Tough choice (one car or two?)

csbassplayer2003 wrote: How well do you guys cope with driving something "average" most days of the week? Or does having something really fun for the weekends/track make up for it?

I was in much the situation you are in now a few years back, I kept my wits and did the 'smart' thing. I bought (financed) my Ford Ranger, barely used as in 2007 model bought in 2007 with 11k miles on it from the dealer. It wasn't spendy, it isn't fun, but it does what I wanted it to do: get me to/fro work reliably (1 dead battery in 60k miles isn't bad on my way home from work), pull my autox car and classic toy in a pinch, haul building materials for a remodel (finished), haul stuff when needed, love the utility of a truck, even a little one, and not get crap fuel mileage (I average 20MPG, 24 hwy, 18 in town).

I went the different strokes for different folks route and have the Ranger, shared 86 XR4Ti autox/track car my buddies and I built, modified to hell and back, and a 72 Fiat 124 Spider I've been lovingly repairing and tinkering with.

I say be smart and sensible. If you want a fun car, and given your budget, buy something newer that's stone cold reliable, don't modify or touch it, keep it fresh, maintain it perfectly. Then buy a low-buck fun-mobile, when it blows up at the track/autox/around-town-hoonage, you can still get to work on Monday...

My wife and I have 4 cars between us:

Hers:

• 2010 VW Golf Wagon (DD)

• 1990 VW Golf Cabriolet

His:

• 1998 Ford Explorer (DD)

• 1997 Subaru Outback

My wife's Cabriolet is obviously a summer only car and will get parked for the winter. For me the Subaru is my rally-X and rally volunteer car, BUT it has filled in quite nicely when my Explorer was off the road for 3-4 days for some repairs. No asking for rides to work, etc.

I bought the Subaru because as others have pointed out I did not want to break my DD doing "fun" stuff, plus when I went back to DDing the Explorer (my wife used to drive it), it is not exactly a "fun" vehicle.

The downside is that you pay more for insurance.

As you can see from an investment stand point my Wife's side of the ledger is substantially heavier than mine!!! The total value of my vehicles is probably about $3k for both.

csbassplayer2003 wrote: How well do you guys cope with driving something "average" most days of the week? Or does having something really fun for the weekends/track make up for it?

I have a 100+ mile round-trip commute. As much as I enjoy driving one of the "fun cars" to work now and then, my '03 TDI wagon does the task with much greater comfort and efficiency.

For comparison, the "w/e toys" are an '88 BMW 325is, a '72 Triumph GT6 and an '07 MINI convertible. The MINI serves as a passable back-up to the TDI when I need to work on it, but I'm always happy with the VW is fixed. I've also used the BMW in a pinch as well, but if things go as planned, it will become less commuter-friendly as mods continue towards STX-prep. The GT6 is strictly fair-weather only. The BMW and GT6 also have classic tags and insurance, which limits their useage (legally - one day a week for commuting).

edit: oh yeah... forgot about the diesel truck that gets used when I need to move something really heavy, large or dirty and will someday tow the race car around.

Definitely two. Once my financial situation gets a little better (not strapped for cash right now, but certainly not flush, either), I plan on having two vehicles: a DD that can also double as utility/carry stuff vehicle (most likely an Element, Toyota Matrix, Honda Fit, or some type of station wagon) and then a Miata/E30/MR2 for a toy. Might even grab a third- gotta be a Cherokee for zombie apocalypse readiness and snow-covered parking lot shenanigans.

One car simply cannot fulfill all the automotive needs of a gearhead's life. Unless you can find an E46 M3 that raises three feet off the ground and grows a huge cargo area one day, then hunkers down and sprouts huge gumball tires and a loud exhaust system another day, and then shrinks it's engine displacement by 1/2 and gets good MPG and starts in the negative temperatures the next day. See, three cars.

The more and more I look into the situation the more likely that parking might be the determining factor. I already have a storage unit, but they want a premium for a space large enough to store a vehicle. I hope I can make a 2 vehicle solution work, but the devil is always in the details...