seeking a 2nd car... need advice

[Johnson]

Here in South Dakota, the winters can be real ulgy. Alot of snow, very cold temps and roads covered in Salt to clear the ice. This combo ***** when your daily driver is also your pride and joy.

So, I did some checking into getting a daily driver. I found a ok car, its a small 4 banger that would get above average in gas mileage then most cars. It is owned by a cousin of mine. I feel alot better buying a car that I know the owner is a straight shooter. They are a machine, they can break down without any warning, but for the most part he is aware of the shape it is in. So I am not buying a lemon and they are not telling me. The next step was car insurance. It would be 20 buicks more a month. They also added Renters insurance.

With that being said, I am trying to decide if I would be money ahead to have this car and save my pride and joy for special occasions. If i were to keep driving the pride and joy, I would be spending that 20 buicks washing it a month. I wouldent be so mad to keep this other car that clean. The other bonus would be moving to a cheaper apartment. I have a garage that I wouldent need if I could put the pride and joy away at my parents house.

Enough Rambling.... But the buttom line is.. is it getting me ahead in anyway? I just had surgery a couple weeks ago that was much worse then expected. I have school loans coming at me. So I am trying to weigh out the advantages and disadvantages..

Thanks for helping

[William_F]

Re: seeking a 2nd car... need advice

You might be better off with the two cars. It really depends on your long term outlook on things.

My wife had a 93 Honda Civic she got in '98. She kept it until I wrecked it about 5 months ago. It spent all but the last 3 years of its life in Wisconsin, where they have the same nasty winters you have in SD.

The body panels in the rear had began to corrode and rust though as a result of the road salts. On top of that, when we took it in for some repairs, they had to be extra careful due to corrosion on some of the bolts etc underneath. Had they broken any of them, the labor would have skyrocketed on some of the repairs as the shop would not have been responsible for the damage and it would have taken extra labor to complete the work.

If you get this other car knowing its sole purpose is to basically be a long term disposible vehicle for winter, it may save you money in the future on the other car because it wil be in better shape should you decide to sell or trade it or have any repairs like we did.

[Calais]

Re: seeking a 2nd car... need advice

Get an old Jeep.

[Johnson]

Re: seeking a 2nd car... need advice

I do alot of driving so gas would kill me if I had a jeep. I found a chevy Caviler that my cousin has owned for a couple of years. I have the theory of if the weather is to bad that my car cant get through, should I really be out on the road? I have family members and friends that have trucks I could ask for a ride if needed. It would be nice to be able to have a truck to get around.. but the checkbook isnt agreeing with me on it

[Calais]

Re: seeking a 2nd car... need advice

I do alot of driving so gas would kill me if I had a jeep. I found a chevy Caviler that my cousin has owned for a couple of years. I have the theory of if the weather is to bad that my car cant get through, should I really be out on the road? I have family members and friends that have trucks I could ask for a ride if needed. It would be nice to be able to have a truck to get around.. but the checkbook isnt agreeing with me on it

A friend of mine has on old Jeep, manual with a 4-cyl engine plus he got it for $800. It gets great mileage though he hasn't given it a crack on snow or ice yet . We shall see how it fairs with that.

[ColonelCash]

Re: seeking a 2nd car... need advice

Get an old Jeep.

Only if you can A) repair it yourself and B) like to repair it often.

Personally, I'm a fan of older Volvos. They are pretty solid, drive well and plenty of online support for them (www.matthewsvolvosite.com)

[Calais]

Re: seeking a 2nd car... need advice

Only if you can A) repair it yourself and B) like to repair it often.

Personally, I'm a fan of older Volvos. They are pretty solid, drive well and plenty of online support for them (www.matthewsvolvosite.com)

I also second an older Volvo. My parents have always had a Volvo; when I was a kid they had a 1986 G40 Wagon and now they have 1995 850 turbo wagon. They last and last, the current one is around 200k miles. The only problems are that the parts can get expenisve, they retain their value well so they may a bit pricey and they are booby-trapped so you pretty much have to get them serviced by those who are in the arcane brotherhood of the Volvo.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: seeking a 2nd car... need advice

If money is a concern, then think about this:

A second vehicle means a second license and/or registration cost plus insurance. That may or may not be a whole lot, depending on where you live. But there's also potential maintenance issues, especially if buying an older vehicle with a fair bit of mileage - tires, oil, filters, coolant perhaps, and things like hoses and belts may be on the verge of required service. A lot of unexpected issues can arise with an older car and while that may be no big deal if you're buying a true classic that you plan on fixing up, it can be a royal pain in the backside if you're buying this car to protect another, and you're concerned about costs.

[Johnson]

Re: seeking a 2nd car... need advice

just to get a idea, I did some number crunching... Its 150 bucks more a YEAR to have this 2nd car. That includes the extra insurance and license and registration.

Saving the miles and wear and tear on my pride and joy worth that 150 bucks a year?

As I said before, I would be able to move to a cheaper apartment and leave my 2nd car out and it wouldent bother me as much as the pride and joy.

Thanks for the help all.

[Joenok]

Re: seeking a 2nd car... need advice

Get an old five sylinder turbo Audi Quattro, you´ll have so much fun