In Fop's endless fumbling around a new car*, we're now veering into the idea of having two cars, given I expect to be WFH more in the future so two cars should be helpful for dividing and conquering school runs and Mrs Fop's work.

So we're now considering a second-hand BMW i3, given 90% of our journeys are sub-100 miles. Also, it looks fucking cool. That or the Renault Zoe, which is much less cool, and much cheaper, but you need to lease the battery.

But now Boris has muttered something about £6k scrappage relief when you switch to a new electric. Which I don't think we'd do, because of the need for two cars, but I do wonder the impact it will have on used electric car prices.

*Say what you like about Hearthly, at least he knows how to shit or get off the pot.

I think the new Zoe comes with an owned battery option too, or they may have done away with battery lease altogether, one or the other.

You don't really have to worry that much about battery degradation anyway, though. Buy something with a good bit more range than you're everyday needs and it'll have more than enough range for a pretty long time.

I'd get the one without the range extender unless you plan on needing it. Anything less to go wrong on a 2nd hand Beemer is a major plus point.

Whereas I would only buy an i3 with an REX as that makes a big difference to which journeys are feasible or not.

Get two old Toyota Camrys.

Hearthly, noun.

An act which is simultaneously the most and least expected thing to happen.

Usage, To do a Hearthly.

It's down to several factors, and making the move to ditch the i30N has been building up in me since the Covid thing kicked off.

1) We've been talking for a little while about getting a family campervan to use for holidays once the DAYS OF PLAGUE have passed. (Jnr is super keen.) Those things are expensive, and I had £20K tied up in the i30N.

2) I've always liked having a nice car for when I had the daily commute, particularly over the derestricted mountain road, with the move to full time home working (or near enough), that's vanished.

3) I've also realised over the last few years that I've pretty much stopped driving for pleasure, back when I had the S4 (which was not that long ago, documented earlier in this thread), I'd quite routinely just jump in it and go for a drive of an evening, I've scarcely done that in the i30N at all, even before the world ended.

4) The enforcement of a 40mph speed limit since we went into lockdown has made me realise that (1) There's no real justification for barrelling along the mountain mile at 150mph+, and (2) That driving slowly can actually be quite pleasurable. The speed limit is increased to 60mph from Monday and goes back to derestricted (where applicable) at the end of the month, but I just couldn't see myself ever going back to how I used to drive before the whole Covid thing kicked off. I'm sure that the Camry will cruise quite happily at 60-70mph once the speed limits are increased, and I've come to think, 'Hey, that's fast enough', and whilst it isn't a quick car by any stretch of the imagination, it's got enough poke to overtake when required.

5) There's something quite relaxing about having a car that's pretty much worth fuck all and has no more depreciation to do. It was pretty galling having the i30N sat at the back of the house, damn near literally gathering dust, losing about £300-£400 per month in value. (TBH, thinking about it, far more like £400 per month (if not more), than £300.)

It was a bit of a wrench initially to see the i30N go, but in the days following I've become sure it was the right thing to do, it was only going to carry on depreciating like a bastard, during which time it'd (1) Hardly be getting any use and (2) I wouldn't be much minded to 'drive it properly' anyway.

Rewinding the clock, if I'd have known this Covid thing was coming over the horizon, I'd just have kept the Focus ST.

That all makes sense, TBF.

Also, I'd love love love a campervan, but they are crazy expensive. The new VW California's are beautiful things, but you're looking at the best part of £60-odd grand.

Even second hand, it's amazing how they retain their value, even after 50k+ miles.

That's the thing though I guess, you can have one and as long as you look after it then it won't rob you too much.

totally. Ownership of a campervan is a daydream that crops up on a monthly basis, I reckon.

That's the thing though I guess, you can have one and as long as you look after it then it won't rob you too much.

If you’ve never stayed in a campervan - they have this non-obvious disadvantage where every time you want to drive anywhere you have to pack everything away and pick up everything in your pitch. And you can’t (easily) use awnings to expand your space, either. And when you come back, you need to re-level them, hook up the grey water tank, etc etc. It’s a serious ballache.

There’s a reason you often see them driving around with pushbikes on the back. Or, in the US, a massive bus-sized ‘van with a car on tow.

(Source: used to own a caravan, researched campervans a lot before getting it.)

dust on my etnies

Yeah, they’re a sweet whip. https://www.reddit.com/r/Shitty_Car_Mod ... per_camry/

This evening I finally snapped and called in a breach of peace when someone was heel-and-fucking-toeing through the curves.

Did you have that saved, waiting for the right moment, or was it just a lucky spontaneous find?

I'm guessing it's some poncy Porsche with autoblip

Different type of guzzler - a Chinook just did a high speed low level pass right over our house. Few hundred feet max. Tail open. Coming straight out of the sun.

Wait, put those last two the other way round.

An A400M Atlas chugged lengthwise down the valley the other week too.

THAT we can live with. Exhilarating stuff.

The low flying jets tanking over the house so fast and low things vibrate and the chickens shit themselves not so much, but still better than dicks with shit mufflers.

Great witley is the nearest place on a map.

Also has more front of car.