Keep it or sell it?

Right now we have four cars. Two of them are currently for sale, one is our newly purchased family hauler, and the other is the odd man out. The wife and I both work but she'll likely go stay at home mom when the next kid comes so I'll be the only one doing any real commuting.

The car in question is a 92 Volvo 740 Turbo wagon with 270K miles. It was our family mobile but with another kid on the way we bought an 03 Focus Wagon to replace it. We're trying to go down to one car to save on insurance and such. Now the issue; SWMBO thinks it should go, I'm considering keeping it around as a backup for if/when the Focus goes down.

The car isn't perfect, it has a couple of small coolant leaks, the exhaust is loud, it costs a small fortune to fill up, and when it's really cold out the transmission slips a little when you start the car and get to your first incline. Despite this, I love the thing and it would do just fine on the rare occasion we would need it.

So what makes more rational sense, keeping it around and seldomly driving it or selling it and getting a rental for a couple of days if needed? I tend to not think rationally, thus this thread.

Auto? Manual? Sell it to me? Stuff an LS1 in it?

I'd honestly keep it. I'd rather know that I have the car in the event that I need it, instead of trying to scramble if I need to rent a car for some strange reason. Plus- really, two drivers, two cars. Many people make it work on one car (I have several friends that do, despite my best efforts to tempt them with fun stuff) but it's a PITA. I was down to one working car for a few weeks a while back, and it was AWFUL. I since bought another beater, just in case beater#1 craps out and SWMBO has the MINI and I don't feel like driving the ms3.

It sucks to not have a back-up car. Bumming rides, getting a rental, riding your bike, or taking the go-kart to work are all crappy options. Have a back-up. I like to have 2 back-ups just in case (plus the bike and gokart).

How does taking a gokart to work suck? Pretty sure that would make my day... even if it was some 3hp Yerf Dog.

Javelin wrote: It *sucks* to not have a back-up car. Bumming rides, getting a rental, riding your bike, or taking the go-kart to work are all crappy options. Have a back-up. I like to have 2 back-ups just in case (plus the bike and gokart).

QFT. Plus what happens when you are at work and the kid is ill and needs to goto an appointment?

Right now, I am lucky enough to have a vehicle for the wife, one for me, and the MIL's. I keep the wife's vehicle on the road at all costs, since she is the one who is working right now. My vehicle I just use for whatever trip I have to do close to home or even far away. But I live with warped rotors, bad tires, screwdriver ignition key, etc..

Saving insurance? I bet you end up spending more for your "new" single policy vs a multi-car policy.

I would also mark out a few days to really drive the beater. No sense in keeping it around if it never gets driven. Plus if you never drive it, when you need it the most, it wonn't run.

one thing to keep in mind is that liability ins isn't all that expensive ... depending on how old you are/where you live... etc... if it has collision ... it's old enough to drop. there would be some ins savings..

I like having three cars with two drivers. Theoretically, only one will break at a time.

always have a backup. $150 per 6 moths for liability is cheaper than renting a car when the DD breaks and you don't have time to fix it immediately.

plus, if its dependable, putting miles on the beater 2-3 days a week keeps the mileage on the good car down. Though we both commute, I drive my 99 G20 around wherever possible on errands and such after work to keep miles off the wifes new GMC.

Its a matter of guessing what it'll cost to not have the car, versus having it. You may end up in a situation of having to call a cab a few times a year, whenever the Focus is being worked on (hopefully not often). And you may need to pay a mechanic to do work on the car rather than being able to take the time to do it yourself. And, if an emergency arises, it probably would be good to have a car your wife an hop in and go with. Just have to balance those against the added maintenence, insurance, licensing cost.

My wife and I went one car for about 2 weeks earlier this year after one of our cars was totaled. Required a lot of coordination, but then we were both working and she was in school.

I think you're looking at the wrong vehicle to keep, though. I'd recommend doing some more diagnosis on the Paseo. It may not be as roomy as the Volvo, but once you get the starting issue fixed, it'll probably be a lot cheaper to keep running. This is even coming from the guy who wants to buy it from you and rallycross it...

In reply to eastsidemav:

The only problem with the Paseo is it won't fit two car seats, otherwise I'd be way more inclined to keep it. If you want it for rallycross it can be had cheaper than I've got it listed for.

I do agree the Volvo is not the ideal keeper but it runs decent already and has no problem dealing with two car seats.

If I could figure out why the Golf runs crappy I'd probably keep it instead.

Consider me another voice chiming in against only having a single car. Even as a single guy, as I'm not buying new cars, but generally challenge-priced crapboxes, having only one car was never an option.

I would only recommend paring down to one car if you have some serious AADD going on and are eyeing something else to go in the stable (i.e. you'll be back to two cars shortly).

Another voice to the 'keep it, or get another backup car' choir.

Heck, even with three cars for two people, we still don't necessarily have the right combination of snow tires and 4x4 if one of the main vehicles break.

Which kinda sorta is an excuse to get another vehicle, of course . Anyway, back to your situation - I'd make sure that I have two vehicles that can completely substitute for each other (so maybe the Paseo isn't that ideal). I might make sense to sell the Volvo, too, and buy one that has fewer issues and is better on fuel, though. They did do a seven-seater version of the wagon, maybe that would make a better beater?

