Talk me out of being an idiot...

[GJF47]

Between me and my fiancee, we currently have a '63 plate Clio and a '60 plate S-Max.

We currently have 2 kids, aged 5 and 2. Plans for another one next year so they would probably be 6 and 3 by the time it arrives.

I have recently started a new job meaning I'll be getting a company car within a few months. It's only going to be something along the lines of a Fiesta, etc...

I've always had relatively 'sporty' cars and getting seriously bored with the S-Max, despite it being the 236bhp Titanium X Sport, it just isn't fun to drive but is really comfortable for running around with the kids on weekends.

My plan at the moment is to sell both of our car. Hopefully getting around £3.5k for the Clio and anything over £8k for the Max. I am planning on getting an older S-Max (diesel) for whatever money the Clio sells for. This will be used on weekends and for the missus to commute to work which is around 10 miles each way. We are then going to pay the remaining £3k off her credit card meaning I'll have around £5k to purchase myself a weekend toy, most likely another MK2 Focus ST or a MK1 Leon Cupra R.

Am I being totally crazy here? I just constantly feel the need to have something fun that I can fiddle around with in my spare time but she is being fussy about having an older car with high mileage.

 

[wedrum]

ditch the wife problem solved.

 

[sideways14a]

Get something like an MX5 if you want to fiddle and have something fun, an ST ot cupra will be money pits compared to a mk2 or mk3 mx5 and it comes with the added advantage of just two seats so you cant take the brats and thus get piece and quiet.

 

[Tek81]

Between me and my fiancee, we currently have a '63 plate Clio and a '60 plate S-Max.

We currently have 2 kids, aged 5 and 2. Plans for another one next year so they would probably be 6 and 3 by the time it arrives.

I have recently started a new job meaning I'll be getting a company car within a few months. It's only going to be something along the lines of a Fiesta, etc...

I've always had relatively 'sporty' cars and getting seriously bored with the S-Max, despite it being the 236bhp Titanium X Sport, it just isn't fun to drive but is really comfortable for running around with the kids on weekends.

My plan at the moment is to sell both of our car. Hopefully getting around £3.5k for the Clio and anything over £8k for the Max. I am planning on getting an older S-Max (diesel) for whatever money the Clio sells for. This will be used on weekends and for the missus to commute to work which is around 10 miles each way. We are then going to pay the remaining £3k off her credit card meaning I'll have around £5k to purchase myself a weekend toy, most likely another MK2 Focus ST or a MK1 Leon Cupra R.

Am I being totally crazy here? I just constantly feel the need to have something fun that I can fiddle around with in my spare time but she is being fussy about having an older car with high mileage.

I'd avoid a Mk2 ST and a Cupra like the plague. A Nissan 350z on the other hand.....

 

[Chris1712]

Sell the Clio and take a car allowance instead of company car, lump these together into your fun fund? I think something reliable and boring is exactly what you want with 3 snotbags running around so would keep the current smax.

 

[mccarf]

It doesn't really make sense to me to sell an S max and then buy an older one which is probably more of a liability. The money you make from the difference between them could just be chewed up if a few standard things go wrong with the older one (clutch, DMF, injectors etc). Is it possible she could have your company car and then you sell the Clio to buy something more interesting?

 

[acemastr]

3 kids changes everything, you need a much bigger car then. Stop having kids.

 

[GJF47]

ditch the wife problem solved.

I'd still be left with the kids on weekends unfortunately...

Get something like an MX5 if you want to fiddle and have something fun, an ST ot cupra will be money pits compared to a mk2 or mk3 mx5 and it comes with the added advantage of just two seats so you cant take the brats and thus get piece and quiet.

I'd avoid a Mk2 ST and a Cupra like the plague. A Nissan 350z on the other hand.....

The problem is, I would occasionally have to take the kids on weekends if the missus is doing something so it would have to be relatively practical too.

I just can't stop looking at the ST and Cupra. Having owned both before, I massively regret selling them.

Sell the Clio and take a car allowance instead of company car, lump these together into your fun fund? I think something reliable and boring is exactly what you want with 3 snotbags running around so would keep the current smax.

From what I've been told, we are not allowed to do that. The reliable and boring is why I want an older S-Max for the kids but I need something fun for myself too!

It doesn't really make sense to me to sell an S max and then buy an older one which is probably more of a liability. The money you make from the difference between them could just be chewed up if a few standard things go wrong with the older one (clutch, DMF, injectors etc). Is it possible she could have your company car and then you sell the Clio to buy something more interesting?

I would be required to use the company car daily for work. We work away quite often and could get a service call meaning we are required to have our cars handy to travel immediately.

 

[GJF47]

3 kids changes everything, you need a much bigger car then. Stop having kids.

Which is where the S-Max comes in. And trust me, the snip will be done as soon as the third arrives!

