Look a Pat Wagon

I don’t drive, but the family car gets used a bit more than I’d like. My wife says she needs to because she often has to zig zag across the town for kids/work stuff; I say she does that *because* she has the car.

It’s definitely a to to be used and abused though. It’s a 55 Verso with 116k on the clock that we bought for £2k a couple of years ago, and is often filled with dogs, chickens, straw, kids’ bikes; it’s almost never washed and is covered in scrapes and dents, inside and out.

Noticed a rubber bumper Midget for sale Thursday so might go and have a look. Used to restore MG’s and Triumphs.

I have been known to deliver letters in it Drac, I haven’t got a cat though, they play havoc with my lass’ asthma 😀

What does ‘really uses their car’ mean? I’ve put 231k miles on my car since I bought it in 2006. So it has been really used, but most of that hasn’t been driving through muddy fields of pointing sideways around alpine passes.
It does fully loaded up camping trips, weekends away with bikes in the back, trips to the dump, trips to the DIY shop and 400 miles a week of commuting.
I’ve definitely had my money’s worth…

I’d love to have a weekend car, something to drive for a bit of fun. But can’t justify it at the moment.
Not sure how much fun it would be either, to be honest. The roads are so clogged and people are so aggressive that I don’t actually enjoy driving anymore. Plus, the roads round my way are generally straight and bumpy, so not exactly the recipe for an exciting drive…

I have been known to deliver letters in it Drac, I haven’t got a cat though, they play havoc with my lass’ asthma

Poor Jess.

I “really used” my car for a few seconds last week 😯

Arguably, some of us exceed our cars design parameters and purpose…

[url=https://flic.kr/p/dhhBRv]Canoe in a Yaris….[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

it gets used alright!

Yup my car works for a living, towing fully loaded trailers driving across fields and generally getting used and abused, I don’t change them until they are totally unrepairable, I like to get my monies worth from them.

This morning I am mostly getting 2 tonnes of wood out of my local forest for me to split ready for next season.

and my bus:

Yes. If anything, I would have a bigger (van) thing should I suddenly find £10k.
Workday:
[url=https://flic.kr/p/r7wkEU]image[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
Weekend, five of us plus some kit (there is a fifth bike in the last picture, in the boot):
[url=https://flic.kr/p/pGFcMR]IMAG1395[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/8rYQJ6]Etive[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/rp1s8f]image[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

If it wasn’t for having no riding from the door trails I could probably get by with hiring a car for the small amount of time I need it for work or weekends.

I commute by car so yes I do really use it. I could bike but 38 miles each way and early starts would get old very quick especially in the winter. And biking that distance is boring. I could avoid using the car as much by living near work, but really who in their right mind wants to live in/around Milton Keynes?! I use the car to get to fun places to ride as well since there are no good local trails from my door.

I only drive if there’s no alternative. It’s a waste of good cycling time.

Amateur

Can’t find a pic of my car loaded up, but I often carry around a >6m long kayak which would be tricky without a car.

My little Fiat Qubo was my works ‘van’ for the first six months after I started working for myself. It was amazing just what I could fit in it but the fuel economy was awful. Now I’ve bought a cheap van at auction the Fiat can enjoy a quieter life as a runabout and occasional long distance bike carrier. Running two vehicles can be expensive but its nice not having to fit the weekly shopping in around buckets of rat bait and a ladder.

XL Fargo in an MX5?

Ah, but I found this pic of a mates car. We now own one of these each – this was the delivery trip, he did ~60 miles driving very slowly before transfer to my rather larger estate car with roofrails (and now owns a bigger car himself)

To answer the OP (which not many have):

do you actually use your motor for anything other than a convenient mode of transport

I have used mine as a mounting for a poncho that was used to make a porch on the front of the tent when camping.

Other than that I can’t think of many times I’ve used it other than as a convenient mode of transport.

If by the question you men do we go in adventures in it, then yes we do.

I just slid my 29er into the boot with the luggage cover still on in a vehicle with an alledgely awkward opening, with ease. I’m very happy I used it today.

Weird question.
On a Sunday morning I stick a load of rugby balls, bibs and cones in the boot. Couple of kids in the passenger seats… I can’t imagine getting them to training any other way, so yes, of course I use my bloody car!

Yep. We’ve got a 1993 Toyota Lucida that we’ve taken the rear seats out of so we can get a motorcycle and track day stuff in there, then sleep in it once we’re at at the circuit if it’s a distance away. We can easily sling two MTBs in, wheels on, and get changed in the back as well. The stove and gas bottle live in it too. It only cost us £800 a few years ago but costs about £500 per year to tax/insure 😕 We try to do most day-to-day stuff on foot or bicycle though, the car only gets wheeled out for longer/heavier journeys.

We also use it as a mini-camper for weekends away without bikes, it’s surprisingly cosy! 😀

Popped out to get milk in mine

[url=https://flic.kr/p/rpdJSn] [/url] by ianpindir, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/qsyqTt]Untitled[/url] by ianpindir, on Flickr

Going for bike rides

[url=https://flic.kr/p/rpm7rV]Untitled[/url] by ianpindir, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/r7TYk6] [/url] by ianpindir, on Flickr

And general commuting

[url=https://flic.kr/p/qSLdco]Untitled[/url] by ianpindir, on Flickr

The ‘vanilla’ family cars do get used as just that, cars, white goods if you like, to get from A to B.

Anything bought for a more specific requirement does tend to get used, at least occasionally, to it’s fullest potential. Be that a 4×4 play thing, camper van, something with a ‘bit of go’.

DezB – Member
Weird question.
On a Sunday morning I stick a load of rugby balls, bibs and cones in the boot. Couple of kids in the passenger seats… I can’t imagine getting them to training any other way, so yes, of course I use my bloody car!

Not that weird is it really?

My ‘car’ is also a tool for my job. I don’t view it merely as a tool though and bought a nice motor (yeah, my onions) for family use that also doubles as a work vehicle.

The question was quite simple. Is your car simply a mode of transport, or does it serve another purpose and get some real use other than driving from a-b? I didn’t ask if you ‘use your bloody car’ did I?

Is that right, only 12.3 mpg in that Caumen???

Otherwise, on a public road, what sort of person would deliberately drive so fast that the car loses grip, and then turn off the mechanism designed to cope with it?

Do you call 30mph fast? People can and do enjoy driving cars, and have the skills to drive them properly. And do you think that people who can make a car slide do it in situations when they could endanger other road users?

Honesty, mine is generally used as a convenient mode of transport. Yes I could ride the 25 miles to work on the road bike or struggle the 15 miles to Cannock Chase on my mtb. But its just not practical, my rides at Cannock would turn into a 4+ hour affair and I would always be late to work and late to pick the kids up after work. Day trips to CyB or any other riding venue couldn’t happen without it.

It is however quite fun to drive and a bit powerful for what it is. I try to make most journeys enjoyable while keeping relatively sensible.

Blimey I Ache that’s nice what is it – focus estate ST?

I_Ache’s motor would be a lot more suitable to me than that Porsche. Don’t think I could get all my fishing gear in the Porsche & it would be shit for going to the tip.
Also It looks daft with a bike on the roof, can’t you afford something else to haul the bike? 😆

I_Ache

It is however quite fun to drive and a bit powerful for what it is.

Very nice. I’d love one. Nothing beats a fast wagon.

Race ya!

Do like that. Quick, practical, looks ace and I assume is powered by krill

Yep.

Are we arguing about people messing about in cars?

Biggest risk would seem to be that the driver THINKS it’s clear to play games, but there’s something he hasn’t seen or thought of. I think that’s generally how it plays out.

molgrips – Member

Are we arguing about people messing about in cars?

No. Never again.

I think that means I win 🙂

Oh I’ll gladly let you win if we never have to debate overtaking again

Oh I’ll gladly let you win if we never have to debate making progress again

FTFY

Not a pickup fan particularly, I’ve found many more negatives than positives, but they are very good for towing and launching boats, until a wheel nearly falls off the trailer.

Also good for getting wood (this load went to Mr Trout of this Shire)