My 4200 Quandary - Stay or Go?

rockits

rockits

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9,180
D Walker said:
Fortunately / Unfortunately I am a lot like you. OCD to the extreme. I wont show you a photo of the inside of our kitchen cupboards. Lets just say everything is in line.
I too have wrestled with the keep it / sell it, get a banger !!!!
What I would say is I was offered not a lot less than I paid form mine in July. I have done around 3k miles (1600 touring Scotland) I have managed to accept that it will cost me £2k ish to keep, however now its gone for an impending clutch more. Luckily I did keep a bit back instead of stretching to a GS.
What I will tell you is that when I waved mine off this morning I was truly gutted letting it out of my site and "control".
Regarding the decisions around your daughters accident, try not to beat yourself up. I know its hard but I also know that at stressful times involving your family decision making becomes blurred. I was feet away in 2 separate incidents when my daughter broke an arm and leg, and when my son broke his leg and I sometimes still sit and reflect.....Why didn't I this and that.....but, I bet we all do.

Keep the car, enjoy it a bit more but do what I do, I drive it for an occasion, bit like Martin, that has included going for an Ice cream.......20 miles away..
Dave
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Don't do that to me showing me a pic. I will only be jealous. I don't bother so much trying to organise or keep things straight these days. We now live in a 300-400 year old wonky cottage and the kitchen/bathrooms need ripping out and starting again! If I'm objective the whole house needs knocking down really and re-building. I organise the cupboards and it is all over the shop the next day so little point. Maybe moving here has helped! You can't make something that is inherently wonky straight;)

It has been a nightmare the last 18 months as we moved house and I have a ton of stuff in the garage. We never have got the house yet to how it needs to be. Then I closed one of the business offices and had another ton of stuff appear in my garage. It is going to take another 6 months I reckon to get it all sorted. I'm not moving house and/or offices again anytime soon!!

I think we need to take the ability out to edit our previous posts! That causes me issues as I keep finding grammatical errors and spelling mistakes that I have to go back and edit ;)

Your opinions are all very useful and appreciated though and think I just need to say what the heck and drive her as much as I want. Deal with tomorrow when tomorrow comes to an extent. I beat myself up as I feel that is a way I can learn from my experiences and mistakes to be better. Maybe I should be a little easier and not worry so much. This forum is turning into a psychology treatment centre for the weird and wonderful! Certainly is helping me though ;) Just finding more similar weirdo's with similar issues to relate to. All said in a nice way!

I would be able to run/maintain most of my vehicles myself ability wise with specialist help needed when required. However the vehicle is better if older and then not so much of an issue come resale with a slightly less than perfect service history. Also if you don't need to think about resale that it makes little difference anyway. I know when I do a maintenance job I do it well and to a good standard. Would a main dealer or specialist do it any better. Probably and often not.

I am looking at the car storage business now and would like to migrate from the IT industry to something car related for Phase 2 of my life. I think the 4200 needs to stay ;)
 
rockits

rockits

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mjheathcote said:
My Stag owes me nothing, had her 30 years, now free road tax and insurance is low.
Any maintenance is done by myself, after all, I restored her from a bare shell so know her inside out.
My Maser is like yours, only done 15K miles, and I do around 1 to 1.5K miles a year.
Can't really do anymore, using the company car for work, wife with a company car, and fun split between the Stag and Maser.
I guess fortunately the Maser road tax in my case is cheaper, and I decided to carry out yearly services between mileage related services myself.
I don't think this will have a big (if at all) effect on value, especially now being 14 this year. If I ever decide to sell the physical appearance alone will sell it. Underneath it at the MOT a few weeks ago and it still looks like it came off the production line. I saw many before buying mine that were a bit rusty underneath. This however stops me driving it in winter with salt on the roads.
It makes no financial sense at all for me to have the Maser saying all the above, but what price do you put on the pleasure of owning, and driver her, even if limited?
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Thanks. I think I need a Stag or something similar that I can tinker with and maintain with low running costs. Not sure I can go that old as my appreciation of 70's cars is a little lacking across the board. I spent most of my important years in the 80's and 90's so am in the Hot Hatch generation really. Fancy an MX5 and maybe an old Hot Hatch from my youth. Will be able to be kept and maintained pretty cheaply and maintenance all done y myself. The biggest costs is time/labour so if that is your own the material parts/consumables costs are not too huge.

