A Tough Decision

Anonymous · December 31, 2003, 21:08

We have a very difficult decision to make!.

After having the MR2 for the last year, we are increasingly discussing the fact that its hardly ever out (q the flames about our 4200 miles). The major reason is that we have the focus which we use for moving stuff and puppy etc. Plus as Kerstie is manager of a kids nursery, its her responsibility for taking kids to hospital if any problems and that is impractible with the 2.

So, what do we actually WANT!?! Well a softtop, quick car, but with a boot. Today we have been to test drive an Audi A4. It twas nice, not the 2 buy any means, but nice.

Ok, so I expected shed loads of obsticals in the way of this decision

a) Finance still runs for two years - spoke to HSBC they say the car is ours if we pay the outstanding finance of £14k. Well a 1 year old 2 with 4000 miles should be £14k trade in at least?

b) Insuance could be a killer (me 1 year driving, K 24 female). Quote from DL is £850. We currently pay £750 for the 2 and £1000 for the focus.

c) Inital cost, well we currently pay £360 for the 2 a month, the A4 will be £430. But this offset against not having two sets of insurance, two services, two taxes, etc.

So what the hell do we do. What would YOU do?

Heres the baby:-

P.S the most important question is if we make a move, can we still be in the club s:lol: :lol: s:lol: s:lol: :lol: s:lol: s:lol: :lol: s:lol: s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

SteveJ · December 31, 2003, 21:56

I'll answer the questions in reverse :-

Remain a member of the club? - Yes, on one condition - we will be requiring a 'support vehicle' for JAE next year to transport marquee's / BBQ's / tents etc, so as long as you are up for it..... s:D

s:D

Costs? - I hate to admit it, but a no brainer this one. The A4 Cab is going to hold it's value a hell of a lot more than the '2. Factor in the huge saving on insurance (as long as you can manage with just one car - cue arguments when the sun comes out) and I could be seriously tempted.

The car? Depends on the spec, but having driven an A3 for 3 years just prior to getting the '2(s), I am seriously tempted to go back to one now the 3.2 V6 is available. Audi's build quality is second to none in their sector of the market.

Summary - I hate to admit it, but it's the right decision based on the criteria you have given us to work with.

You just have to ask yourself one question - can you live with yourself the next time the sun is blazing down and you find yourself on an empty twisty country lane......... s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

Anonymous · December 31, 2003, 22:12

Cheers Steve - dont feel such a traitor now. I really think the main things that will go is the fantastic handling, and the wow factor.

We love the 2 so much, but really dont think we use it enough, but that is down to circumstances - hindsight being a wonderful thing and all that!.

As we originally looked at the TT we knew build quality was good, but were not too keen on the TT. The A4 does seem a whole lot better than the TT. I do really thing it gives us both cars we need in one package.

Like you say, its a no-brainer in terms of saving in insurance and running costs (not sure what Audi services are like though), but its so bloody tough to think about getting rid of the 2.

Anonymous · December 31, 2003, 22:14

Quote from: "SteveJ"Remain a member of the club? - Yes, on one condition - we will be requiring a 'support vehicle' for JAE next year to transport marquee's / BBQ's / tents etc, so as long as you are up for it..... s:D s:D

Definitely, although they might stop me at the gates - being a German car and all. Maybe I will take the banner and hang it from the A4 Cabby areil - oh thats right, its intergrated in the bumper - doh!

To be honest its the cold store glove box that has sold it to me really s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Anonymous · December 31, 2003, 22:43

TRAITOR!

Only joking mate... you know what i think of the idea. After all, im the one thats thinking of getting an RX-8! s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

juansolo · January 1, 2004, 07:29

Quote from: "cstevens"So what the hell do we do. What would YOU do?

Keep the 2 and use the Focus as your barge. Quite simply I wouldn't give a damn what people thought about you not using it as much as others. Mine is my every day car so is getting miles piled on it like there is no tomorrow. I would love it to be tucked up in a nice warm garage only to come out when I was driving it for pleasure. As it is it gets hammered up the motorway on a daily basis, coated in salt at this time of year and generally takes a bit of a pasting like every daily driver does.

Not using a car also means not getting bored of it. I will have the Mr2 for probably about 2 years before I move onto something new. In that time it'll do more than 30k miles, the vast majority of it commuting. Compare this to my brothers Elise that is run like your Mr2. It only does a few thousand miles a year and is about 5 years old. They never get bored of it, it still looks as good as the day it left Lotus and it always feels fast after the Seat Ibiza. Last year they toured Europe in it and absolutely loved it.

