Inspired by Bollox

[Espacetic]

In light of the recent problems suffered by Mr Bickle and looking at Mr Bollox's post about the Marina LE in the ebay tat thread, when do you think we hit one car too many?I used to be an avid tat collector too, sometimes having over 30 sat in storage. But why? There's only so many hours in a day, so much we can do. I know a lot of us who have the ability to work on our own cars see something and want to save it, but in most cases we only put it in storage thinking we will "get around to it one day" and often seldom ever do. Often when something pops up free or mega cheap, tat collectors will normally be the first to jump on it and add it to their collection, when usually someone else would not only love the car, but stand more chance of restoring it before the next millenium.Where do we draw the line and give others a chance?

[whitevanman]

I think that every individual will be different I've got about 6 of my own on the go and a couple that belong to someone else....I yearn for more tat, but I am refusing to until I get at least a couple built and going

[RedSparrow]

Yeah its kind of up to individual circumstances.I am at my limit, but would love to have the time/money to start a whole museum of motoring mediocrity.

[dollywobbler]

You do have to wonder sometimes. I mean, the same people who are up in arms about the wrongs of banger racing can sometimes be folk who stash cars away in leaky barns until they're utterly ruined. Which fate is worse?

[VWPowered]

i had 13 cars at one point now down to 2 passats, polo and the ol' LT Truck awaiting my special car, still unknown at this point..

[Lankytim]

I think tat buying is 50% of the fun of old cars. Ive recently bought cars and sold them on within a week as I have nowhere to keep them!

[Espacetic]

I think tat buying is 50% of the fun of old cars. Ive recently bought cars and sold them on within a week as I have nowhere to keep them!

Thats fine and as you say, fun. Theres been many times I've found something and passed it on to someone else so they can have the pleasure of it. But whats the point buying another to hoard when you have stuff sat around you haven't touched for 10 years?

[Cavcraft]

Same thing happening to me right now. I suppose it's the lure of something different, that chance to own something you've not had before/owned in years.Merc sat in garage over a year, now needs fuel pump and I just never get round to doing anything with it. Tried flogging it, no-one's interested so it just sits there out of the way and forgotten about.Definate fleet reduction coming though.

[j-j]

Yea, me too - I'm currently at my tat limit of one car on the road and one in bits in a garage. I live in fear of having too many old piles of shite and not one of them getting finished - finishing a resto is such a buzz (tho even my few 'finished' ones always need a little something more in short time ) but I think it would be a distant dream with too many projects.Having said that, personal circs, too true. If I had a nice rural small holding with a big barn or at least a good bit of land I'd probably fill it with all manner of obscenities (preferably in full view of the local vicarage)all wrong 70s colours and stuff.

[garbaldy]

Yup you have a good point, i had 16 vehicles before christmass all but 3 where undercover and i have thined that out quite nicely now.the crunch for me was when the farmers roof fell in due to the weight off the snow, this could have been a disaster iff it hadnt have been my scrappers that got the hammer, another problem is that all off the cars needed jobs doing to them and you cant spend all your money doing the odd jobs at once.from now on im keeping my fleet allot slimmer

[Rusty Pelican]

Ive been up to 6 which is my absolute limit space wise , only two under cover though , Ive found if ive too many im spreading myself too thin , too much to do , not enough time , in the end I do half a job to half the cars and forget what needs doing on what , Two for me is ideal as i can keep up with this , Threes ok ish , above that I loose track ,I tend to only buy stuff for spares only now , in / chop up / out , Very satifying robbing rotton bits of tat for much usefull bits.

[Mr Lobster]

I got upto about six at one point - only one of which was fault free and reliable - two others worked ok and the others were projects. It all got too much given my lack of time / money.Thing is, as enthusiasts if we are offered something nice / rare / cheap its hard to say no and before you know it you've got more on your plate than you can deal with.

[messerschmitt owner]

I got to 25 bubble cars, a Jag S, Armstrong Siddeley Whitley, Allard Palm Beach, umpteen scooters, two Bedford CAs, a few NSU 1000s/1200s, trailer and spares - lost storage, sold lots, now am having a new thin out.