I'm all for having a backup, especially if you can afford it. But I think something might be wrong with my math. 4 cars & 2 drivers = 2 backups, 1 for each driver. Now that may be a bit much. Unless 1 is a project car or race car then it don't count.
My backup is a truck that doubles as the hardware store hauler. My classics don't count. especially since them running is iffy and SWMBO doesn't know how to drive them (or want to know).

Having done the mad clutch changes on Wednesday night so I could make it to work, not having a back up will never happen around the Toyman house again. Keep whichever car you trust the most or know the most about. Gas mileage isn't important for a car that mostly sits. Having it crank after sitting a month is.

PubBurgers wrote: In reply to eastsidemav: The only problem with the Paseo is it won't fit two car seats, otherwise I'd be way more inclined to keep it. If you want it for rallycross it can be had cheaper than I've got it listed for.

Right now I don't have a cheap, easy way of getting a non-running car down here. One of the reasons I sold my truck was to cut back on impulse purchases of non-running cars. I think I'd have to come up there and try to fix it in your driveway

PubBurgers wrote: If I could figure out why the Golf runs crappy I'd probably keep it instead.

Its a VW, of course its going to run crappy Seriously, though, that'd probably make a good backup if you could fix it. More complicated than a lot of cars, but there's enough in junkyards to keep you in spare parts for a while.

+1 on having a backup vehicle. I can't tell you how many times I've walked out to take one car to work only to walk back in, grab another set of keys, and go. Things like brake lines going, flat tires, etc. can really mess up your day if you're relying 100% on one vehicle.

The back up will allow for you to do work on the primary yourself. This could save you all the difference right there.
If the Focus will not start you pretty much have till the next morning to get it running or it costs you real money. That money could be a rental car while you fix it or more likely a shop charge while you just pay to have it done so that it will not be off the road too long. Keep in mind you have likely paid AAA to tow the car as well.
Maybe the repair is as simple as a new alternator/battery. Real simple to do yourself (yeah, after you have rented a car to get to autozone.)

My advice: Place a trailer hitch on the Volvo. It along with a Uhaul-esque tow dolly and you can pull the broken Focus off the expressway cheaply and provide transport while you correct the Focus, all while still getting to work on time.

Toyman01 wrote: Keep whichever car you trust the most or know the most about. Gas mileage isn't important for a car that mostly sits. Having it crank after sitting a month is.

Agreed. This is one area where I really miss my gas powered van vs. my Cummins diesel pick-up. The Ford 5.0 EFI could sit for months (sometime literally) and start up like it ran yesterday... the Cummins on the other hand, hates sitting for any longer than a few days without running (although once it has been running for awhile, it seems happy).

If you are taking about an MK2 golf, I have never driven one that ran right, but I dont know of anyone who has had one stop running even with tons of abuse. I agree with the people who said keep 2 cars, I don't think you would save any noticeable amount of money only having one.

Thanks guys, these were pretty much my thoughts before the wife used her evil mind control powers to make me think one car might not be so bad. Also, disagreeing with a pregnant woman is risky business.

I'll likely keep the Volvo as it can already be driven on a daily basis. It may have problems but most of them are pretty minor and can be fixed quickly if I can ever find a spare minute.

FWIW, we currently spend $45 a month for liability on both cars. Dropping the Volvo, which I still may do until it's needed, saves $15 a month. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's little savings like that that have allowed us to go from $2000 a month in bills to $1300. We're all about living on the cheap.

thanks again,

Jacques

In reply to PubBurgers:

i'm all about living on the cheap as well. congrats on cutting your monthly spending by 35%, that's an enormous chunk of change!

add me to the "i'll never not have a spare car" camp. the security of knowing we can both get where we need to go even if one primary car takes a dump is worth the (low) additional cost of tags/insurance on the spare. combine that with the potential savings of being able to do your own repairs on one of the primary cars when required, and that makes the spare car a real value proposition for the family.

Example: wifey's got an '03 Odyssey with 186k on it, we bought it new. it currently needs ball joints / wheel bearings / struts. i've got an '03 mazda6 with 138k on it. I bought it 8 months ago needing wheel bearings and a fuel pump. i've also got a '96 probe GT with 225k, that i bought in '04 with 142k. i was able to get the 6 at a very low price because i didn't need to rely on it right away. i drove the PGT while working on the 6, and since that time the PGT has been driven once a month just to keep it happy. i saved enough on the 6 repair to pay for the insurance and a couple little things the PGT has needed since that time. this week i'll get my garage sorted out (we moved a few months ago), and then i'll tackle the Ody front end repairs. i'll save enough on that DIY job to take the family on a nice summer vacation.

Been there, done that. If the Focus is newer there shouldn't be a problem. That leaves 3 semi-running, insured and licensed, undependable vehicles. With 2 in car seats and possibly another coming, you don't need to have any unreliable drivers around-not mention not having the time to work on them. If one of them can be made reliable/safe, then keep that one for a DD. Get rid of the excess baggage and keep your eyes open for a decent used -gasp-Minivan. That is the only way to go when kids are involved.

In reply to minimac:

My wording was poor, only one little person for now, the second is on the way. To me the Focus is practically new but it's still 7 years old and has 130K miles. With a little work the Volvo will make an adequate backup.

I always keep a back up car even though my DD is new