Garage Queen v Daily driver

[Bobthebeard]

Up until recently my 944 was little used and kept in a dry garage. Did less than 800 miles in 2012. All manner of things went wrong. Sticking brakes, weeping water pump, electric windows not working, sticking clutch etc.

Decided it was a car, and meant to be used as a car. So in 2013 it lived outside and was used almost daily. This year it will be used even more, as using it almost daily resulted in the 'not working' stuff fixing itself as a rule!

The paintwork has suffered a bit but will always polish up. Everything else seems to be better for the daily workout!

[Spiny Norman]

Never had a garage so never had that problem. Even when I've had more than one car I've tried whenever possible to run them at least once a week, and take them for a good run, not just sit idling for five minutes which does far more harm than good.

The only time I had a little bother was when my old Amazon sat for a few weeks when the Lumenition ignition failed and by the time I got round to sticking a set of points back in it the clutch had fallen in love with the flywheel and decided it didn't want to be parted.

A good half hour running to heat everything up followed by a couple of attempts to drive off in 4th brought about a quickie divorce though, and all was well after that.
 

Cars don't like sitting idle, I wouldn't buy something I wasn't going to use regularly.

[spike60]

I wouldn't buy something I wasn't going to use either, I bought a Corvette from a house with a cream carpet in the garage and the car spent the next 5 years shivering in the cold outside my house. It was used as a 2nd car at least weekly with few bothers, but when I came to sell it some potential buyers grunted a bit at the 103k miles on a 20 year old car. I guess sitting in heated garages keeps the miles down but that is not what I buy cars for!

[MrDuke]

Surely the amount of heat in a garage is irrelevant, it's the dampness/humidity that causes problems? I've always been led to believe that a car port is far better than a garage, as it allows plenty of air-flow while protecting from rain, hail and snow. Obviously, actually using a car is better still...

[brickwall]

Shove the dog in and then go for a drive or use it to go shopping n stuff. They do  need running with the expansion and contraction that comes with.

[mercrocker]

VW van and Merc both live outside in all weathers and get used weekly or more....Oxford off the road pending fettling which will no doubt turn into a rebuild, kept in a dry barn and run for 30 minutes monthly, not ideal but better than being left for dead.   Cowley undergoing resto work and Minor lives in a carport and is thrashed daily - commuting and general 90 percent use.   Sometimes I worry about the salt and rain (no Minor is ever leakproof) but precautions like taking out the carpets in the winter and wiping down inside every door after heavy rain (and boot floor!) presumably help.   Its greased fervently and oil-changed every 1000 miles.  All the outside stuff is washed weekly with a good shampoo to which I add liberal amounts of liquid Mer - this helps to add protection to panel gaps/seams (critical on the T25).  I dont jet wash but I do wash and brush underneath weekly when the salts about.    During the late summer I waxoil (actually its Bilt Hamber) thoroughly and this coming year I will take off all the outer sill/kick plate panels off the Minor and see how the inner sills are doing (rebuilt 3 years ago) and rust-kill, zinc prime and re-paint.   I am also fastidious about wheel arch crud which is not allowed on any of my vehicles.   Mechanically, none of the vehicles suffer at all from this regime and are far more reliable and driveable for the useage....

[Lord Sterling]

Interesting. I think that regular use of a car warms the engine up which in turn warms up the front end and the inside this keeping it fresh and running. Cars do need to be used. If they need to be stored, they really need to be stored properly and regularly run. Sadly, this something that a lot of us might find hard to do. I know I certainly did.

 

My G-reg Sterling was stored and not run for around 5 years. The first thing that went was the expansion tank (as did all the other ones I subsequently fitted) Typically and rather unsurprisingly, it did need a fair amount of work and well as a good service. I should have changed the coolant too which might have given it a fighting chance.

 

My cars were in storage for a long time and not in good storage either, after I took the Mk2 Sterling out, I found the roof of the garage had a hole in it explaining the damp. At least now its stored somewhere dry and warm which will hopefully stop anymore storage "rot" deterioration.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

If you don't have a garage you can always buy a Carcoon and fill it with helium.

 

[Lukas]

Daily driving a car isn´t the best.

 

A garage-queen may have mechanical problems from it´s lack of use, but otherwise it will be fine. Daily driving a car is a lot worse, because it´s not only bad for the mechanical bits (wear), also for the body (rust, possible accidents etc.) and for the interieur (wear and tear, muck etc.).

 

So if you want to keep a very nice old car in tip-top-condition or preserve it for the future, there is only one chance -> store it in a garage and drive it only occasionally in nice weather. Otherwise, drive it regularly. That will at least keep the mechanical parts moving.

 

Lukas

 

P.S.: When talking/writing about "a garage", I mean dry and locked.

[Mr Lobster]

My R4 is something of a garage queen - it lives in a nice dry, well ventilated garage most of the year and hibernates between about November and April depending on the weather. That said, It gets wamed up and a quick blat up the road if its dry through winter but using it year round would kill it pretty quickly - R4s like to rust.

 

Generally it only gets dry, summer use and tbh if I've somewhere to go and its cold and rainy then I'd rather use something else thats faster / warmer / drier / less fragile.

 

In a warmer, drier climate then it'd get a lot more use but as we are in very damp Lancashire then using it on the warmish, dryish days seems to work best for me.

[fordperv]

I would rather enjoy something by driving it as much as possible, I had this discussion with a capri owner at a meet, his car was deliciously clean and bloody gorgeous but it arrived on a trailer, I asked him when the last time he actually enjoyed his car by driving it, his reply was he wouldn't dare to drive it in fear of damaging something

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

My two oldest are GQ's on classic insurance and now only used for shows. Both are in very nice condition and see little use. The 730i sprung a fuel leak when fired up for the 30 mile round trip due to a perished fuel hose so I will be replacing the lot before I tax it in April. The other had the tank drained and a gallon of Super added, no E5 or E10 shit in there.

