Stripped Fred - the two car system

[stripped fred]

I'm going to start a thread on my cars. It may not be that interesting as I don't get much chance to work on my cars lately as I started as self employed. I just wanted to give something back as I spend every day on here but I don't post too often.

I currently have a 'two car system'. I was running around in a focus cmax, 2006, off my mum, shunted front and back at one stage but was fixed and is a good cheap workhorse, decent service history, 1.6 petrol manual, quite nippy, maybe due to relatively low gearing but quiet enough on the motorway. Mainly used for local trips, school run and when I take the dogs. Will soon be running back and forth to the tip. Mpg roughly 30 to 46.

All was going well when I was offered a Jag S type for a good price. 2.7d 2004. Nice condition. Will occasionally go into gearbox fault mode when first started but a restart cures it. Just bought two Goodyear all weather tyres for the rear as the originals were quite slippy. When I looked again the inside of the Chinese tyres were showing wires. Grip is much improved now but I doubt I will get the chance to try them in the snow this year. Nothing else really wrong and feels very well made. Brake pedal has a squeek, parking sensors stopped sensing recently and I haven't had chance to look at them. Has satnav that still works and helps me out in an emergency. Heated seats, cruise and auto are nice and it's pretty quiet so gets used for mainly longer journeys. Is a bit u wieldy around town and gulls fuel on shorter runs, at least compared to what I usually get. Mpg roughly 26 to 44

I decided to run both cars together. Here are my findings...

It's really nice to have a choice of which car to take out. I can use whichever meets my needs or takes my fancy that day, or whichever has fuel in!

If I did have a problem with one car then I could use the other.

I know I could just run the cmax but I am interested in cars and the Jag makes you feel good. The cmax is more fun to pint around country roads though and I sometimes enjoy it's no frills nature.

I've had to fit two Bluetooth phone things and keep a pair of sunglasses in each but that's about it in terms of extra costs. Breakdown cover is with Autoaid so for whichever car I'm driving.

I like to think that the cost is about the same as one decent car on a PCP. I do about 15k mile's a year, probably using each 50/50 at the moment. I think it's good to use them both regularly.

It is working for me. I know neither car is particularly old but they are 14 and 16 years old. They both have quite different characters which keeps me interested, at least for the moment. I might get the MR2 on the road when I can afford it and that might upset the applecart...

[Jamie]

hi and welcome - nice Jag. 

I've ran 2 cars side by side for the past 5 years or so, usually  a sensible practical car (like your C max - mainly estate diesel BMWs/Fords etc) and a BMW of some description as more of a second / hobby car - as you say being a car enthusiast with just one 'do it all' car is hard work for the mind & soul.

[Cookiesouwest]

The 2 car system, is how the disease takes hold. Soon you will be using man math to justify a 3 car system

[eddyramrod]

Another vote here for the 2 car system.  It's falling down a bit at the moment, because I Roffled the C3 which was for daily/round-town use but the replacement Jaaaaaaaaag is still at Mr Weldy's where they seem to be fitting it around other jobs.  In my case it's complicated a bit, both by the nature of my other car (Huggy) and by the presence of the Motability car which, strictly speaking, is for the benefit of MrsR, not me.  So at present the two cars available to me are one that I shouldn't be using for my own purposes, and an insanely big and thirsty old tank.  Er, yeah, ok......

One of my neighbours has a C-Max like the one in the opening post, which is all I've ever seen him drive in the 7 years I've been here.  Apparently it followed a series of Jags!  He got fed up of having so much kit to go wrong (as we all know, if it CAN go wrong, it WILL) and doesn't have a bad word to say about the Ford.

[stripped fred]

The cmax is a decent car and much better at short runs, especially this weather as it's up to temperature soon whereas the Jag takes an age. Just fuelled up and the last tank was 38.7, which included a couple of longer runs. I can't fault it really and if I only had one car this would be it.

[Kowalski]

Two car system, what is this, the great depression?? You need at least five.

[blackbird]

3 hours ago, Cookiesouwest said:

The 2 car system, is how the disease takes hold. Soon you will be using man math to justify a 3 car system

or 5 cars !

[barefoot]

A bit more man maths to help you out.

You're not actually using any more fuel than you would be if you only had one car, (as you can't drive both at the same time) and your overall mpg is therefore just a simple average of the two. I drove my Jaguar @  21mpg & my Scirocco @ 32mpg - consequently both cars averaged about 27mpg, which for an XJ-8 wasn't bad at all. It just stings a bit on the occasions where both need filling on the same day!

Keep up the good work & please remember me to your mother.

[2flags]

I can relate to this. I myself am running the 'four car' system. First is my Landrover. It's a 1985 110V8. Drinks like Oliver Reed in a brewery. Most useful car ever. People carrier, furniture removal van and the wife can take as much luggage as she wishes when we go on holiday. Next is my school car. [I'm a driving instructor] A 2019 Ford Focus. Again fantastic car. It's a new Ford and just does. Next is the 'wife's' car, [honest] 2001 Jag Xtype 3.0 auto. Just turned up 80,000 miles and drives lovely. 27mpg. Well impressed. Lastly is a 2001 Renault Megane cabriolet. I have just taken it over from my daughter as she has gone on an adventure to New Zealand for two years. One owner from new with a full Renault service history. 44mpg so will be using this now and again, especially when it's sunny ??. Enjoy. 'Vive la differance' as the French say

[gadgetgricey]

Yep, that's how it starts.

