Two Car Shuffle: To Daily An AE86 Or Not?

After reading Beau’s blog trying to rationalise us AE86 owners, it got me thinking: Firstly how much I agree with him (except the skinny arse part..) on the fact that each time I drive my AE86 I love every minute of it! I also hated every minute of it as well…. “Hated?” you say? Let me explain why.

For the last 5 and half years my AE86 has been a daily driver. Starting from a clean and straight (with the usual rust spots) stocker to now resemble the ongoing beast it is today. Since I fitted the high-comp smallport some two years ago, in the back of my mind I have always wanted to get a daily driver but it never eventuated. That is until recently.

Originally, I didn’t mind the idea of the AE86 as my singular form of transport, and had some intentions of it being a true daily driven hachiroku. But as I did more and more intensive work to it, it became apparent that I couldn’t drive it as the daily I envisioned any more: the original vision of my car had changed focus.

Don’t get me wrong, I still want it as a street car, not some track only trailer rider and that’s the main focus. But in an all familiar situation for a lot of us ’86 owners, my hachi has risen to such a level that I fear to drive every day surrounded by ‘Sydney’s finest’ examples of how not to operate motor vehicles. As stupid as this sounds, I can feel the car being damaged by the daily driving , rarely venturing passed 4000rpm when its built to go twice that and more! I also fear some idiot will come out of nowhere and take out poor Mazy (yes that’s right, Mazy: that’s her name) and write her off!

So about 6 weeks ago I actively started looking for another car. The past 6 months I had been just scanning Carsales and the Trading Post looking for something not really trying too hard. My fall back choice was a Corolla, but what I wanted had to be less than 2 liter in capacity, cheap, mechanically sound, cheap, no hidden problems to worry about, and if at all possible something fun, Also did I mention cheap?

I wish I could have found an AE82 twin-cam Corolla in good condition, but most were riced out or needed a helluva lot of work. There were a number of very late model Hyundai Excels for cheap, but for some reason I could bring myself to get one.

I was also looking at Nissan Micra’s. A mate at work had one and it was a ripper little car! I was smitten after I had to drive it back to the office one day.

So after looking at some nugget Micra’s I stumbled upon the one I eventually bought (I wish this was it..)

It filled all criteria but one: It wasn’t as cheap as I wanted… But what I did get for the price really was a bargain. It has got KYB shocks, King springs, big fat Whiteline swaybars, camber bolts (set at 2° deg neg. it’s what a man would do!), extractors, full exhaust system, cold air intake, upgraded brakes, aftermarket tacho… and all attached to a sub 800kg car that can lap Wakefield Park in 1:19!

Not bad for a massive 75kw 1.3ltr power house!  So what has this go to do with anything you ask?

Well the Micra is a true daily and a massive ball of fun to drive. Mazy is now no longer driven everyday, so now I can concentrate on her without having to rush improvements or do things half arsed. “Thats nice for you!” I hear you say, but it sounds like I’m joining the dark side! (Nissan nuggets, and no im not.) So here is a nice comparison of the pro’s and con’s of two-car ownership!

PRO’S OF TWO-CAR OWNER SHIP

1. Your AE86 or special car is no longer being used everyday and compounding wear and tear. You can now enjoy your AE86 or special car when you like without the daily peak hour traffic grind.

2. Your daily driver can be anything you want, and you don’t have to care to much about it. So if it gets car park dings and scratches its not going to matter.

3. Its always going to start and run, no matter where or what you’ve been doing. Those of you at the annual will remember the issues with starting my car after it was warm…

4. Its something else to play with. You can look for some cheap mods for this daily driver, get know new people if there is a forum based on your daily driver. This can also be a double edged sword.

5. Your parents can drive the daily car if they needed to. Instead of “That uncomfortable noisy machine you call a car! I was trapped in that race seat of yours for ages!” or similar..

6. Its cheap to run. Well can be.. Depends on what you buy.

7. You can park it anywhere with out fear or coming back and not finding it there.

8. You can still get around quickly and simply. Those of you who have spoken to me when I’ve had to get public transport will know I f@#&ing hate it!

9. It doesn’t have to cost the earth to buy.

10. Some of your left over parts can go into your daily. I know I will be fitting my el-cheapo fixed back to the Micra soon.

11. Your daily can double as a tow car, if you go for something big enough!

CON’S OF 2 CAR OWNERSHIP

1. Your initial financial outlay for the daily car could have gone the AE86 or special car for those parts you need to fix something. You also might be financially crippled for a week or until pay comes through.

2. Its something else to play with. Instead of buying parts or going to track/drift/skid days, you need to buy something for the daily. Double edged sword here

3. Two rego’s each year. Paying the state government two lots of money for the privilege of driving on its perfectly manicured roads (NSW especially).

4. Two lots of insurance. Although you may have to pay for 2 insurances, your daily driver need only be insured for third party property damage or fire and theft at minimum. Plus most insurers offer a discount if you insure more than one car.

5. Sometimes cheap is not always good. That really good bargain you think you got might have a hidden time bomb waiting for the right moment to leave you stranded.

6. Your daily could end up costing more than the AE86 or your special car to fix should something go wrong. Very typical of some Euro cars or less popular models. A forum could probably help here.

7. It may be difficult to locate parts or information on your chosen daily driver. Again there are internet forums on almost any make and model these days and are usually pretty good for finding info.

8. You have to allow for the running cost of the daily as well. While you might get only the best for the AE86 or special car, you need to factor that into your finances and running costs.

9. The dreaded two-car shuffle. There might not be enough room to park your daily car on your property or nearby. If you live in units or terraced housing this is especially true.

10. General wear and tear (oil, tyres, brake pads etc) is now doubled for the 2 cars. As a consolation you can use the cheaper stuff for your daily and save the good stuff for the AE86 or special car. Also as you don’t drive the  AE86 as much, everyday maintenance is not  needed as often.

In Conclusion….

So there you have it. In my opinion the good out-weighs the bad, it may not seem so at first but in the long run it will be much easier. As an example, I live on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and had to go to Penrith for work recently. If I didn’t have the Micra as my daily I would have been stranded on the side of the road a number of times, as the AE86 would have over-heated or stuttered or stumbled the whole way. The Micra on the other hand didn’t even skip a beat the whole way.

And the main thing is I have fun driving the Micra, and enjoy driving Mazy to her fullest when I can without worrying about getting taken out each time i drive her.

Awesome Heading Image: Mikee.B  (check out his Flickr!)