2 cars vs. 1

[Sidekicknichola]

Here is a little dilema I have...

Background:
I currently own a Lexus IS AWD - bought it for year round driving (AWD to help with Wisconsin winters - even though this one has been mild)... I am putting so many miles on (26,000 a year just to/from work - nothing else) ... with that said I am at about 90k right now and thinking maybe I should try and sell before the dreaded 100k hits.... or just drive it til it dies

Option 1: Keep the IS and drive it until it dies.... hopefully 180k+.... problem is that if/when things start to go bad they'll get expensive because of the "L" badge on the car.

Option 2: Sell the IS now and buy myself 2 cars. Should get about 20k for the car and with an extra random savings account would have about 28k spend on cars.

Car1: Civic or some other high MPG car to use as my daily driver/winter - car and rack up the miles on something with cheap repairs - spend 8k give or take on this vehicle.
Car2: something fun and zippy for the summer/nice days - I've got about 20k to spend on this car then.

Anyone else had to make this choice?... if so what way did you go and why?

 

[MotF Bane]

I would not worry about taking a Lexus past 150k. If you like it, keep it. I'd bored, start shopping.

.

 

[RKS]

I don't think 100K miles on a Lexus is a lot. I would keep it and buy a fun car. Is it the 2.5 or 3.5?

 

[momeNt]

Seems like you are putting a lot of highway miles to be putting 26k a year on the car. Those kind of miles I wouldn't be surprised to see it hit 180K+ without too many problems as long as you are keeping up good preventative maintenance.

I have some coworkers that drive nearly 200 miles to work from out west of Chicago and put 300k on their cars without any severe maintenance straight highway driving at about 70mph.

 

[Railgun]

I was in the same boat, though at the time, I was looking for a single car replacement with a daily driver that I could have some fun in. It ended up being two cars as the fun car ended up being an RX-7 and that didn't have a hope in hell of being a DD, especially in Chicago.

That said, depending on where you live and what you get in terms of what that means from an insurance perspective, I say two. If your fun car is something you wouldn't mind driving in the winter every now and then or when needed, then you also give yourself a backup in the event there's ever an issue with the primary car.

Second, depending on the fun car you get, if you ever get the mod bug and have it down for slightly longer periods of time, you're still not out of transportation.

It can be a pain to be sure, but doing two really opens up options in that you don't have to limit yourself to a one size fits all model.

 

[KDKPSJ]

I don't think "L" badge will cost that much more compare to its "T" badge brother. That's been one of the biggest advantages of owning Lexus compare to European luxury brands. Probably labor if you let stealership work on it, but not if you let independent mechanic do the job.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I like having two vehicles... A truck for rain/hauling/rough stuff and a nice sports car.


If I lived up north like you do this would be a no-brainer... 4wd ranger or equivalent.. Hell one of those isuzu or suzuki little 4wd would be awesome. That way you have 4wd and don't have to worry about rust

Then a second summer-only no salt sports car.

 

[PricklyPete]

Just keep the IS...you've barely broken that thing in.

 

[manimal]

I like having 4 cars. Sad that I cant keep a fifth.

 

[jlee]

I think you should keep the LS (or sell it and buy a summer car) and buy a turbocharged Forester for winter shenanigans. :awe:





I love having multiple cars - MR2 as a toy, CTS-V as a daily, and my Forester XT (for sale, hint hint) was my winter car but I don't need it here in AZ.

 

[NutBucket]

Yeah, multiple cars is nice. We have 3 which is great since one is in the body shop right now and I don't have to worry about a rental. Its great to have a backup in case a "simple" repair ends up not being so simple

And jlee...why not lift you Forester and do some light off-roading? I'm considering doing that with our older WRX.

 

[jlee]

Yeah, multiple cars is nice. We have 3 which is great since one is in the body shop right now and I don't have to worry about a rental. Its great to have a backup in case a "simple" repair ends up not being so simple

And jlee...why not lift you Forester and do some light off-roading? I'm considering doing that with our older WRX.

