the sports car, but have used the 2 seaters to move some fairly big items.

The biggest was probably when I used my TR-3A to bring a complete MGA Twin Cam engine home - just removed the passenger seat and lowered the engine in by hoist and removed it at home the same way. Was asked by another driver who pulled up at a light beside me what was going on and told him it was a rare Triumph bi-motor car....

I was up to 11 cars at one point but managed to get it down from there a bit. Five years ago, this was the fleet:

1957 Jamaican bodied MGA

1958 MGA Twin Cam (race car)

1962 MGA Deluxe Coupe

1971 Jensen Interceptor

2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe

2007 BMW Z4M coupe

1965 Jensen CV8

1969 Lamborghini Islero S

 1988 Pontiac Fiero GT

 1969 MGC roadster

The last four were sold by the time we moved.  The Fiero was my daily driver from 1990 - 2009, and the Solstice has been my daily driver since.

PS - you can get 10 cases of wine into a Jensen Interceptor, or 15 rhododendrons before you have to start eyeing the wife to see if she can get a ride so you can add a few more.

spandak said:

The Everyday Driver guys have a good system I think; if you're thinking about selling it then its already gone. You've had the experience, go find a new one.

 

I would argue a counter point.  Cars don't make me happy, the experiences of cars does.  This includes everything from learning more about the vehicle, researching new models, participating in a motorsport activity, attending brand specific events and non-specific events, etc. 

So the question I always ask is, what would a new/different car do that this one doesn't.  

DWNSHFT said:

frenchyd said:

Yesterday  I drove 438 miles  round trip to pick up a pallet of water. I'll repeat that trip on Thursday when I pick up a pallet & 1/2   That's something I'll do about 4 times a year. 
    

Can I ask why you're buying pallets of water?  And why you do it four times a year?

I buy for the extended  family.  A pallet is 28 cases of water.  A  case is 6 gallons. It costs a $1.00 a gallon  plus a little less than a tank of gas

I have access to the best, cleanest, totally untreated water.  No Chlorine  or fluoride ( added to all bottled water ) it's from an underground 5 million gallon cave that takes 5000 years for water to trickle in. So it doesn't have any trace radiation. Nor any micro plastics.  
  Considering the percentage o your body that is water and the amount required to stay healthy iFeel it money and time well spent. 

ClearWaterMS said:

I would argue a counter point.  Cars don't make me happy, the experiences of cars does.  This includes everything from learning more about the vehicle, researching new models, participating in a motorsport activity, attending brand specific events and non-specific events, etc. 

So the question I always ask is, what would a new/different car do that this one doesn't.  

AGREE 100% with you. For me it the chase, to find the mint, rare, and once home, I am bored, usually after a month. Making friends with like minded enthusiasts, and the hunt of the purchase is whats fun for me. 

I definitely have too many in the fleet.  Especially since I am the only one in the house.

2017 Grand Caravan - main DD and bicycle hauler.

2006 MINI Cooper JCW - backup DD, foul weather LBC, autocross car once in a while.

2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI - bought new; 329K miles; taken off the road in early 2014 to replace the turbo and other maintenance; been collecting dust on a lift in the back of my garage since waiting for me to finish it.  Will likely sell when back together; would sell as-is (not-running; partially in pieces) if I could find a buyer...

1979 Triumph Spitfire 1500 - LBC weekend toy; usually in running condition; have a new engine to install.

1972 Triumph GT6 - LBC weekend toy; currently in need of a new transmission.

1973 Volvo 1800ES - rusty, long-term project.  Bought for cheap, so I'm not bothered by it sitting until I have the time and shop space to work on it.  Plan is a mild resto-mod, long distance, comfortable retirement tourer.

1992 Ford E350 7.3 IDI EB conversion van - bought to convert into a camper and replacement for the GC, but reliability has been a problem.  I can envision it being exactly what I want out of a van, but I lack the space and time to get it to that goal.  THe problem is there is basically nothing available from any company that will do what I want as a camper van. 

2002 VW Jetta Wagon parts car - bought for the rust free LF fender and non-dented hatch for the 2003.  Need to get those parts off it and the blasted thing out of my back yard.

The two Triumphs and the Volvo stay no matter what.  The rest of the fleet is somewhat up for debate.  Part of the reason I want he E350 is because it can tow a fairly substantial amount (small enclosed car trailer).  Drop that requirement and the GC with a small travel trailer would serve the same function.  Probably for a lot less money and headaches - and definitely sooner... 

