Its a dilemma I've had for the past five years - I do 80 miles a day to and from work, plus some lengthy business trips - as much as 600 miles in one go
I've repeatedly considered buying a diseasel hack for the daily slog, but the numbers just don't add up - consider this:
30,000 miles a year (600pw) in the Coupe - approx costs:
1,000 gallons fuel = £4,500 (based on a nice easy guesstimate of 30mpg)
three services = £750
three pairs of tyres (two front, one rear) = £500
Brakes - one set of discs, two sets of pads = £300
Oil (depends if you use any during normal driving) - let's say you're at the upper limit - 30 litres = £250
I'm not including tax and insurance, as you'd still have to pay these even if you used a diesel hack
Total Coupe cost = £6,300
Right - costs for a diseasel for 25,000 miles a year
500 gallons fuel = £2,250 (based on a nice easy guesstimate of 50mpg)
three services = £750
two pairs of tyres (one front, one rear) = £300
Brakes - one set of pads = £50
Oil (depends if you use any during normal driving) - let's say you're at the lower end of the scale - 10 litres = £50
Tax = £200
Insurance (TPFT) = £400 (wild guess, but based on no NCB, as it will all be on the Coupe)
PLUS 5,000 miles of Coupe usage (guessed at 1/6 of the figure above and rounded to £1,000 for convenience)
So, total bill for a diseasel hack and the Coupe = £5,000
And this doesn't even include the purchase price of the hack - if you spend £2,000, it will be almost two years before you start to save any money.
So - a saving of around a grand a year, but you will have to put up with everyone pointing at you and thinking you can't afford a proper car. You will also have to put up with being bored rigid every time you go out for a drive.
Think about it - you're trundling along in the outside lane of the M6, surrounded by rep-mobiles, when suddenly the traffic clears, leaving an empty stretch of road ahead. However, the semi-sporty hatch/saloon that's been up your ar$e for the past ten miles is clearly quicker, so you have to meekly pull over and let it past. With the Coupe, you could have dropped to the magic third gear and waved goodbye.
Take it from me, its just not worth the pain of having two cars - the Coupe will happily handle big miles, especially if its not tuned to the max, like mine.
Just turn the boost down and take pleasure in the fact that you're not blending into obscurity in a boring eurobox.
lecture over