Getting a new ship

[HAMM3R]

I think I should get rid of my Sidewinder but I can't decide which one to get. That said, with my 120K budget there isn't much to choose apart from Eagle and Hauler, and maybe Adder. The thing is, surprise surprise, I'd like to start stacking up money a tad faster so I could eventually get the Asp and get the heck away from (the so called) civilisation.

Should I collect more money with the Sidewinder before getting a bigger one so I wouldn't go totally bankrupt if and when I get blown out of the sky?

I'd also rather stick to trading, eventhough I'm not very good at it, since I don't care about the combat and I find the current concept of mining pretty cumbersome and down right dumb.

But I'd gladly hear any advice, suggestions and personal experiences you might have. Life is full of decisions and I can't seem to make any of them

[Malphator]

When I was still in your position within the "early game" I upgraded to a Hauler for more cargo space pretty quick. Doing so will open up more courier and 'go get me X' missions on the bulletin board. It's perfectly okay to keep the sidewinder. Or you can sell it, that's up to you. I kept mine and used it for nav beacon bounty hunting when I got wore out on the space trucking. After a time I dropped the Sidey and switched things up to the Eagle, which made things a lot more fun and interesting. Once the cash flow is building, you can also dump the hauler and move up to the Adder for yet more cargo space.

That was roughly the path I went, until I finally had close to a million to throw at a Cobra and it's upgrades.

[Feldspar]

When I was in your position I had upgraded the Sidey a bit and done a bit of wandering about, I think I must have saved up a bit more because I bought a Viper to be a bit more combat orientated, and then saved up money with that to get a Cobra.

Really it boils down to what you want to do, switching to a Hauler or Adder is probably the best bit if you just want to earn money, but then I always choose my paths for fun, any money is a bonus.

[HAMM3R]

Malphator, did you dump all the shields, scanners and what not to max out your cargo for the said Hauler? I think what I'm mostly worried about is being a sitting duck in a Hauler, especially if I get rid of all the "extra weight."

Maybe a stupid question but is your current ship stored in the same station you buy the new from? Assuming you keep the old one. And does it matter if the ship is stowed away somewhere in a quiet corner of space or would it be better to have it around more busy systems?

But I think I'll keep my Sidewinder. I've done a lot of those 'find black box/rebel transmissions' gigs since they've paid pretty good so having an agile ship for those is good.

Feldspar: yup, my Sidewinder isn't totally stock either. I've done some refitting in favor of lighter weight. I can do 12+ly jumps but the cargo bay is still the standard 4T so I can't haul much at once. I've thought about ditching the scanner but then, I've managed to make some extra creds with the exploration data so I've kept it.

[Roger Wilco Jr]

If you want to get an Asp, the fastest way is via trading. But early on, before saving up enough to get a T6, you may be better off in combat over trading. It's been too long and I don't remember the numbers, but if I can make 200K an hour in a Viper at a R.E. site, I think that may be more than I was making with a Hauler or an Adder. And I'm pretty sure you can earn credits even faster in conflict zones, though I haven't tried that yet. But once you can afford a T6 (plus insurance and plus cargo), you'll really start raking in the credits. I'd even recommend trading in your Viper and taking the 35-40K hit, so you can get into the T6 sooner. You'll be able to buy another Viper soon enough, and fully upgrade it, while grinding for the Asp. Btw, the Asp is 6.6 Million, stock, but 3-5 times more expensive upgrading. But the stock Asp also makes a pretty good trader while grinding for the upgrades. Also, you can skip the shields and run from combat to build credits faster. I'd recommend keeping the shields for an hour or two until you get a feel for the handling while entering the slot and landing.

[Malphator]

Naw, I was still super nervous about dumping the shields, so I kept them on my hauler and later the adder, as well. Granted, running high-profit routes in a cargo-Cobra with no shields is just how I spend my time grinding/trading now. lol. I've only been interdicted twice the whole time. Both by sidewinders with bounties that wouldn't be worth the hull damage repair bill if I turned to smack them on the nose. So I just boost and bail.

[Malphator]

Maybe a stupid question but is your current ship stored in the same station you buy the new from? Assuming you keep the old one. And does it matter if the ship is stowed away somewhere in a quiet corner of space or would it be better to have it around more busy systems?

When you buy a new ship you are given the option to trade in your current ship and knock down the cost of the new one a bit on the trade in, or to store your current ship and just buy the new one at full price. After you have multiple ships, that secondary ship will stay wherever you left it docked at. If you want to move it to where your other one is parked, in a new system you want to base out of, you'll have to buy yourself a new Sidewinder and fly back to your stored ship. Switch to the old ship, sell off the temporary Sidewinder, and then head on back. No shuttles or anything like that. Yet? Who knows.

[HAMM3R]

I see. Let us hope they'll come up with some kind of ship transportation/management system for those with multiple ships. Kinda silly to fly all over the place if you want to switch your ride.

Euro Truck has it right when buying a new rig without trade in. Which ever one you choose to continue with, the other is shipped to your home garage.

[HAMM3R]

So I went ahead and bought the Hauler. And now I'm completely paranoid getting out of the stations, jumping even at my own shadow, lol!

And of course, now I can't seem to find anything even remotely profitable to haul

[Cmdr Ant Kingsmill]

These days I'm flying a T6 for the trade runs but spent a lot of time back in the Hauler. Personally I kept my shields just because the Hauler isn't the quickest ship around if you get interdicted, but you can still get it up to around 20 - 22 cargo hold. It's quite a capable ship for the rares runs too with an upgraded Frame Shift Drive. Good luck hauling!