That's a fair question. I think  at some point we get bored. 

I think your point is that we should be making effort to enjoy what we have instead of being materialistic and chasing the new thing. With that I agree. The materialism side of things isn't really what Im going for. In my case I sold a car and bought a different car for cash and still had some left over. Financially it was step down and I didn't add a parking spot. I don't think that decision was materialistic, it was just a trading of experience. A hot hatch is great car, so is a Corvette, but you can't really enjoy them the same way. If you're looking over the fence wondering if the grass is greener why not hop over and find out?

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

I fully agree. It gets my blood pumping to find the next "thing". Often getting carried away pulling a car out of a field 3 hours from home saying, how'd I get here. That's probably why all of my vheicls have checkered pasts and are modified from original in some discernable way.

I am at 7 and would like to be at 5.

The workhorses:

'03 Tacoma 176k miles winter daily/ household donkey

'04 Audi TT 3.2 198k miles wife's Daily all year

'07 Cayman S 92k miles my summer daily and cross country driver

Then the semi-running projects:

'71 Opel GT runs but only one light works on the thing

'74 914 I have never had it running and have only halfassed tried needs rust repair

Those are the keepers.

On the block are:

'72 914 complete minus the interior and glass, new england rusty but not horrible.

'85 Westfalia ran when parked and probably would start no problems. 260k+ miles. I do not trust it's reliability engine-wise. Needs moar subaru.

ClearWaterMS said:

spandak said:

The Everyday Driver guys have a good system I think; if you're thinking about selling it then its already gone. You've had the experience, go find a new one.

 

I would argue a counter point.  Cars don't make me happy, the experiences of cars does.  This includes everything from learning more about the vehicle, researching new models, participating in a motorsport activity, attending brand specific events and non-specific events, etc. 

So the question I always ask is, what would a new/different car do that this one doesn't.  

Yup, I only ever want to sell the Elise when it's not running. If it is driving, you couldn't pry it from my cold, dead hands. Maybe that's the answer then - trade for one that I don't break as often. Yes, I take more blame than the car, so I guess I just need to get back in the garage and finish...

mr2s2000elise said:

cyow5 said:

 

My wife loves the Elise more than I do - I would've sold it many times over

 

 

 

I ordered mine new and had it a long time, with multiple cross country trips. Similarly my wife loves it more than me. I have been wanting to dump it for an Atom for 3 years now, can't seem to sell it due to her. 

Like I just posted, I only get itchy to sell when it is not running. Once I get back in it, desires to sell it fade. But the Atom is a whole different beast. I drove one a few years ago at VIR, and it is on the bucket list. My wife also loves them and is wholly supportive of getting one, but refusing to sell the Elise just puts us that much more behind on cash. Oh well, we have other car priorities first anyways. But one day...

My daily is a B6 Passat wagon.  VR6 noise and power with AWD means it just goes no matter the weather or road conditions.  And it can pull a 14.xx quarter mile which is less impressive than it used to be but still fairly quick.  It's paid for and I've owned it for 9 years, I like it and have no intention of getting rid of it anytime soon.

The tow pig is a 2004 Suburban 2500 with the ultra rare Quadrasteer package.  Crummy MPGs but it's also paid for and sits for weeks at a time and then tows whatever I need, wherever I need it.

My weekend toy is a turbo Miata.  1993 with a VVT 1.8 swap and a crazy amount of upgrades.  It really has become a money pit this last year but like anyone who knows Miatai knows, it's possible to keep these forever.

SWMBO dailies the unicorn Jaaaag.  A 2002 X-type we bought off the forum a couple years ago.  Bigger engine and 5 speed combination.  Looks nice and she enjoys it, enough Ford DNA that it seems to be pretty reliable.

Autocross toy is the Zoomboni.  Former Challenge "car" that sat for a decade before I picked it up and have been developing it into an EM cone chaser.  Last year it survived being triple driven at several events and earned me a couple of FTD plaques.  This year it got a cockpit mod to make driving easier and a set of new used slicks, it might get an oil change too.

Challenge project is a Fiero GT with some SC buick power.

So a pile of interesting junk but I like it and everything is paid for.  No car payments makes me happy.