after much consideration i am still no closer to a decision, have just got a new job in oxford (about 40 miles from me) so driving my much loved coupe 400 miles a week without site visits or weekend trips so could well be around 600 miles a week. i just dont think she will take it
just cant decide whether to keep her or let her go and get something like the new golf gti!
i know all you coopsters will say keep it just dont know i can live with the worry of it all,

any comments much appreciated

if it was me, i would just get a junky 306D and run that in to the ground, 1 a year should be doing the world a faver and be cost effective

keep the coupe for weekends

Agree with Sam

its a fair comment, dont really fancy driving around in a sh*t box 5 days a week and dont have the space for 2 cars, its got to be 1 or the other

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

nigel, words of absolute inspiration
makes want to keep the coop and i do agree with everything you said
i would only ever change the coop for something i consider special and i dont really fancy spending 30k on a new car

could do with putting a good 5k into the coop and make her happy, i think she deserves it!

Well....

Ah hell what Nigel said.

Gholloway - Nigel, 200k+ miles, daily driver, modded like mad. Me, 150k miles, daily driver, bog standard. I think that covers both ends of the spectrum? In real terms, neither of our cars owes Nigel or me anything; the only running costs are perhaps slightly higher petrol and insurance than a eurobox.

By a rotbox and you have no idea what you'll be spending - tyres, service, cam belts, clutch - these get worn on *any* car.

Stick with the coupe, if you like it.