Insurance. Daily Driver vs. 2nd Car?

[nedmundo]

Originally Posted by Sevs753

Some of us (like me), live in snowy places so a sporty RWD car isn't the best option. Plus, I am going to want to keep the salt from the roads off the BRZ.

Yep, and others of us have long commutes on rough, noisy concrete highways, which could get tiresome in one of the twins. In fact, that's largely why I opted for a TSX over the Mazdaspeed 3 for my DD a few years ago.

So, if I get one of the twins, it will have to be a second car stored in a commercial garage. (Actually a third car if you count our "family beater" Mazda 5, which is mostly my wife's.) That will be expensive and sort of a hassle, but I loved the FR-S so much that I think it would be worth it. It's a heck of a lot easier to justify when the car itself is so reasonably priced.

[Miniata]

I've had multiple cars for most of the last 20+ years. I have cheap insurance (discounts for multiple cars and lower rates since I put fewer miles on each) plenty of garage space, and it is very nice to have a winter beater to keep the salt and grime off my nice cars.

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Working in insurance myself, most clients will usually not have to pay much more to insure two vehicles (where one is newer and the other is older with liability only) rather than just paying coverage on one vehicle only. Like someone else said, it's not bad to just keep it around as a back-up car, especially if keeping it doesn't really cost you much more beyond the tiny bit extra you spend on insurance and registration (which at this point on a 1999 Honda likely isn't much).

Being licensed in North Carolina, most insurance companies that I've used there to quote don't ask specific mileage, though they'll usually give you one of several options (i.e. pleaseure, commute less than 10 miles, commute 10 miles or more, business, artisan), though again you can clearly pick one as a pleasure vehicle.

One of my closest buddies has driven a 1997 Camry since I knew him from the college days, though sometime in 2010 he decided to buy a 3-Series convertible. We tested a few options out, and the rate to insure both vehicles was hardly different than if he insured only the BMW, so there was no drawback to it. Most people will experience something similar, unless you have a blemished driving history and/or are insuring BOTH vehicles with comprehensive/collision (unless one is just a really old car that you insist needs physical damage coverage).

As a side note, with you being in NC, definitely don't go just for the minimum requirements (30/60/25). Try to get the next step up (50/100/25 or better), since you can get UIMBI coverage (which is not available when you have only 30/60, which only allows you to get UMBI) in addition to UMBI. The difference in cost will likely be negligible but will be a good thing to have.

[Jaylyons1]

I purchased the BRZ due to the fact that it could be a daily driver. I wanted something fun that was still fuel efficient, affordable and could still have a bit of fun in. If it wasn't for gas, I would have kept my E90 M3 as it was about the same to insure.

[WRXGuy1]

Originally Posted by ngabdala

I live in New England. We get blizzards up here. BRZ = my DD. Can't wait for a snowstorm. I'm not making car payments to park this baby in a garage.

Yup, speaking of that there's talk about a nor'easter coming our way early next week

[immortal_suby]

I kept my 300k svx on the road and insured. For a 1992 SVX, the BRZ, and a 2012 Outback I'm paying just over 1k for the year on travelers.

Hey - it might snow here this year! I am not driving the BRZ in that shite again.

[ngabdala]

JOYYY!!

Originally Posted by WRXGuy1

Yup, speaking of that there's talk about a nor'easter coming our way early next week

[ericvanderwoodsen]

I might be in the sweet spot living in Dallas Tx, driving conditions here dont vary too much so I see myself only needing one DD. But living in the city SUCKS when spending hours in traffic. So im really considering getting a small bike like the ninja 300 (never to be modded) to become my DD, since my brz in traffic is just a sad thing! Hate to leave my car sitting at home all day until I get home, but when night comes it'll wake up.

[jmaryt]

Originally Posted by AlexTheGreek

So I currently drive a Honda Civic 99 Hatch and I will be receiving my BRZ in January.

Do I keep my sh*tbox as a daily driver or sell it for a couple of grand and just do the BRZ as a daily driver?

In total, it's more expensive to have both cars insured by about 20-30$/month than just the BRZ as a daily from the quotes I've gathered. Is this accurate based on your experiences? What should I do? I've never owned more than one car in the USA or more specifically North Carolina.

do the brz as the daily driver! once you drive it on a daily basis
you won't want to get back in the civic anyway,and it's got to be cheaper to insure the one car!

[jmaryt]

Originally Posted by AlexTheGreek

So I currently drive a Honda Civic 99 Hatch and I will be receiving my BRZ in January.

Do I keep my sh*tbox as a daily driver or sell it for a couple of grand and just do the BRZ as a daily driver?

In total, it's more expensive to have both cars insured by about 20-30$/month than just the BRZ as a daily from the quotes I've gathered. Is this accurate based on your experiences? What should I do? I've never owned more than one car in the USA or more specifically North Carolina.

Originally Posted by WRXGuy1

Yup, speaking of that there's talk about a nor'easter coming our way early next week

right now,it's a toss up! computers have a brain freeze! they'll know better come sunday!

[Sportsguy83]

While I agree to an extent that the car is meant to be driven and even more so when you are making payments on it, my work commute is 25 miles each way and in 4 month the BRZ had 6K miles and the only thing I had done with it was come to work. On top of that, in my commute the last ten miles is something similar to a swamp so it is mosquito infested and just one day of coming to work the bumper has a good amount of mosquitoes corpse's damaging the paint while the car sits in the sun in a corrosive environment close to the beach. So when I put everything on the table including maintenance cost, gas cost, time cleaning the car and the added bonus of having a car you can take anywhere and not care at all where it is parked, I bought a 2000 Camry and like it.

Now I drive the BRZ more spirited everytime I get to use it (1-3 times a week). Since getting it a month and a half ago, I've put 2700 miles on the Camry while doing 600 on the BRZ. In my situation its a good trade off.

[comic0guy]

Just depends on your finances and what you want out of the car. I drive into the city and driving my beat-up celica is so much easier. I never think twice when parking it. As well with my second car, an evo, I can spend money to modify it and feel like tires and mods will last longer and not wear out quickly from my commute. I do like having two cars though, gives me options in different situations. But the overall cost is higher.

[#87]

I gave my last car to my sister and I change her oil in exchange for taking the car on snowy days. Best of both worlds ^_^

[BRZfan]

Originally Posted by comic0guy

Just depends on your finances and what you want out of the car. I drive into the city and driving my beat-up celica is so much easier. I never think twice when parking it. As well with my second car, an evo, I can spend money to modify it and feel like tires and mods will last longer and not wear out quickly from my commute. I do like having two cars though, gives me options in different situations. But the overall cost is higher.

Same here: Use the 2011 Mazda CX-7 (a crossover) for daily driving and hauling stuff from the big box hardware stores. Also for long distance vacations depending upon how much 'stuff' we have to take with us. (Don't forget the dog). So 'Daily Driver' is not an issue for the BRZ (FORGET the dog) although I realize not everybody has 1+ or two+ cars in the family.