The Daily Driver Thread

type85

With all the chit chat about people using/wanting to use a classic as a "daily driver" on the various threads here, why don't we confess as to who's actually doing what with what if ya get what i mean:)
i'll start off:
Mk1 Golf (1.9td) 92,000 over the last 2 years.
Series 1 Range Rover(200tdi) 6500 during the same time.

Next....

Seweryn

type85 wrote: »

Next....

I used to drive a 924 Porsche, the Le Mans edition, but as we now only keep one car in the family, I now have a 1997 Honda Civic.

Before that I had an S123 300TD (on a full tax rate), a couple of Volkswagen Beetles (one of them on a full tax rate) and some other Mercedes-Benz not-classic cars yet.

The two cars I regret selling are the 924 and the S123.

unkel

type85 wrote: »

Mk1 Golf (1.9td)

I thought the Mk1 Golf diesel was a 1.6?

Seweryn

unkel wrote: »

I thought the Mk1 Golf diesel was a 1.6?

or a 1.5, if older.

type85

unkel wrote: »

I thought the Mk1 Golf diesel was a 1.6?

yeah it was a 1.6 but stuck in the 1.9td to get away from the solid folowers and for a bit more torque.

DaSchmo

1983 Ford Capri 2.0S - been my daily car since July '12. Covered about 6,000miles in it. I live and work in Dublin city centre so most use is in theevenings or weekends but occasionally need to use it to get to jobs in the suburbs.It lives in an underground car park.

Pros:

Great fun to drive

Lots of love for Capris from members of the public (mostly middle-aged men)- "I used to have one" / "Is that a 3 Litre?" / “My firstchild was conceived on the bonnet of one” etc. etc.

Reliable – it has never failed to get me anywhere, always starts

Cheap to fix when something breaks, easy to get parts

Not too bad on petrol (except in traffic around town or if liberal with theright foot)

Cons:

Despite spending lots of cash fixing the dreaded rust, it keeps bubbling upin new and unwelcome places. Not much can be done to prevent this with an oldFord if you're going to drive it regularly all year round. I have resolved tojust drive it as I please and fix what rust I can afford once a year in spring

It really doesn't like to sit in traffic for too long or it startsoverheating

Wet days are "interesting" for a number of reasons (handling /visibility / more rust)

brucky

My 1977 Scimitar GTE is used for my daily commute into Dublin City Centre and at weekends. Not bad in traffic now my radiator has been beefed up and re-cored but a little bit cold now the winter has arrived. Just applied some stop fog product to the inside of the windscreen and it doesn’t mist up any more. Puts a smile on my face and helps break up the drudgery of my short commute. I have also noticed that you also get away with inching out at junctions and getting preferential treatment from some other drivers in traffic.

kermitpwee

I use a 1990 mk2 golf 1.6 diesel as my daily. I am claiming it as a semi classic:D I do 25000 miles a year.

Seweryn

kermitpwee wrote: »

I use a 1990 mk2 golf 1.6 diesel as my daily. I am claiming it as a semi classic:D I do 25000 miles a year.

That must be one of the very most economical ways of doing 40k km per annum.

I recon that to keep my bicycle on the road and fuel the engine costs me no less per km that running one of these .

kermitpwee

Seweryn wrote: »

That must be one of the very most economical ways of doing 40k km per annum.

I recon that to keep my bicycle on the road and fuel the engine costs me no less per km that running one of these .

I like mk2's but I am mainly running it for financial reasons, tis a feckin miser:D

CianRyan

All going well, in the next week or so this should be my daily driver.
Have to sort out the battery and leads, If I go around a corner too fast in it the battery comes loose and the car will eventually stall. Not great for winter.

Roadster by CianRyan, on Flickr

r27

Nice looking mx5 . Is it turboed or anything ? Was thinking about looking for a mk1 as a project car for next summer, but I reckon the insurance would be massive

hi5

I just sold my 1990 mx-5, I just wasn't using it:(

The wrong size batteries get installed and can't be tied down properly, they move around and can dent the rear wing from the inside.
Halfords have the correct one.

CianRyan

r27 wrote: »

Nice looking mx5 . Is it turboed or anything ? Was thinking about looking for a mk1 as a project car for next summer, but I reckon the insurance would be massive

Thanks.
No turbo, although if it's still with me in a year or two I'll more than likely look into fitting an SR20DET from a Nissan S Chassis. A relatively painless swap once the custom mounts are taken care of.

Right now it's bone standard apart from the wheels and the steering wheel.
Moto Lita hand made, leather bound wheel, it's a nice touch!

Insurance wise, I'm 23, full clean licence with 1 years NCB. the lowest quote as of yet has been €2k from the big name insurance crowds, I've since been advised on who to talk to and where for more realistic quotes. If I get less than €1500 I'll be happy.

And yes! I've been meaning to get the right battery for ages, it's not moving a lot now so it's not too bad but I'll probably get one after Christmas.

Waiting to hear about an apprenticeship with a main dealer, if I get it the Mazda goes on the road!

Tzar Chasm

had a w126 300se and then an e34 535i, but the economics of returning to college means i'm driving an e36 316i coupe

theres an e30 316i 4dr lurking about thats 'sold' but I might reclaim it if the BIL do sent get the finger out and nct it as agreed

OneCheque

I used to drive (or try) a couple of classics-

e23 732 - the most practical, i guess. All electrics(working!) Plenty of space. I drove it daily for about 5 months. About 3k miles? I'd recommend one of e23 for everyone looking for any bigger daily driver.