Also... My Westfield does about 1000 miles a year. That's it. Every time I drive it, it feels like I've strapped myself into a ballistic missile that's control system is wired directly to my brain. Occasionally I think of the money that's tied up in it sat in a friends garage for the vast majority of the year. But there is nothing like it so I will only ever sell it when I get the urge for something more extreme. So far I haven't found anything (other than something that I'll build myself when funds and space allow, I have this idea y'see...) that I'd want to swap it for anyhow.

So, in essense; keep it. Take it out for drives in the summer. Tonk it around Europe. Enjoy it. Do you really *need* two practical cars? (spoken by a man who gets by with two utterly impractical cars).

See this is what it's all about: it's sunny, f**k it lets drive to the middle of nowhere and get some food at a pub. Which is what happened here.

heathstimpson · January 1, 2004, 09:41

I went through exactly the same argument a couple of years ago and went from two motors to one more family orientated one. Saved on insurance, tax, deprecation and everything else, but totally regretted it. Bought a new 2 in March and have never looked back. And my missus don't drive anymore so its only me that uses both vehicles. With commuting it keeps the mileage down; sensible with family use the familymobile, want to have fun especially when the suns out, 2. End up having to restrict journeys to one kid at a time; they love it s8)

s8)

markiii · January 1, 2004, 09:57

Well I havce to say the logic stands up, the question is is this to be a logical or emotional decision?

I'm in a similar situation in that I have the 2 and kept my Rover hatch as the sensible, people and luggage mover. This made a little more sense as the Rover was worth f*ck all anyway.

However Whatever car you drive there will always be an occasion when you need more space than you have, The focus is infinitley more practical than the A4.

Ref the dog, how big? either the footwell, or the rear bin (remove the doors, add blanket and meshing should suffice until ti get bigger.

Ref the kids, how many does she ferry at the same time? If only one I'd just leave a child seat at teh nursery that will fit the passenger seat when needed.

If cost is the issue then I'd go with something older instead of teh focus. However only you can make the decision.

Anonymous · January 1, 2004, 10:02

It makes financial sense to amalgamate the two cars, obviously.

But you may notice when you can't go somewhere because Kerstie wants to go somewhere, or vice-versa. That little practicality of having two cars is lost.

And as others have said, you'll lose that special feeling you get driving something like a '2.

I'll wager that if you do sell up and buy an A4, it won't be too long before you're looking to get a sports car (whether that's a '2 or not, doesn't matter) as well.

My boss drives a BMW convertible, and while it's a nice car he's desperately working out how he can get a 911. Which would require buying a small runabout for his wife and for the kid, and the 911 for him/weekends. Because he simply can't get the kid and wife in 911 as well.

The sensible decision would be to trade in for an A4.

Guess it depends whether you feel having a fun second car is worth the money.

Comer · January 1, 2004, 10:17

Happy New Year etc etc!

Craig you are not a traitor (yet!!!), you're just arriving at that a decision that most of us will probably cross. Their good points for doing both as mentioned by everyone above. I think you'll only be happy if you go down the A4 route and maybe come back to a '2 at a later date. That way like Heath you will know what is really best for you.

juansolo · January 1, 2004, 10:51

Just thought I add. I ran a Citroen Xantia of all things for about 18 months previous to buying the Mr2. Got it nearly new saved a fortune. It was the cheapest car I think I've ever run and I hated it. It did everything I asked of it; commuted, towed, was economical (HDi). All in comfort. But it was boring. I washed it maybe 3 times in all the time I owned it. I simply didn't care about it. I missed the MX-5 I had before it because, despite it's impracticalities, it was FUN.

Hence I got the Mr2. It's impractical, I made myself seriously stoney buying it but I love it. I just don't do boring cars which you'd think I'd have learnt after the Fiat Bravo I owned for 6 months...

Just giving you the flipside so you don't make a rash decision that you regret 6 months down the line when it's sunny again.

filcee · January 1, 2004, 13:19

The A4 cabby is a nice motor. A real South of France boulevard cruiser, luxurious enough to cross a continent and not know you've been anywhere. I don't know what the servicing costs be like - probably on a par with BMW, as that's the market they're in.

I have heard from the A4 drivers at work that they're not as reliable as they're cracked up to be. Almost everyone has had a problem with the engine in the 2002 models in the fleet at work. I suspect that has now been fixed - we've had the recall for our Leon, which uses the same lump.

Having said all that, I agree with juansolo. I just don't do practical cars. I know I should have one (I have access to mrs filcee's Leon, of course), but driving's a heart thing, not a head thing, with me. I would love to have the '2 just for high days and holidays, but could I resisit the temptation to drive it every day because it's there?