You then progress to justifying cars for specific purposes. Convertible (summer), 4x4 (Winter), sports (fun), luxury (Big engine auto saloon thing), practical (diesel estate), practical +1 (exactly the same diesel estate as a spares car).

Man maths wise are the repair bills and time as well. Mate has sole car MG ZT and his alternator went. Cost him about £500. Same happened to me. Still mobile as used another car, and took me a couple of weeks to remove from spares car and fit to main car.  £500 saving to put towards for insurance etc.

 

[Cookiesouwest]

1 hour ago, blackbird said:

or 5 cars !

5 was the most I ever got too. 5 x insurance, tax, mot, repairs. It hurt but man maths always won

[Bren]

Having multiple cars is better for the planet.

Because they are parked up nobody else is using them - reduced greenhouse gases. You can't sit in two cart's with one arse.....

[Daviemck2006]

I usually have 3 cars. I have a 16 plate citroen c1 which is for work, and work only. I deliver pizzas and other hot food 3 evenings a week, clocking up anything between 50 to 100 miles a night, mostly urban stop start. It's a keeper, and on finance. I have a 12 plate seat leon 1.6tdi dsg gearbox. This was bought as a cat n repaired write off and is used when I cart the grand kids about or for general use. I justify it as I have mobility problems and at times my left leg does not work well so I need an auto. It also serves as the loan car if any of my families cars break. It's also a keeper. I can totally justify both these cars. However the third car I cannot justify, it's only for fun, making money (never usually works like that) or solely just because (insert any other reason here) they are never usually kept for more than 2 to 3 months. Just now it is a 1998 BMW 540i just because I wanted to try one. It shall be getting a fresh MOT in a few weeks then up for sale. What will replace it? No idea, it will depend on what I see for sale once it's gone. Could be a citroen 2cv, could be an mgf, could be a transit van, could be anything

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[Supernaut]

A BMW 540i for sale in Aberdeenshire, you say?

No, I mustn't.

[Daviemck2006]

A BMW 540i for sale in Aberdeenshire, you say?
No, I mustn't.

It will be in a few weeks

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[stripped fred]

What's the 540i like to drive? The cars I had had with larger engines, albeit not that big, haven't felt particularly fast, or not significantly faster.

[Daviemck2006]

The 540 is the biggest most powerful engine I have ever driven. From rest it seems put the foot down, the revs go up a bit with the torque converter slip but not much seems to happen, then it's like getting hit in the back with a cricket bat. Overtaking on kickdown is very rapid, your past the vehicle before you know it. Its handling ain't the best though, it's a big wallowing lump, with vague steering but comfy enough to travel in.

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[Broadsword]

Welcome! The Jag in particular looks lovely. I run a variant of the 2 car system. It involves 5 cars at the moment, but two are Jags.

[stripped fred]

A good summary there. My jaguar has a delay too, when setting off, so you have to push the accelerator half a second before you want to go.

The Jag is the most powerful car I have owned, 206bhp. It's also the heaviest though. This helps it to ride nicely and it handles bends quite well but you do sometimes notice the bulk.

The fastest cars I have owned are my 1987 MR2, lightweight, pokey and revvy 1.6 twin cam, it can still hold it's own.

Other car was an Alfa Romeo 156 2.4 jtd 20v sportswagen, to give it the full name. It was sold on here. It had a remap so was meant to be around 190 bhp and lots of torque. That could shift but still not as fast as a 540! I bet my Jag can nearly match it for torque though (off to Google it).

The fastest car I have been in ?, probably a Tesla to be honest but of the real cars, a 3 lap drive around a track in a Lamborghini Gallardo, although I wasn't able or competent enough to go that fast and with the instructor sitting next to me, or I was a passenger in a Noble, twin turbo thing. That felt quite quick!

[stripped fred]

BMW 540i  302bhp  390nm

Jag S type 2.7  204bhp 435nm

I think diesel torque is not as good as petrol torque though. It kicks in a bit too early...

 

[Daviemck2006]

I've previously had a pug 407 v6 hdi which is the same engine and gearbox as the jag, and it was chipped, but it suffered from terrible turbo lag, to get it's best had to use the gearbox and hold it in lower gears, whereas the 4.4 v8 in the bmw kicks down and takes off immediately. Much faster feeling than the v6hdi.

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[stripped fred]

1 hour ago, Daviemck2006 said:

I've previously had a pug 407 v6 hdi which is the same engine and gearbox as the jag, and it was chipped, but it suffered from terrible turbo lag, to get it's best had to use the gearbox and hold it in lower gears, whereas the 4.4 v8 in the bmw kicks down and takes off immediately. Much faster feeling than the v6hdi.

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I can believe it. They're in a different class really. The 4.0 s type models are closer I would think. Useful to know about chipping these engines. I'd like to but I also like the idea that's not messed with as it works fine. It would be good to try one before deciding and that's not likely to happen as not too many about now.

[Daviemck2006]

The remap on the 407 put it from 205 to approx 240, I dont know the torque figure. If I used the steptronic the mid range was more impressive, but left to it's own devices it still suffered turbo lag and was lazy. It improved the economy from just under 30mpg average to 37 average though, so it was worth it.

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[stripped fred]

That's a decent increase.