When I have ended up with three cars it was mainly because we needed three or then just didn’t sell one after the need. Sometimes it is handy but usually cars just sitting for years lose their reliability and take up space. Still hard to part with them sometimes. My last two finally brought me $50 and $100 but freed up garage space. If you can’t get them inside in the winter though it’s a hassle.
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The cost of insurance is one. Depending on where you live, finding parking might be another.
If had mechanical talent, I’d consider it, but like Bing, I find extra cars are time drains and require me to maintain them even though they get little use. Here in Mass., there is no practical way to insure a second or third car either. The low mileage discount is only about 5%, so you pay hundreds or thousands to have it driveable. Plus annual State inspections. I keep an older Highlander for my son to drive plus my daily, and I usually have a media vehicle. Add in my wife’s daily driver, and I’m at the shop a lot, and the annual inspections are a hassle. I kept a Miata for a long time. That was worth it. Unique experience. Once my son is ready to take away the Highlander or doesn’t need it, I’ll drop it or the other daily (Forester). One thing I did to reduce the hassles is to switch the two daily drivers to all-weather tires with the 3PMS snow symbol, and got rid of the dedicated winter tires we used to swap on and off. That helped. Cheers,
OK , I can see how just having a seldom used vehicle would be a pain for you . But in my case that extra vehicle is only 700.00 a year for full coverage insurance and registration .
Hmm. I find that odd at best, state sanctioned fleecing at the worst. My family currently only has 3 cars, but I can tell you that adding another car (which is different from adding another driver) might add $40-$50 to my monthly premium, which is currently $175. Of course only the 2018 has full coverage, the '06 and '01 have only basic. My insurance company knows I can only drive one car at a time, so additional cars are not much of an expense.
And true, I have never lived in a state with annual safety inspections, only emissions inspections every other year, so hadn’t thought about that. Perhaps some citizen’s group can start a movement to eliminate those in your locale.
Well, that’s a given when buying a house for me. 
We have bought 5 houses, and one deal-breaker for any house is that it have easy off-street parking for at least 4 cars (preferably 6), much like I wouldn’t buy a house with a well or septic system.
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Wow. Insurance on my third car was $100 every six months. My other cars are about $300. I’m staying where I’m at. I’d run the car about every month and change oil once a year. One year I had 7 miles on the car between oil changes.
Check with Hagerty to see if they consider it to be a collectible.
Here’s the basic Haggerty insurance requirements. The minimum $3500 value on 1980 and newer vehicles might prevent them from insuring the Aries.
Vehicles must meet the following requirements:
- An extra vehicle, not for primary use
- Vehicle must be in good or better condition
- Vehicle must hold a minimum value of $3,500
- Used for pleasure driving not regular commuting, ex. shows, scenic drives, occasional drives to work, etc.
- Protected, preferably in a garage, but carport and driveway allowed in many areas
I put the car on my standard insurance, which lets me drive it as much as I want. I got the special “historic vehicle” license plate, though. I have no idea when or if the market will consider this a “classic”. It is actually a very comfortable car with good performance, and distinctive styling. I don’t see them on the road very often anymore.
You can get the vintage plates in Minnesota but the use restrictions are severe. Can only use for specific car events, parades, etc. you can’t drive to the store or use it as a daily driver.
There is a reason for that . They were just appliance type vehicles . It is fine that you like it but just don’t expect a large group feeling the same way.
Heck , there is a family here in our town that has Ford Pinto that was purchased new that still looks great and all original . They take it to a couple of car shows but otherwise it stays in the garage.
In NJ, the owner of a vehicle that is at least 25 years old–and which is not modified from its original design-- can apply for QQ license plates. At that point, the vehicle is limited to no more than 3,000 miles per year, which must be verified at a state inspection station, even though the vehicle is not subjected to inspection. And, there is no fee for renewing this registration every 3 years.
The pics showing examples of which cars might qualify for QQ plates, and those which would not qualify, are interesting.
Maybe not, but I’ll bet you’ll have an easier time finding parts for an Aries than a Lanos.
BTW, if you ever have the head off this one and notice a small crack between the intake and exhaust valve seats, don’t worry. The engine will run perfectly fine that way!
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That beat-up van made me chuckle. It’s historical alright, historical junk.
We found something to agree on. On to self service gas pumps. But that is federalism so no prob.
We dont have self service gas pumps here in NJ.
Yeah, the NO-SELF-SERVE Pump is New Jersey State law. Just remember, your politicians passed that law because they “know” better than you and they need to protect you from yourselves…
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That’s true, but at almost every station, you can pump it yourself. People seem to think that there is some kind of gas pump police force waiting behind the nearest bush, ready to arrest violators. In reality, I have pumped my own gas in NJ for more than 50 years, and in addition to never having been questioned, detained, or arrested, most times the gas attendants thank me for doing it. However, I am apparently in the minority because several polls over the past decade have shown that the majority of NJ residents like having their gas pumped for them.
Actually, that regulation was promulgated by the gasoline retailers association, and the powers-that-be went along with their desires–many decades ago. The issue has arisen in the legislature many times since then, and the tirade of letters of outrage directed to state legislators has caused them to not abolish or amend that old regulation.
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Back in the late 1970s, I bought a one owner 1948 Dodge sedan with the intent on restoring the car. I liked the suicide doors. I had the car running really well, but it needed extensive body and interior work. I did enjoy driving the car and often drive it to the university where I worked. I also had a well worn raincoat which I wore. My colleagues accused me of being like Lt. Columbo. Unfortunately, we had a robbery at our house one evening when I was at a rehearsal. Mrs. Triedaq was home and didn’t hear the burglar. The only thing stolen was my raincoat. I did see an identical raincoat on the rack at our local mission, but before I could snatch it up, it went to an indigenous person. Later, I was driving the Dodge down the street and was offered more than I paid for the car, so I sold it.
I bought a brand new 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass salon with the 4-4-2 trim package. The engine was just the 260 V8 and the transmission was the TM 200 automatic. It wasn’t a super fast car and outside of the the trim package was not a collector car. I sold the car in 2011 after I retired. By that time it had 240,000nl miles on the odometer. I enjoyed driving the car, but it was time to move on.
My point is that if you enjoy driving an old car and can afford to have the vehicle, go ahead and enjoy it. A couple of years ago, I was offered a very fine professional quality French horn at a good price. The instrument I had was adequate and I don’t know at my age how long I will be able to play. I really liked the tone quality of the horn after trying it out in rehearsals. It was really great to play on the solo passages. I wasn’t going to buy the instrument, but my orchestra director said “Why not buy it? You can afford it and after all your hard work, you are entitled to it”. I bought the horn and have not regretted the purchase.
If a person enjoys driving and has the money, why not buy something you like?
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I must have had the same burglar. I lost two jackets. One I bought in high school and the other at an army surplus store in college. I used them in the garage but the disappeared. I investigated but the only witness was mum.
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