Gah don't tempt me...it has crossed my mind several times!

 

[NutBucket]

Do it!

 

[thedarkwolf]

The smart thing is one car. Could always do something like a WRX/STI and cover both fun and practical.

I have a miata for fun/autox and a pontiac vibe for DD and hauling crap.

 

[Throckmorton]

Is a Lexus IS with 90k miles really worth $20k??

 

[thomsbrain]

I would keep the Lexus and keep saving for your fun car. You know your car's history, it's a nice car, and it will last a long time. When you buy that used Civic you'll be buying a big unknown. Could be totally fine, but who knows?

I considered selling my Accord around 90K and getting a cheap beater civic and an S2000. Instead I just saved and bought the S2000 later on. Accord is still running strong as I approach 190K (knock on wood). I guess I could have had the S2000 sooner if I sold the Accord, but it's running costs have been crazy low, and I wouldn't get that from a beater.

 

[Jumpem]

One car. By far.

 

[rh71]

missed this thread... I used to have 2 cars of my own and also had 2 cars - one of which was my wife's but she never drove it. So basically everytime I go outside I had to try and convince myself to take the less-fun cars out just because they haven't been driven for a while and I may as well put the insurance money to good use. I hated it. Also it is more gas in the long run owning 2 cars instead of 1, with the same driving habits - I did a spreadsheet on this to find out.

1 car for me, always. And it better be a fun one.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

missed this thread... I used to have 2 cars of my own and also had 2 cars - one of which was my wife's but she never drove it. So basically everytime I go outside I had to try and convince myself to take the less-fun cars out just because they haven't been driven for a while and I may as well put the insurance money to good use. I hated it. Also it is more gas in the long run owning 2 cars instead of 1, with the same driving habits - I did a spreadsheet on this to find out.

1 car for me, always. And it better be a fun one.

What, explain this please.

 

[vshah]

^ i'm curious as well, rh71.

personally i'd love to have 2 cars. but they would both be fun.

 

[Viper GTS]

If you're going to do this you need to make the fun car REALLY worth it, otherwise you won't really use both (or you'll just be hating life if you can force yourself to drive the boring car).

Essentially the fun car needs to be absolutely unusable in anything but perfect weather or you'll just end up driving it all the time.

Speaking from experience here...

Viper GTS

 

[NutBucket]

I disagree somewhat. The 3 cars my wife and I have:

CR-Z
WRX wagon (modded, 5-speed)
WRX wagon (stock, automatic)

Its not hard for me to want to drive the CR-Z due to cost savings (40mpg 87 vs 22mpg 91). My wife typically takes the stock WRX as its our "beater" and we don't have to worry about door dings, tire wear, etc. That leaves the modded one for other activities.

Point being, the cars aren't all that different but each serves a purpose and it works out. Doesn't cost anything extra for insurance...just a little extra maintenance expense.

 

[iamwiz82]

If you're going to do this you need to make the fun car REALLY worth it, otherwise you won't really use both (or you'll just be hating life if you can force yourself to drive the boring car).

Essentially the fun car needs to be absolutely unusable in anything but perfect weather or you'll just end up driving it all the time.

Speaking from experience here...

Viper GTS

Agreed.

 

[jlee]

If you're going to do this you need to make the fun car REALLY worth it, otherwise you won't really use both (or you'll just be hating life if you can force yourself to drive the boring car).

Essentially the fun car needs to be absolutely unusable in anything but perfect weather or you'll just end up driving it all the time.

Speaking from experience here...

Viper GTS

lol, yeah...

Or just get two fun cars. Though there's typically going to be one more fun than the other anyway - I haven't driven the CTS-V in what..two weeks now? MR2 trumps it...heh.

 

[SkullWalker]

I really do not think that Civic will have some very cheap repairs, no sir, it is a Japanese car so forget about that.

The real question here should be - why are the dreading about the 100k mark so much? This is nothing for a Japanese engine...