TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31123, 28 July 1966, Page 11

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE

jF you are a family man you 1 will know all about the difficulties associated with having only one car—if your wife can drive, of course. “Dear, can I have the car today to go shopping?” "I’m afraid not, dear. I want it to go to the office. I really can’t do without it todav ...” And of course if your family is older it is likely to be “Dad. can I have the car to take Betty to the dance?” Have you ever considered, therefore, the advantages you would get from having two cars. In other countries with

a standard of living similar to that of New Zealand, two-car | families are common, and' even three-car families are not rare. It may sound a very expensive proposition, but it does not have to be. You see, you can spend £X on one large car, or £JX on one small car, so why not spend £X and have two small cars? Just think of the advantages that two cars would bring . . . and yet you would still pay the same price. As far as the woman of the house is concerned, having two cars available would broaden her horizons, particularly if the children are

grown up and she has more! time. The breadwinner would I still be able to take a car! away to work, and the wifei would have the other car for! shopping, going to golf, or' other pursuits. Nor will you be stranded if , you lend a car to one of the children. Another point is if one car breaks down or has to be serviced you are still not stranded—you have the other car. There is no doubt about it. having two cars can be a very great advantage, and the capital cost need be little greater than for one large car. Running expenses, of course, will be up slightly. But your insurance need not necessarily be greatly higher, you will be paying one extra car registration, but being smaller cars, fuel consumption will be reasonable and fuel costs need not be a great deal higher than with one large car. There again, merely because you travel 200 miles a week in one large car does I not mean that if you have two cars the total mileage will | come to 400 miles a week! A I little thought will show why i this is so. Mileage will go up I slightly, but this need not

affect cost to any great extent, as smaller cars tend to be slightly cheaper to run than large vehicles. If you have been thinking of getting one large car, but the idea of two cars appeals to you, have a look around the market

Of course, there are several ways of doing it. You do not need to get two small cars of the same make: one might be slightly larger than the other, for instance a Cortina or an 1100 and a Mini, or a small Fiat You might choose two Minis, or two small Fiats. On the other hand if you enjoy driving, you may want

a “fun” car, and you really cannot beat a sports car for this. For enjoyment, particularly in the summer when you can put the hood down, a sports car is unbeatable. Perhaps, then, you may be able to afford a sports car and another car: say a mediumsized saloon and a small sports car. Or you might want to go the other way, and get a large sports car and a small four-seater. The larger sports cars are comfortable two seaters with a small area at the back which can be occupied by an

adult on medium-length journeys, or by two small children on longer trips. On the sports car aspect, if you want to buy only one car, it is worth remembering that if there are two of you and a very young family, a sports car will probably cater for your needs for several years, and will certainly hold its resale value well. But back to two cars. Look through the advertisements in this supplement, and decide which two cars, within your price limit, would suit you best. Once again, you will probably have to “cut your coat to suit your cloth,” but there is a wide field to choose from.

A two-car family is at a definite advantage, yet these advantages do not have to cost that much extra. It is worth considering.