Anonymous · January 1, 2004, 14:03

More boot space for s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted: yeah baby

Well the point is that you need a bigger car and one more pratical so the A4 is more pratical but im not using my 2 at the moment and we all get like this at winter as you want the roof down and hot dry raods!

i went thought the same thing but when the weather gets better you will reach your sences dear boy!

+ not a fan of the A4 sorry s:? :? s:? but a BMW X5 well now were talking s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Tem · January 1, 2004, 17:17

Quote from: "cstevens"Well a softtop, quick car, but with a boot.

Sounds like Mazda MX-5 to me...if you're looking at a MR2-like quickness without huge hp.

You might wanna look at S2000, if you want the power as well...

filcee · January 1, 2004, 17:30

Quote from: "Buster"but a BMW X5 well now were talking s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

NNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

(Sorry - just my opinion, and you have to laugh that they bought Land Rover to steal the 4-wheel drive technology and then make something that goes about as off-road as a motorway slip road on a rainy day s:lol: :lol: s:lol: Lots of room for ICE, I guess that's why you want one, though).

Anonymous · January 1, 2004, 19:31

Have to admit - Hate BMW's however a black X5 with blacked out windows - now that IS my style buster!

Anonymous · January 1, 2004, 19:34

Quote from: "cstevens"Have to admit - Hate BMW's however a black X5 with blacked out windows - now that IS my style buster!

oh dear no......!!!!!! s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

Liz · January 1, 2004, 20:06

Dont buy an X5, they get nicked all the time!! s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

Down where I live they are really common as well, I see more of those in a week than I do '2's in a month. Its a tough call for you Craig and Kerstie and I don't envy you making the decision, I know I couldn't let mine go, I was looking out of the window today and Simon asked me what I was smiling at, then I had to admit it was the '2, as it looked so lovely!! s:oops: :oops: s:oops:

Anonymous · January 1, 2004, 21:23

looks like the X5 was a bad idea s:lol: :lol: s:lol: LOL oh well me and craige like them and i would go for electric blue !

But on trading in the 2 i would just ride out the winter and then let the summer talk for it-self, probobly not so wise words but for a honest opion and as a mate more than anything that what i would do.

+ we still have to go SOUTHEND at nigth with as many 2 as we can get s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Anonymous · January 1, 2004, 21:39

Yeah southend sounds like a night meet that should be done.

Hey Liz, lets get the treasure hunt organised...might make us change our minds.

Thanks to all for the advice for and against. We will look seriously at the pros and cons and no decision will be made until the next couple of months as we need to wait for Kerstie to be 25 in April for insurance reasons.

Oh how we love the 2 though.

Tem · January 1, 2004, 22:23

Quote from: "cstevens"Oh how we love the 2 though.

Then get a luggage rack and a case with "TRUNK" embroided on it s;)

s;)

Anonymous · January 2, 2004, 09:08

What about a Celica 190/T-sport - that's our family car with 2 kids! They're big cars - the boot is bigger than the freelander we had before and the hatch makes it ok for ieka trips etc. Much better and more practical than an rx8.

If you buy an X5, you'll have to take up dealing drugs.

Anonymous · January 2, 2004, 11:31

Quote from: "Jonny Turbo"If you buy an X5, you'll have to take up dealing drugs.

..and fit 25" Kahn alloys!!

Sundance s8)

s8)

Anonymous · January 2, 2004, 11:34

Quote from: "Jonny Turbo"What about a Celica 190/T-sport - that's our family car with 2 kids! They're big cars - the boot is bigger than the freelander we had before and the hatch makes it ok for ieka trips etc. Much better and more practical than an rx8.

Celicas are nice, i was going to get one but when i got in it my head hit the sunroof! Also the rear seats are not really big enough for adults, but if craig is just going to use them for the dog i dont see a problem... and your right, the boot is huge!

Still prefer an RX-8 though! s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

heathstimpson · January 2, 2004, 11:36

Quote from: "krisclarkuk"
Quote from: "Jonny Turbo"What about a Celica 190/T-sport - that's our family car with 2 kids! They're big cars - the boot is bigger than the freelander we had before and the hatch makes it ok for ieka trips etc. Much better and more practical than an rx8.

Celicas are nice, i was going to get one but when i got in it my head hit the sunroof! Also the rear seats are not really big enough for adults, but if craig is just going to use them for the dog i dont see a problem... and your right, the boot is huge!

Still prefer an RX-8 though! s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

Have U driven the 8 yet Kris s:?: :?: s:?: