To be or not to be (Sensible that is..)

[RobinJI]

I've got a bit of a dilema about what I should do car wise. At the moment, I've got 3 cars, and I need to reduce that number to 2, as my dad wants to knock down the barn the 3rd one's been living in, and I haven't got any space elseware.

I've got my Passat, Scirocco and Mini. The Mini's not going anywhere, no question over that, so one of the others has to go unfortunately. The Passat's been my daily the last year, and the Scirocco's been sat in a barn with a snapped hand-brake and a seized engine, but was my daily for 2 years in the past.

Now as far as I can see, I've got 3 options:

1) Keep the Passat, Scrap/break or fix and sell the Scirocco, pocket the cash, this would leave me with ~£300/400, and a 1993 1.6td Passat Estate.

2) Sell the Passat, use the money to fix the Scirocco, Daily that instead. This would probably also leave me with ~£300 if I'm lucky and I don't get carried away when 'fixing' the Scirocco, and a 1988 Scirocco Scala with whatever engine I can get in budget.

3) Sell both, buy something completely different, so I'd end up with ~£1100/1400 to spend on something.


Now the sensible side of me says option 1 makes by far the most sense, or option 3 with the money spent on a newer diesel estate, however with my mini still a long way from completion, I'm getting an itch for something I can have a little fun in. I don't need an estate as such, they're just handy things to have, but I can make do with a 3 door hatch if it means some more fun. The Scirocco's got some sentimental value, as it's the first car I really kept for any length of time, and I've done a lot of road-trips and things in it, as well as the time and effort modifying it to my personal taste. It's practical enough, damn reliable, cheap enough to run and quirky enough that I really enjoy driving it, the only real downside being that it's broken, I'd have to borrow the money to fix it before selling the Passat, but that's not a huge deal.

Or there's that 3rd option, buying something else... but what? Do I stay with dailying a boring estate, or do I get something that's a bit of fun. It'd needs to be happy as a motorway cruiser/fast a-road car, I do very little city driving, so something that's a laugh to chuck around at 20mph, but wibblepoo at 70's no use really. (That said if it's fun to chuck around at 20 then that's still a big bonus as long as it's decent on the motorway)

So yeah, should I man up and fix the Scirocco, stop being silly and keep the Passat, or has anyone got any suggestions for cars I can get for sub ~£1200 that are fun, practical(ish), and wont cost me an arm and a leg to run? (Being old/interesting and preferably appreciating in value would be nice too )


The cars in question:

Passat (not my Mini BTW):



Scirocco:



Other?:




Thanks, Robin.

[xrmike]

Looking at the passat it'll go forever if you keep feeding it with TLC.

[Jizmondo Scrotmondo]

It's a very hard dilemma. If you loved the Scirocco and Passat that much, option 3 wouldn't be an option. If it was me, I'd sell the Passat, 'rocco and buy something new and different. You'll have to have a good look around. If I had £1200 now, I'd have a look at this -
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1977-TRIUMPH-DOLOMITE-1500-HL-RED-/110958054459?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item19d59d8c3b

[RobinJI]

As lovely as that triumph is, I meant to say that anything to replace both has to be an estate/hatch-back unless it's something very special! I just use the space too often.

I would be sad to see either of the Passat or Scirocco go, but I like to keep an open mind, it'd have to be something pretty special to get me to resort to that 3rd option!

[rude]

I notice you have a thing for German engineering! Vw = German and mini = German. Sell both Vw's and get a very useful BMW motorway bus. If its old enough, driving around town will be fun as at every red light, someone will ask you how much you want to sell it for.

[composimmonite]

What about transplanting the Passat diesel lump into the Scirroco :-)

I know how difficult it can be to sort out one car that does everything - that is why I've a 2 seater sports car, 4 door diesel familly car, mid sized van and a Smart for running around. Even then I miss not having a 4x4 and am considering selling the van and replacing with a P38 !

Paul H

[spandelly]

I don't think you should bother buying something else to be honest. You obviously like the passat and the scirocco and in there current condition not worth a massive amount so I would decide which one I couldn't do without and sell the other to fund the mini. You didnt say weather the mini is a road car or not if it is then keep the passat as your practical daily and get the mini on the road with the cash from the scirocco if its not then sort the scirocco or sell them both and buy a porsche 924 or a 944 for a laugh.

[RobinJI]

Thanks guys.

rude: My Mini's the british-layland variety being a 1978 Clubman Estate, although it's being completely re-engineered by me in England (admittedly with a German engine.) BMW would be nice, but they're not really exciting enough to justify the fuel economy IMO, not any in my price range anyway.

composimmonite: My Scirocco actually already has a 1.6td Passat engine in it! That's what's seized thanks to the engine I transplanted in being a duff example. I bought the Passat originally planning to run it for a while and then pinch the engine, but it turned out to be seriously good condition, and there's no point in scrapping such a good example. I'm not sure what engine I'd stick in the Scirocco to get it going again, most EFI petrol lumps would scrape 40mpg in there, or another diesel should get 55 all day long, but it'll probably come down to whatever I can get at the time for sensible money.