 

The others are dailies, are very well maintained mechanically but get washed/hoovered once every 3 months on the dot.

[catsinthewelder]

I try to use the 1100 and VW on a weekly basis when they are roadworthy to keep things from seizing up.

 

  That said, neither of them saw the road last year as they need work doing and I didn't have the time or money.

[fordperv]

I will add though my daily is cleaned every week - 2 weeks to keep the grime out of the arches etc and polished almost every wash with no longer than 4 weeks in between polishes. underneath is waxoyl every year when the weather's decent so I can do it properly and inspect

[HMC]

I personally dislike cars that are "too good to use"  as it brings out the absolute worst in me. On the very few occasioins I've had a truely pristine car, ive gone way OTT with it and been traumatised when its got scratched or whatever. Sad but true!

 

So psychologically I prefer stuff thats not perfect, and can never be made so. I end up using and enjoying them far more!

[DVee8]

The Daimler lives in the garage under a cover at my mothers,i try to get over once a month to check it over 

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I FORGOT ABOUT THE LPG TANK! 

 

 

OH THE HUMANITY

[Lukas]

ed5000 brings up another very good point!

 

Spares are a big problem with certain marques or models. I know of many car-lover and OJC-owners who would like to drive their cars all year round or at least during the summer-month. But they don´t because they know if there is a small accident or another problem that causes lights/chrome/trim to break, it´s the end of the road for quite some time. Just because there are no or almost no spares available.

 

That´s the reason why so many classis Mercs and Porsches are used as daily drivers. Almost all Parts are readily available. Expensive, but at least available. I can only dream of that. And I only own not so old 80s cars.

 

Lukas

[dollywobbler]

I personally dislike cars that are "too good to use"  as it brings out the absolute worst in me. On the very few occasioins I've had a truely pristine car, ive gone way OTT with it and been traumatised when its got scratched or whatever. Sad but true!

 

So psychologically I prefer stuff thats not perfect, and can never be made so. I end up using and enjoying them far more!

 

Yup. I can relate to that for sure. Deliberately didn't buy a 'good' Discovery as I knew I'd be off-roading it. Getting the 2CV fully restored and put in immaculate condition was far less enjoyable than I expected, as the condition could only go one way from there - downhill. 

 

The Nissan Bluebird was truly mint and therefore far too nice for me to keep. I sold it to someone with fewer qualms but at least it wasn't sitting on my driveway getting very, very wet.

 

The 2CV is going to need some serious work again, but I'm hoping that I can do a better job of protecting it next time around, and I certainly won't bother with a professional respray. It'll get soaked in zinc primer and then hand painted.

[Lukas]

Another good point!

 

The same here. My 87 Pajero must be one of the best original examples left in Austria. Immaculate interieur, almost perfect original paint, no major scratches or dings, no rust. I´ve had old Pajeros before and enjoyed it a lot to go offroading and driving it trough the forest. But since I own this one (bought in March 2013), I´ve never driven it offroad, not even on roads without tarmac. Why? Because gravel would damage the original paint on the wheelarches.

 

Stupid, I know. But I am glad I am not the only one with this kind of dilemma...

 

Lukas

[Junkman]

What exactly is a 'garage'?

Sounds awfully French to me I have to say.

[Bobthebeard]

What exactly is a 'garage'?

Sounds awfully French to me I have to say.

In my case the 'garage' is just a bigger shed than the actual shed. A car fits in, but only just. Kind of a shed parked within a shed near to an actual shed..... If that helps?

[Lord Sterling]

My G-reg Sterling was, by the condition of its body, one of the better cars I've ever owned. I was loathed to use it as a daily driver and even more so that it lived outside on the public road, which probably explaines why I have such an envy for garages/under-cover parking. It was thankfully for just over a year when it blew its engine. Once a replacement engine can be sorted, I can concentrate on making it one of those little used cars that'll live under cover for most of the time.

 

Another thought occured to me today. Whilst at the garage (as in reparing/MOT garage) I got talking to an old fella who owned an 03-plate Ford Focus Ghia. I'd driven it earlier on and it was a lovely car, full of the options and extras older people tend to tick the boxes of. Top spec trim, original wheels on good, matching tyres, oem floor mats, CD changer etc.... When I asked, he informed me that he kept in a garage attached to his bungalow. I obviously responded with the usual how I wished I could keep my cars under cover etc....

 

But I've often noticed how garaged but regular used cars tend to live longer, or at least thats what I've seen. Seemingly, the only times I've seen cars garaged these days are when old/retired people garage thier cars. Thier cars often seem cleaner, run better and are kept in pretty much tip top condition. I guess there are other factors in that old people who garage thier cars use thier cars less often and might have a little more money to spend when it comes to getting them serviced. Ok fair enough, there are old people who drive thier cars into the ground, I'm fully aware of that. But I'm talking about the old people who keep thier cars in great condition, I'm in absolute awe when I see thier cars and hear how they are being looked after.

 

I've always dreamed of having a car that is older, but still in nice condition, that I can keep garaged over night/when the weather is bad and keep on top of servicing rather than having something thats about to blow up because I can't afford to get it fixed/change the belts and let the road salt eat up the bodywork.

 

However, Ma_Sterling's Micra is still in pretty good condition. Out of the 15 years its been around, 14 of them have been spent living outside. I guess I've helped to keep it alive but we have skimped a few times on service items in the past. This is now (rather slowly) being rectified.

 

What a fucking farce. Anyway, I'm just thinking out a loud here so please, feel free to ignore what I've just written.