You seem to have a pretty good set up there Mike. Good luck to you. Does the Stag take lots of time and maintenance?
 
rockits

rockits

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zagatoes30 said:
My cars are bought to be used and I never buy a car thinking that I need to keep the milage down. I bought my SZ when it was 12 years old and with 9k on the clock, needless to say it has a few more than that and I have loved everyone of them. However now having 5 non daily drivers I don't get the time to drive them as often as they should be but would I sell any of them, unlikely. I look at what would I have if I sold them and decide that there is little out there better unless of course I sold all bar the SZ and put a Junior Zagato or HF Fulvia in the garage.
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Agreed. I think we are so appreciative of so many cars that the numbers in the garage are starting to grow. Maybe a quality and closer relationship with less cars would be better than a diluted one with too many. I guess it is like having lots of children. How can you give them all the same or enough level of time/attention. However I guess if you have a great day with one car once a year then so what.
 
rockits

rockits

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Ebenezer said:
As midlifecrisis so aptly stated, what does having a mazza give you in a good way that not having one means you will miss out on? Is it worth the cost or is there another way you could fill the same disparingly empty gaping black mazza shaped void? :sad3::sad3:
Perhaps you need to replace it with one that you can just drive rather than be too precious about, or just change your attitude and enjoy!! All you are doing is spending alot of money so someone else in the future can enjoy it. I know what I'd rather do!
Eb
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Yup, agreed and I think you are right. Enjoy the car, drive it and don't worry about it. I don't think with the funds I have available I could easily fill the void that would be left if it was ofloaded. I could off course sell all 4 of 'my' cars and buy a Stradale! Or something on a similar level but one up on the 3 cars I currently have. Not sure if that is possible for the circa £60k-£65k I would have. Now that is tempting!!
 
B

BenjaminBraddock

New Member
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70
Rockits my situation is pretty much the same as yours - I did less than 1k miles in the last 12 months and the car is very much a garage queen being our 3rd car.

If I was a bean counter, practical about car use and applied cost-versus-benefit then I guess I wouldn't keep the car - however that isn't my way. And thank god as on the rare occasions I get to drive the car it makes the costs so worth while. These cars are Italian works of art!

If you can afford to keep it, then you should! :)
 
mjheathcote

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
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9,046
rockits said:
You seem to have a pretty good set up there Mike. Good luck to you. Does the Stag take lots of time and maintenance?
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After a 5 year full bare metal shell restoration between '90-'95, hardly anything, as everything was replaced with new or reconditioned, absolutely everything, cost me a small fortune at the time but pure enjoyment for the last 20 years.
Two weekends ago, changed the spark plugs and flushed out the cooling system, couple of hours work, including replacing a blown exhaust manifold gasket that just need a few bolts slackening off and a new one sliding in, easy peasey.
As it was the first car I bought in my late teens, you could say she is a keeper!
 

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safrane

safrane

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My current Maser is under used just 3k miles last year and most of that was Modena and back. As such I have contemplated selling as I work away from home Mon-Fri and have a hire car each weekend...It only the fact that the car is not depreciating that its still here. I SORN it for six months but still have a service as per the book at Emblem (The last thing I want come sale time is this forum saying its scrap because it missed an annual once ;0) )
But I enjoyed my first Maser the most as it was high miles and not an investment but to enjoy what I enjoy.
Just after I bought it I lost my sight, my remaining blood relative, my fiancee and my job...luck gqve me back vision in one eye and since then my approach to life is was more relaxed enjoying the car and what was left in my life. Then I sold it and upgraded to newer more expensive Masers.
Im now slipping into my older ways thinking about the value of the car/miles and how much it costs to fill the garage...so I too may look at getting somthing that gives my the same pleasure but at far less cost...and one Im not worried to leave on the street some times.
best of luck with your decision.
 
2b1ask1

2b1ask1

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As has been said on previous threads, not driving your car or covering the seats is like saving your girlfriend or wife for the next bloke....
 
GeoffCapes

GeoffCapes

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14,000
2b1ask1 said:
As has been said on previous threads, not driving your car or covering the seats is like saving your girlfriend or wife for the next bloke....
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Well put.

Dean. You know that if you sell you 4200 you'll regret it.

Keep it. If you're not going to drive it, store it.
It's too good to sell onto someone else who'll keep it for two years and sell it for a huge profit.
If it's a money thing, use your company to buy it as an investment. And deduct it from your tax bill.

Failing that I'll take it off your hand for £50. ;)
 
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