[pogweasel]

Too much of a good* thing can be detrimental. Been there, done that, though never at Bo11ox/Bickle/Wuvvum/Ratdat proportions. I think the most was when I had 5 roadworthy cars plus two in the barns and three rusting in the field, you'd just spend all your time 'firefighting' and not actually getting anything really useful done. TBH, these days I find any number greater than 1 a struggle, hence why the nice cars have not really been touched for months, and I just bimble about in my shitty little van that asks for nothing but diesel & screenwash. Working 8 days a week doesn't help, hopefully things will stop being so cut-throat soon so I can push the prices up, get some more help and relax a bit.

[CortinaDave]

I got up to 8 at one point and it started to cause serious problems. I only have driveway space for 2 cars so i had shite stashed at my folks, in a mates garden, in a lockup etc etc, trying to juggle keeping storage and getting MOTs and tax etc for those that were on the road was starting to make me realise I was over my head. I'm down to 3 now and actually happier with that - When the CHPD strikes its all too easy to find your shite taking over your life!

[nigel bickle]

Interesting. I cant talk about ''those'' cars now --''subjudice''However- mine are part of my Pension Plan -& viewed(reasonably) dispassionately.Bought when their values are low, evaluated to see' if I like them/have made a 'good decision', they are eventually mothballed & racked up in barns longterm, paid for by those I elect to sell on..I was thought totally mad when I bought a DB4 for £3k, a S1 Etype for £3k, a ShelbyMustang for £750 to mention just a few.Some of you clearly lusted after my unearthed tat- so a few of the buying decisions were right, some wrong. Time wittles them down, to a hard core of ''earners''- that I'll realise when I need to fund a pension.Interestingly-I do something similar with Property -no one considers that daft -although the initial risk is substantially higher, taxation & occupancyrates worse!But as 'tat on the drive'? I'd say 6 maximum-I just extract the urine!

[seth]

For driving old cars daily it is admittedly useful to have a spare that's also roadworthy. So when both myself and Mrs Seth were commuting in our cars it took a bit of the stress out of the occasion if there was a third usable car floating around too in case one of the others needed anything that would take more than an evening/weekend. Now its only her commuting having two useable cars is sufficient. But then there have been many times when we've been down to only one car that has needed to work, the last six weeks or so since selling the MGB for instance. I think the Herald was an only - working - car for a year or so in the past.

 

I also know I can only work on one at a time and I need to finish the Oxford before I can start another project. Interim work on the Hillman and engine swapping the Herald has delayed that further. But then when the Borgward became available it was a case of knowing another one that was afordable was never likely to appear so for the first time I bought a car knowing I couldn't do anything to it for yonks. At least its in a safe and dry place.

[Station]

I keep one runner and two other's that don't run, one of which is a runner, but no mot or tax and needs work, and the other a severe "non-runner". I have room for one more, but that's the absolute maximum.

[gearoil]

We all share a similar predicament.One Sierra on sorn, still as unstarted as it was this time last year.One stripped and in boxes - no shell.One Sierra rolling shell - gathering dust.One Alfa 155 in boxes - seem to have been landed with that.One Alfa 155 parked at a friends mothers house. One money / time pit autograss racer at a mates workshop. I don't use the Alfa, as I have a van for work. I'm loathe to get rid of the first Sierra as I've had it so long, should really move on the rolling shell for space purposes, but a niggling part of me says keep it 'just incase...' FFS!!!Having just one car is starting to appeal.

[Mash]

I'm on 6 at present and all but 2 need work of some description. 3 of them fairly major engine surgery, 1 needs (cosmetic) body repairs and a respray.I often think that I should thin out my collection to just say 3 cars and spend the money and time in getting them spot on. I will get back down to 5 this year which is my self-imposed limit but all of those will have a particular reason for being in my collection.If I was desperate and had to raise cash or needed the space I would keep the Triumph, the Datsun 1000 and a daily driver, but I'd soon be hankering after something else

[AnthonyG]

I think I had 6 at one point, most recently the highest number was 4.I now take the view that if you can't drive it on the road, or work on it as a regular project/hobby, there's not much point having it. In most parts of the UK, leaving it outside for months on end will just kill a car anyway, older ones through rust, and modern ones from damp just getting in and killing all the electrics and various 'black boxes' so it never moves under its own steam again.