 

[ci_newman]

I'd still be left with the kids on weekends unfortunately...

Why can't you use the company vehicle at weekends if you have to ferry the kids?

If it's a weekend car, definitely drop the idea of something relatively uninteresting like a hot hatch. Get a proper weekend toy, something 2-seater and mechanically simple.

The MX5 fits the bill but so do a few others (MR2 etc).

It's not an idiot idea (I have a 7 & 4 year old, and a Westfield as a weekend toy ).

 

[a1ex2001]

Selling a perfectly good car to buy an older unknown version of the same car us madness, especially on these small budgets like someone said the saving will probably just about cover the DMF or injectors going which they both will at some point! For my money you can’t afford a weekend toy on your budget.

 

[Abyss]

Have you factored into your 3 car plan how much the company car will cost you including tax implications/BIK? You'll end paying to run two privately owned cars plus be paying out for the company car.

 

[danlightbulb]

Am I being totally crazy here?

Yes you're being an idiot.

Like almost everyone who wants a 'weekend toy' and who then wilfully goes on to force the wife into the crappiest car they can find in order to justify it.

The problem is that lots of people think like you, so almost all decent performance cars are small hot hatches rather than sizeable practical estates that would offer much better useability and flexibility to the family buyer looking also for nice looks and performance.

A real man doesnt swan around in a hairdressers car or one that cant fit a few bags of cement, some fence posts and your kids' bikes in the boot.

Get a grip.

 

[theone8181]

I'm still trying to get my head around how an smax has a similar amount of power to the focus but yet is so much slower. I know its not really related to the thread but still. Also i'm surprised your being forced to have a company car yet its only something small like a fiesta, i'd of thought it would be 3 series sized or bigger.

 

[[TW]Fox]

How does the future wife feel about being asked to drive around in a tatty 12 year old S Max so that you can pretend it's still 2004 and drive a tuned up old Seat?

 

[Dis86]

Also for someone that seemingly wants to spend the minimum of time with their kids, why are you having a third?!

 

[Howard]

I'm still trying to get my head around how an smax has a similar amount of power to the focus but yet is so much slower. .

I expect it has something to do with the fact the S-Max is probably half a tonne heavier?

 

[Buffman]

Doesn't seem like a good idea as above.

Why would you want to buy an older diesel s-max to do 10 miles per day? Seems low mileage for a diesel.

 

[GJF47]

Why can't you use the company vehicle at weekends if you have to ferry the kids?

If it's a weekend car, definitely drop the idea of something relatively uninteresting like a hot hatch. Get a proper weekend toy, something 2-seater and mechanically simple.

The MX5 fits the bill but so do a few others (MR2 etc).

It's not an idiot idea (I have a 7 & 4 year old, and a Westfield as a weekend toy ).

The weekend car is going to be something along the lines of a Fiesta judging by what the others in the team have had as their first cars. Not going to be enough room for the kids.

Have you factored into your 3 car plan how much the company car will cost you including tax implications/BIK? You'll end paying to run two privately owned cars plus be paying out for the company car.

The car will be around £250-£280 roughly. I'd love to be able to have a van and just pay £70, which one of the guys on the team does. Unfortunately, we aren't all allowed to do that which is unfair if you ask me...

Yes you're being an idiot.

Like almost everyone who wants a 'weekend toy' and who then wilfully goes on to force the wife into the crappiest car they can find in order to justify it.

The problem is that lots of people think like you, so almost all decent performance cars are small hot hatches rather than sizeable practical estates that would offer much better useability and flexibility to the family buyer looking also for nice looks and performance.

A real man doesnt swan around in a hairdressers car or one that cant fit a few bags of cement, some fence posts and your kids' bikes in the boot.

Get a grip.

I don't think that every performance car is a hot hatch at all. I've looked into the likes of the Octavia VRS Estate for example, which I would be happy to have myself, but that won't fit three kids on the back seat.

If you can give me a few examples then I would be happy to look into them?

How does the future wife feel about being asked to drive around in a tatty 12 year old S Max so that you can pretend it's still 2004 and drive a tuned up old Seat?

She doesn't really care. A car is a car to her and she has no interest in it at all.

Also for someone that seemingly wants to spend the minimum of time with their kids, why are you having a third?!

Where did I say that?

Doesn't seem like a good idea as above.

Why would you want to buy an older diesel s-max to do 10 miles per day? Seems low mileage for a diesel.

It's 10 miles each way, so roughly 20 per day. And 80 miles on a Friday to pick one of the kids up.

Her Clio is only a 1.2 and yet she is averaging around 35mpg from it.

 

[Journey]

The car will be around £250-£280 roughly. I'd love to be able to have a van and just pay £70, which one of the guys on the team does. Unfortunately, we aren't all allowed to do that which is unfair if you ask me...

Can you not just ask for a monthly car allowance instead?