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Classic car as a daily driver? #1640382
03/04/2020 08:55
03/04/2020 08:55
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 627
Bulgaria
french_coupe Offline OP
Club member 773
french_coupe  Offline OP
Club member 773
Enjoying the ride

Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 627
Bulgaria
In recent months I have had a few issues with older cars and have been tempted to buy a newer car to ensure reliability. So far I have relented and am hopeful that it is just a mental blip and going modern will not happen any time soon.

Are there others out there using classic / older cars as daily drivers?

I have 2 x Fiat coupes. My wife's car was the daily driver until about 4 years ago. The only reason that changed is that the coupe is not big enough for travelling with 3 dogs and luggage when we travel.
I looked around and decided to get a Range Rover P38. The car was a low milage 2000 model. Nice car but too many issues. Nothing serious but constant problems. It was great for the dogs and long journeys. Crap on fuel though!!
The P38 turned out to be the worse car I have ever owned. Not very reliable. Parts are cheap enough but gets expensive with constant problems.

About 3 years ago I just happened to see a 1990 Saab 900 convertible that a dealer was selling off cheap. I couldn't resist at 1600 euros. Next month the car will be 30 years old. The car was used for local short journeys as has been great.

Last November we were driving from Spain to France. We had the RR and the Saab as I wanted to move the Saab to France. Turned out to be a lucky move. The trip was over 1000km and I was slightly worried about the Saab on such a long trip.
Unfortunately it was the RR that gave up on us. The thing overheated just as we pulled into a toll both in Barcelona. It was too late and the engine was fried. I had to leave the car there and get what we could in the Saab and carry on. The Saab never missed a beat. The RR ended up being scrapped as it would have been too costly to transport home.

The Saab then did 4 runs to Toulouse airport within a month. This is a round trip of over 500km. Pretty impressive for a 30 year old car. It keeps up with modern traffic with no issues. No turbo unfortunately but still not that slow.

The Fiats had been off the road for winter so the Saab became the daily driver. There was some work to do on my wife's car before I put it back on the road. I spent some time getting everything sorted and getting a new test. Great news that we now had two cars running.

A few weeks ago we planned a trip to Portugal. As we didn't have the RR anymore we decided to take the Fiat and the Saab. Good job we did. We only managed to get about 100km from home. This time it was the Fiat that overheated!!!!
We had to leave the car but limped to a garage as it was close and I had water in the car to top the system up.
It turned out to be a small leak from the CHOD. This time the overheating was caught in time and no damage caused. My wife keeps a constant eye on the gauges so was looking at the temp rise. The moment it went above normal she stopped. She saved the engine in stopping right away.
At the moment the car in in the garage, but is fixed. I cannot collect it yet as we are still stuck in Portugal due to Covid 19.
Once again we squeezed into the Saab and carried on with another 1000km plus trip. We made most of the trip without any issue, but the last couple of hours were not great. There was a vibration coming through the body and we had to slow down to 60mph ish. The further we drove the worse it got. I did stop to see if I could find the problem but everything looked fine. Nothing hanging off. We managed to make it but were down to about 40mph in the end.

I was now getting fed up with old cars and thinking of a buying a new Fiat Tipo. The Saab went to a local garage the next day. Turned out to be two of the tyres were the problem. I changed all 4 as they were some Chinese no named brand fitted before I bought the car. Good news a cheap easy fix.

Again the Saab has become the daily driver.

Last year I had thought to sell the Saab and look to something else as it doesn't have AC. Since the issues with the RR and Fiat I have decided to keep the Saab and get some of the jobs done that I should have sorted when I bought the car. I have come to love the car and now have a lot of confidence in it. I love the fact that the car is not complicated and is easy to work on. I love that I just get in, turn the key, it starts and I drive off. Never misses a beat and has been a reliable cheap runaround.

What classics are people using daily? Any issues?

