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  #1  
Old 11-19-2011, 07:30 PM
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What would you do.

Like the title says, what would you do? I am in the unique situation of having a choice (or as my wife would say, too many) cars to drive right now. First off, none of them are for sale, so that is not an option.

Right now I have my choice of the 83 300D, the 2002 TDI, or the Volvo 850 to drive (the boy is away overseas for 6 months or so) What I have been doing is drive one for one week, the another, and then the other. This is to keep them "fresh" so to speak. The wife says drive a different one each time, and that would eliminate them sitting for two weeks between their turn to be used. My neighbor says store two and just drive one regularly.

I work nights and drive 40 miles each way on fairly isolated roads. Maintenance on all the cars are up to date and no impending issues that I'm aware of. They all have basic liability so insurance is not that big an issue, and outside of a lot of rain and some wind, our Pacific Northwest winters are not extremely cold (usually in the low 40's during the day and low 30's at night, no snow or ice unless we get an unusually strong cold front/storm).

The 300D has the best headlights by far (Love those euro Hellas with H4 bulbs) and feels the most solid. The TDI gets the best fuel mileage by far, and sportiest ride. and the 850 has the best heater and tires (plus powerful heated seats).

So. if you were in this situation, what would you do?

Glenn

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2012 Mercedes ML350 Bluetec 91K (hers)
2005 Corvette 55K (fun car)
2002 VW Jetta TDI 231K (mine)
1998 Volvo S70 T5 Turbo 196K (kids)
1994 Ford F150 4WD 249K (firewood hauler)
1983 Mercedes 300D 376K (diesel commuter)
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  #2  
Old 11-19-2011, 07:44 PM
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I'm of a mind that if you like a particular car, drive it! if you have several to choose from, have purposes for the drives you need to make. on long drives, take the most comfortable car. on repetitive drives, take the most economical, and when it's cold, drive the heated seat car!
storage of the old diesel is an ok plan, as they handle storage well, just put some fuel treatment in the tank, and fill it up. change the oil when the car is hot, and don't start it after the oil has been pressurized, until you are ready to drive it daily.
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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!
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  #3  
Old 11-19-2011, 08:32 PM
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Location: Carson City, NV
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If you don't have a clear preference, just drive one on Day 1, the second car on Day 2, and the third car on Day 3. Wash, rinse, repeat.

If you do have a clear preference, drive the one you like more often, but make sure the others each get run once every week or two.

Or, the way I'm currently doing it: Long trips I take the 300D, unless there's a strong possibility of snow/salt. Short trips and snowy/salty days I take the beater. The bike in my sig is out of action due to being totaled by a truck last Monday. I just haven't exchanged the title for the check from my insurance company yet. I'll be adding a different bike into the mix some time in spring.

Reasoning: The diesel gets 30 mpg highway. The beater gets more like 15. The diesel is comfortable and enjoyable at highway speed, while the beater is geared for acceleration and is missing a hood pad and sounds like arse at highway speed. Short trips and salt are tough on cars, so I hand the abuse to the car I care less about. Weather permitting, a bike is also a good high-mileage alternative for medium to long trips.
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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
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  #4  
Old 11-19-2011, 08:56 PM
vstech's Avatar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skippy View Post
The bike in my sig is out of action due to being totaled by a truck last Monday. I just haven't exchanged the title for the check from my insurance company yet. I'll be adding a different bike into the mix some time in spring.
ok, I know it's off topic, but you just do NOT post this kind of thing without details!
WTH happened? were you ON The bike when the truck destroyed it?
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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!
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  #5  
Old 11-19-2011, 09:18 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Carson City, NV
Posts: 3,850
I have a thread about it in OD. Short version: Parked outside Trader Joe's to do some shopping. Older guy in Toyota Tacoma fails to see bike. Tacoma 1, bike 0. I came out and older guy and his wife were waiting to exchange insurance information. Actually only four parts were really messed up, but it was enough to hit the magic number and total it out.
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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
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  #6  
Old 11-19-2011, 09:21 PM
vstech's Avatar
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Mount Holly, NC
Posts: 26,835
ahh... cool, thanks
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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!
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  #7  
Old 11-19-2011, 11:33 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 7,229
I have a similar situation. I have at least 3 cars to choose from at any given time. I use the E300 for commuting (best MPG, safest, has a working radio!),and the '82 300CD or the '83 AMC Eagle for evenings and weekends (sometimes even the E300). If I need a truck, the Mitsu' gets used. If I need to haul a car, the '83 GMC van gets used. They all have their own specific uses, but I try to use them all (with the van being the only exception) at least once a week.

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