Princess or BX?

[vulgalour]

I just had a brain!

 

BX pros:

> approx. 50mpg everywhere

> cheap fuel

> comfortable

> practical

> stops and goes well

> proven daily driver.

BX cons:

> needs a good chunk of welding

> needs some mechanical stuff

> MoT and Tax expire by June

> costs more monthly to insure than the Princess

> probably cost more to get through an MoT than the Princess.

 

Princess pros:

> comfortable

> stops and goes well

> has been a proven daily driver

> doesn't need money spending on mechanical stuff

> can be insured for very little for the year

> probably go through an MoT easier and cheaper than the BX.

Princess cons:

> currently not insured, taxed or MoT'd

> Expected 25-30mpg

> is burning a bit of oil,

 

It seems that getting the Princess on the road and shelving the BX while I sort its problems might be the right short term solution, especially with cash being so tight, but I don't know that I could afford to keep the Princess going long term as my sole transport unless I was on a decent income or worked close enough to home that my commute was walking or a very short drive. I think it makes more sense, short term, to get the Princess back on the road until I've got a bit of financial stability, it would allow me more time to work on the BX and get through all its problems before swapping back again. Perhaps I'm wrong though, what do you guys think?

 

Edited to add: It'll cost more to buy another car (hah!) than to fix and keep/make road legal either of the above, even if I trawl the lowest depths of what's out there, so it has to be one of the above that I keep on, which is no bad thing really.

[flat4alfa]

Princess, in this case

[Shep Shepherd]

I'd get the Wedge back on the road as a daily driver, but then I am a bit mental ^^

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Take some Doctor-like pix of the Princess and flog it to some BL 'enthusiast' for enough money to sort the BX with.

[vulgalour]

I'd considered selling one to fund the other or get a 'better' car, but that doesn't work either as neither car is worth enough to do that in the time scale I have.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Look at the lengths Super Mario went to trying to save a Princess. It's a worthwhile endeavour.

[Des]

Princess, no brainer especially as the frenchie has funny suspension that uses wierd green fluid.

[dollywobbler]

Princess, no brainer especially as the frenchie has funny suspension that uses wierd green fluid.

 

In that, the two cars are equal (sort of)...

 

Naturally as a BX lover, I recommend you get the Princess back on the road. Yes, it surprised me as well but I actually feel bad that while the BX has done marvellously well in your ownership, it has stopped the Princess coming on any further.

 

Sell the BX to Mr Duke. Sorted!

[skattrd]

I'd say it's a decision of head vs heart.

 

I think the Princess is the one you really want Angyl.

[Skizzer]

If it's not an intrusive question, how much do you reckon it would cost to get either of them MOTd and running sweetly?

[vulgalour]

I'm going to pre-empt some questions and explain some of my logic in my answer, Mr Skizzer.

 

At the most, I expect it'll be £200 to get the Princess fully road legal again, a big chunk of that is the road tax and the insurance payment. The BX is likely going to cost me £400, but mainly because of the road tax and having to purchase a welder (£100-ish), with mechanical and cosmetic/bodywork parts costing another £100 or so. With that in mind, I need to find a car with 6 months tax, 12 months MoT and no mechanical problems for £400 or less that I can insure and be comfortable in which is proving impossible. I'd also have to factor in the cost of collecting said vehicle and unless someone gives me a car for free it doesn't solve anything. I'd also end up with three cars, and that's not an option either. Don't particularly want to scrap either the BX or the Princess because for all they're both a bit rough and ready at the moment they are fundamentally very good cars and I'm very happy with both of them.

 

I wouldn't even be in this position if things had gone even marginally according to plan, I'm still scrabbling about chasing up job leads that are repeatedly coming to nothing.

[MrDuke]

Sell the BX to Mr Duke. Sorted!

 

Strangely enough, I do believe VA would feel completely and perfectly at home in a gleaming black '86 Cherry 1.3GS Spirit - with original ltd-edition wheeltrims

[dollywobbler]

Failing that, the BX is a much better prospect to sell now than it was while I had it. I must concede that the stripe removal was probably sensible...

[Pete-M]

I'd say BX every time, but I think the Princess was an awful looking thing that drove worse than it looked.

[Tetleysmooth]

Absolutely no offence meant by this, but I would sell both and get something more solid and easier to work on.

It'll probably revitalise your interest too, with a completely new model to delve into.

I'd deffo get something with t&t to use as a daily driver needing a very light resto.

[Mr Lobster]

I'd say BX based on the fact that I rather like 'em and (and I appreciate that this is not the done thing here but) Princesses don't really do anything for me tbh.

[vulgalour]

The decision has been reached to go for the Princess.

 

I'd considered other sensible options like selling them to get a daily that needed less work but I think that would have utterly killed my enthusiasm, you have to remember that the Princess is one of the possessions I chose to save when I lost pretty much everything else, selling it was never going to be something I'd do willingly. The BX I'd like to keep going but it needs a lot of work, I was aware of this when I got it and had got the resources to keep it going, but then things changed and such was no longer the case. I do have the sources for everything it needs, just not the funds at the moment, it's a case of prioritising.

 

Selling both cars might have netted me £500 if I was lucky, and a lot of hassle, for which I could've bought any number of appalling cars that needed just as much work as either of the ones I have. Instead, I opted to make use of the recent uncharacteristic bit of good fortune to get one car I know inside and out and actually like back on the road. I don't want to end up with a repeat of the Maestro, which was a car I came to dread getting in and driving anywhere for all it was reliable and sensible. That Maestro was a car I'd find excuses not to drive, and not because it was unsafe or broken, just because I came to dislike driving it that much.

[shedvan]

This is probably the right move, like you say you'd have to be lucky to liberate somewhere around £500 for the both of them so with that as the sole source of reddies to procure another reliable daily that was in the same ballpark in terms of novelty or interest you might have found yourself overstretched.

 

Putting the Princess on the road is probably a shrewd move if the car is to move forward in terms of value and any longer term life. Some comparatively inexpensive pre-MOT work and taxing gets the care into a medium term future and then you can move on with the future upgrades/completion of paint-work/interior upgrades. Waiting for work off the road could maybe have been a poor situation and unfortunately entropy increases.

 

Anywho good luck I'm glad you've made the decision.

[barefoot]

That Maestro was a car I'd find excuses not to drive, and not because it was unsafe or broken, just because I came to dislike driving it that much.

 

Could this be why they were not popular at the time?