Frazer


lost in space
Re: Classic car as a daily driver? [Re: french_coupe] #1640387
03/04/2020 10:52
03/04/2020 10:52
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 203
Tasmania
G
Grigio Offline
Making a profit
Grigio  Offline
Making a profit
G

Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 203
Tasmania
Before I bought my coupe 3 years ago, I had a '78 X1/9 and an '82 2 litre 131. Loved them both, the 131 was bullet proof, the X1/9 a bit more delicate but the handling was sublime. I had to sell it though, every time I got in it I drove it like I stole it, I was going to die if I continued. I sold the 131 late last year, as much as I enjoyed the old 8v with mad cams and twin IDFs, it lacked the creature comforts of a newer vehicle. My plus is the most contemporary vehicle I've owned, it's now my daily driver, power steering, air con, central locking, power windows, ABS, all new fangled things I've never had in a car before. And the 20vt lump is sublime compared to the cantankerous old cammy 8v, with 100 more hp.


2000 grigio moon 20VT Plus.
Re: Classic car as a daily driver? [Re: french_coupe] #1640389
03/04/2020 12:43
03/04/2020 12:43
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 627
Bulgaria
french_coupe Offline OP
Club member 773
french_coupe  Offline OP
Club member 773
Enjoying the ride

Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 627
Bulgaria
Nice cars. My first car was a 131. Great car but it was in the uk so rotted.
I would love an x1/9 but not very practical unfortunately.


lost in space
Re: Classic car as a daily driver? [Re: french_coupe] #1640394
03/04/2020 20:38
03/04/2020 20:38
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,609
S. Wales. Way beyond my means
Gripped Offline
Club member 1924
Gripped  Offline
Club member 1924
Forum is my job

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,609
S. Wales. Way beyond my means
My Coupe is my daily, though we do have the Alfa Giulietta diesel as the work horse. It has been very reliable in fairness though it does take TLC to keep it that way. I've just SORNed it due to the lock down so I can get on with fettling it. The Alfa has been less reliable. But it is a stunning looking car and great to drive.

We also ran two 20 year old Bongos for a while. And they are generally reliable. The diesel didn't miss a beat in 10 years. Not bad for a 23 year old Mazda import.

Got a modern Peugeot Boxer campervan, and that has been unreliable from the start. I've owned 3 Peugeots (2 were company cars) and they've all been unreliable. Clutch troubles, electrics, shoddy build quality....
Maybe I've just been unlucky.

I have started thinking of something modernish to run as a daily. I quite like the Mark 2 Audi A3... Boring but solid and still look fresh 15 years on. But Skoda Fabia vRS 1.9 tdi still tempting, or Mk 3 Leon Cupra.

I love Saabs..... My folks had two 99s back in the 80's and I've been hooked since. Always fancied a classic 900 turbo, but would consider a 93 or 9000 with the 2.3 turbo lump. Sadly, I probably need something a bit cheaper to run. Glad to hear your Saab looked after you Frazer. They are such solid cars and I love that they were over engineered. Appeals to my obsessive side.

I definitely like running older cars as a daily, as i can afford something more special if I go for a 10year+ old.

Looking forward to hitting the classifieds when C-19 is eventually over. Keep well all!

Re: Classic car as a daily driver? [Re: french_coupe] #1640421
04/04/2020 23:46
04/04/2020 23:46
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 23,294
North Wales
Theresa Offline
Former Presidentessa Club member 58
Theresa  Offline
Former Presidentessa Club member 58
Forum Fossil

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 23,294
North Wales
My Coupe is my only car, so it's my daily car and it's how it's been for nearly 14 years laugh 1st Coupe for 10 years, then the second for nearly 4 years. I can't fault them to be honest - just general wear and tear stuff that's needed fixing.
The 1st Coupe had too much rust/rot for me to be able to afford to fix in the end, but it served me well for 10 years cool I'm hoping this second Coupe will be the same smile


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