Should I(t) stay or should I(t) go. (In the words of The Clash)

I have a dilemma. I have a 54 plate 260 which I bought for £18,000 in June 2005. It's the most I have ever paid for a car and probably ever will again. I had an LPG conversion fitted in April 2006 and intended to keep this car for many years and not waste any more money on changing cars every year or so like I had done in the past.
It has also been the most disappointing car I have owned. In the first week the fuel filter came apart, then it went back for SRS faults, gearbox oil seal, fuel pump fuse kept blowing, the tyres wear out in 5000 miles, it only does 15 mpg (Thank god for the lpg), most recently I was off the road for 11 days trying to source a starter motor (luckily "scooter" came to the rescue).
I still love the car but have started asking myself whether I can live with such an exclusive car on a daily basis. I know a lot of you have 260's as weekend or hobby cars but I run mine as my daily transport and being an HGV lorry driver have to leave home at 4 or 5 in the morning when there is no alternative transport if my car won't start or get me to work.
My dilemma is this: Do I get rid of the 260 whilst I can still get between 3 and 5 grand for it as a trade in or do I run it until I can't get a part for it and then scrap it?

It would be a shame to let it go! I had to let a MG ZT go about 3 years ago when my business partner screwed me over - and i missed it dearly and still do as it was my first new car - and it wasn't even a V8!. The other problem is you'd be selling it at the worse ever time, the market is so depressed! And if like me you notice a big hole when its gone, you will probably be buying one again at the worse time... when the prices go back up - which they eventually will (hopefully).

You could just do what i did - i brought a rover 75 with 80,000 on it for £1500 (about 8 months ago) and use it as your daily driver (or some other car of your choice). The car hasn't missed a beat, it looks good, drives like its only done 20,000 and makes the 260 feel so special every i drive it.

Driving a car daily does make you lose your passion for it over time, especially when they need constant attention as the 260 sometimes does.

I would try and keep it for a while longer Ian. All cars go through patches like this and I would not be bothered by worries about parts as they are around. Perhaps you can keep replacements under your bed like the rest of us. ;)

Perhaps other daily drivers can comment as mine is a fair weather car.

Mine is a daily driver of the worst possible sort - quite often less than 10 miles a day. So, I should get hacked off with the fact that the screen takes an age to clear and I still haven't sorted the issue with only one side getting heat. However, I can't think what I'd swap it for. Granted, I've had it less than a year, but I still think I'll keep it long term.

I guess that if I had the space I might buy a runabout for the short trips, but I'd probably still end up using the 260 most of the time, so the runabout idea seems a waste of the money I can spend on keeping the 260 going.

I should make a note to re-read this thread in a year or so... :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by baldybloke

Mine is a daily driver of the worst possible sort - quite often less than 10 miles a day. So, I should get hacked off with the fact that the screen takes an age to clear and I still haven't sorted the issue with only one side getting heat. However, I can't think what I'd swap it for. Granted, I've had it less than a year, but I still think I'll keep it long term.

I guess that if I had the space I might buy a runabout for the short trips, but I'd probably still end up using the 260 most of the time, so the runabout idea seems a waste of the money I can spend on keeping the 260 going.

I should make a note to re-read this thread in a year or so... :)

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A Monaro?:D

Mine is a daily driver, not every day as i work shift but is my only form of transport other than my bicycle, your tyre wear is either your driving style or they need adjusting as even on a pair of continentals i get good mileage. your other problems are unfortunate and happen with cars, i had a brand new car which broke down 2 weeks after buying it and had to wait 2 weeks for its repair, being so young i couldn't get a hire car and had to use the bus.

Ian,

Mine isn't a daily drive but nevertheless a few comments:

You're quoting 15mpg without the LPG- I think there's a problem because I've not heard anyone else quote so low a figure

You've had the car three and a half years so hopefully most of the problems are behind you.

The next two or three years are when your financial strategy starts to pay off and you end up spending a lot less on cars than regular changes would have cost you.

The whole75/ZT range is fond of tyres but for our car, the alignment seems to be soooo critical. I took Peter's advice and had a check at SMC (for approx half the cost of a single new tyre) and I can detect only minimum wear after 2500 miles on Toyo PX 4's.

If you're really thinking of as low as 3k to trade in then:
1: You'd probably be able to dismantle it and make more
2: I might buy it, can I have some more details please:)?


and..............

You'd miss it!

Guy here had a new alfa 156. needed a new engine the first month and a new gearbox the 2nd. :)

Oh and I get about 16mpg :)

I'm obviously not driving fast enough - must do better!