I know what you mean about one car to do it all. My ideal (acheivable) situation would be to have all 3 cars, all on the road, a diesel estate for the commute/towing/mountain-biking etc..., A smallish sports car for weekends out, getting around and general fooling about, and the Mini for track fun, with the Estate eventually being replaced with a van for work/camping. The trouble is, it's going to be a while until I've got the cash to do that, so I'm trying to work out what I want to put up with in the mean time.

Do I be all sensible and put up with a slow and slightly dull, but oh so practical/cheep to run diesel estate (the Passat), do change it for a sporty but still just about practical enough car for some fun, and put up with calling in the odd favor if I need to tow/move big things (the Scirocco), or do I get shot of both and get something all together different?


Edit:

Spandelly: The mini will be road legal, but not really a road car. It's a long way off finished, and needs a lot more than the money the Scirocco would sell for. That's very much what I've been trying to do so far though, I was just kind of hoping I could keep the Scirocco in a corner until I had time to get it sorted, now I have to choose one or the other, I'm really not sure, as I do like the Scirocco, and could put up with it being less practical.

[joeyman96]

why not a solution 4? put the scirocco in a council garage n use the passat?

[Jizmondo Scrotmondo]

There's always - www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1990-VOLVO-240-GL-SILVER-/290780588902?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item43b3dfab66

I will own a Volvo 240 saloon or estate at some point. You'll be safe in a nuclear apocolypse, which is always useful

[composimmonite]

Oct 2, 2012 20:47:16 GMT Jizmondo Scrotmondo said:

There's always - www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1990-VOLVO-240-GL-SILVER-/290780588902?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item43b3dfab66

I will own a Volvo 240 saloon or estate at some point. You'll be safe in a nuclear apocolypse, which is always useful

E reg 240GL 2.0 I converted to LPG was the best car I ever owned. Shame bonnet came up at speed smashing the windscreen and roof so it wasn't worth repairing (replaced with G reg Volvo 740 SE 2.0 but not a patch on the 240).

Paul H

[jrevillug]

TBH, in your situation I'd seriously suggest keeping the Passat. Yes, it's boring, but at the moment with so much going on in terms of work, it really is the ideal car for you: it can tow small stuff, it's economical, it's in good nick, and has proven itself to be reliable.

Buying any other car is always going to be a risk when it comes to condition and reliability, and few other cars - at any money - will combine the practicality of the Passat and the fun of the Scirocco. As a result, I think in this case I'd have to side with the practicality.

That said, I know how hard it would be for you to let go of the Scirocco. As suggested, maybe see if you can find a cheap storage space for it somewhere else, and look to get it on the road with something like a 2.0 EFI lump at a later date.

[waveman1500]

I don't see how the Scirocco would be all that much more fun than the Passat. If they're both going to be equipped with the same 1.6td engine, the Scirocco isn't really going to be blazingly fast. You're really only getting the benefit of the coupe styling, and a small weight saving, at the cost of two doors and half the boot.

I'm a strong believer in the coolness of wagons, so I would go for the Passat all the way. And personally, the Scirocco styling does nothing for me at all.

[mikeymk]

The Scirocco is the weight of a Lupo, the Passat is a huge barge, i don't think they're comparable. Except for practicality, and then you're loosing some boot space and a pair of doors and.. that's about it? It'll tow well enough, GM parts mean you're spoilt for choice on braking ability on the front, VW cater for the rear.
If the Scirocco was practical enough, then it's superb handling/feel means it'd be a no-brainer, i can't see how you can class it as a consideration with regard to how they drive - sure a diesel will dull it down a bit but it'll still be great to drive compared to a Passat.

If you can't decide between those two, and you're considering something else, then i think you need to first think about what you want from your main car.

[stuartp]

i was all set to say ditch the passat and fix the scirroco but then i saw the pic and it actually looks very cool so i say keep hold of the practical estate, pass the broken car onto someone else and get some stuff done on the mini.

Having said that, I did the exact opposite of my advice not 6 months ago and sold on my practical, reliable sierra estate (in order to get a rusty mk2 escort, which has now gone and been replaced by a kit car jeep type thing)

i do miss the estate

[hairnet]

1 all day

[EmDee]

+1 for 1

1 = won

[jonw]

Either 1 or 3.

If 3 get a bigger or better (if you can get better than the current passat) german barge.

[waveman1500]

Oct 3, 2012 10:10:19 GMT mikeymk said:

The Scirocco is the weight of a Lupo, the Passat is a huge barge, I don't think they're comparable.

I don't know about that, older cars of that generation are often lighter than you think. I looked it up:

1988 Scirocco 1.6GTL= 875kg
1993 Passat 1.9TD Variant = 1265kg

Okay, so admittedly the Passat is about 50% heavier than the Scirocco. It's still lighter than the new Scirocco though! I honestly would have thought that a Scirocco would weigh a lot more than 900kg.

[Clement]

I'd go for option no2. You need a fun car to get you going on your Mini project!