Porsche 928 manual- what a car! I tried hard to drive it daily but had some starting issues (electrics not working:) properly). Probably done sone 2k miles.

450 slc- I wish I could drive it daily. Too bad on juice though.

Now, I miss owning another old Merc badly. Keep looking for some early w201 or e32- not yet true classics, but rare on the roads.

Dades

My Porsche 924 only gets about 3-4 outings a week, and the occasional long run. Odometer shows circa 78k+ which means I've done about 6k since I bought her four years ago.

8 years ago I used to commute in a Fiat 124 Spider which I loved doing. Have no city centre parking anymore to tempt me back on the road.

brucky wrote: »

Just applied some stop fog product to the inside of the windscreen and it doesn’t mist up any more.

Do have the name of the product you used?

MercMad

I used a 1964 230SL Pagoda as a daily driver from late '00 until late '05. Then I used a '68 280SE Coupe until 2011.

Fantastic cars, every trip was an event. I've always loved the 60's era Mercs and they made for very practical daily cars once properly maintained. I spent more on the SL but enjoyed many many long journeys in it, especially trips home from business in the Country where I'd travel with the roof down no matter what the weather was like. I did all maintenance myself obviously, rebuilding the engine, fuel injection, front steering/suspension and the transmission. Did 750 miles in one day in that car.

That car only failed on me once and that was when the fuse for the hidden alarm system blew and as I had all wiring "hidden" so well I knew it was best to get a tow home and sort it then. Spent a pretty penny maintaining and improving it but it still did not cost me a much as a modern.

The 280SE Coupe was far more practical and a more robust, comfortable and spacious car for 5 people. I reckon you could fit 5 golf bags in the boot lengthways. The auto trans, power steering, servo all round disc brakes and 170BHP meant it would keep up with most moderns and I loved it. This car took less mechanical maintenance only because alot was done prior to me buying it. I did a full metal repaint and changed out the auto trans and ran it for years. Been in every County in Ireland and only had 3 problems, one fuel leak just after I bought it so prior to changing all the pipes, a dead battery and a dicky alternator but never left stranded.

Currently have a couple of near classics that are slowly coming together in time for their 30th anniversary (hopefully if I have time) and my daily now is 14 years old.

corktina

Mondeo ST200 until end of month and then the Focus ST170 is having a turn

w124man

There is always a W124 sitting on the driveway ready to be used!

type85

sorry folks i guess i wasn't clear on the opening post, but, i was hoping to keep this thread to 30+ year old cars that are ACTUALLY been used as your current "daily"/ primary car. so we can see how many of us are getting the most outta the tax system.

kermitpwee

type85 wrote: »

sorry folks i guess i wasn't clear on the opening post, but, i was hoping to keep this thread to 30+ year old cars that are ACTUALLY been used as your current "daily"/ primary car. so we can see how many of us are getting the most outta the tax system.

Im the lad with the mk2, I have a mk1 Jetta straight diesel that I might push into daily use now, great body and rebuilt engine and cheap tax. only job:D

type85

kermitpwee wrote: »

Im the lad with the mk2, I have a mk1 Jetta straight diesel that I might push into daily use now, great body and rebuilt engine and cheap tax. only job:D

yeah the vdubs are great on the juice and i've mine doing mid 60's mpg (helped by the weight of the mk1) but am thinking about moving all my bits into a mk2 next year for a bit more comfort.

type85

CharlieCooper wrote: »

Ye are taking a risk by identifying the number of vintage cars on the road & availing of the reduced tax.
Every day I am seeing a couple or more being driven as daily drivers.
It is nice to see , but don't go making a song & dance about it.
There is precious little that the current government haven't taxed yet, so don't be giving them any ideas !!

personally i believe its the rumor-mill (and alot of it is on here) that has people thinking the the use is wide spread, where as there is very few of us actually committed to doing it. and my idea of this thread was to get an idea of how of us there actually is.

Dades

Shush - we don't want the government thinking we're using classics daily when we should all be bending over and paying stupid money to pay for failed banks. :pac:

Fat Nav

I am driving a 77 Chrysler hunter at the moment as a daily driver and enjoying the experience.

Bigus

I wouldn't forgo the advances in safety of modern cars to save money on tax, if I was to drive big miles full time in a classic I'd at least put a full weld in roll cage, seriously.

The chances of being involved in a crash doing a couple of hundred mies a year would be slim.

Look here

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=70341415

tc20

current daily: 92 MB190 1.8 auto - recently picked this up after a long search. Still getting the feel of it, and some fettling to be done. It might not qualify as the OP intended, but I intend to run this for the foreseeable.

Previously: '82 W123 280 auto - had this comfy cruiser for 5 years. A beaut to drive, more of a wafter, but had (relatively) decent grunt and liked to hunker down now and again

and my starter: '72 W114 230.6 manual LHD - my first classic, owned for 4 years, and would love to have held onto it. I love the simple lines of these old Mercs, huge interior and boot, proper old school classic feel to it. The body on this one was fairly decent considering the age, but the engine was on its last legs. They're an under-appreciated classic imho, and are getting rarer.