How many here daily their classic motor?

[Lankytim]

I’ve started to get bored with my perfectly capable, reliable and comfortable modern daily commutermobile  and have started to wonder if it’s more sensible to make daily use of something a little more fun. Something tax exempt and up and running, suitable for my daily 7 mile each way commute but also capable of a motorway jaunt every week.  I’ve always assumed that you can’t really use a 40 yr old plus car as your sole mode of transport as it’ll always break down and be unreliable but is that true? Do many here use an elderly motor as their daily to and from work? 
 

Mrs LT has a 2007 Honda Jazz so I would have access to a modern car should I need to.  Using man maths I can work out that I should actually save money as I won’t need to run an extra car, pay road tax, plus I could enter low emission zones for free! 
 

So… good idea? Bad? What have peoples experiences been? 

[Matty]

I reckon mines eminently dailyable. Easy to drive, OK on fuel, quick enough for modern traffic. Problem is I won't use it in winter and I walk to work anyway.

Does do Fridays for work though. Verdict, would if I lived in a country with decent weather.

[Spiny Norman]

If it was the Volvo in the picture then yes. You'll go through a phase where things that were just hanging on for the odd pottering ramble on a Sunday let go but once you've replaced a few bits and bobs (usually rubber stuff) overhauled the cooling system and and rebuilt the carb so it starts and idles properly then there's no reason why a 40 year old car can't be used as a daily driver.

A few years ago I had a 60s Volvo Amazon, an 80s Vauxhall and a late 90s Rover and for a few weeks in the depths of winter the Volvo was the only one working.  Luckily there was no ice or snow so no salt on the roads but it coped just fine and the heater was superb!

[Weird Car]

I daily my 59 Austin, but I’ve daily’d all sorts of classics in the past, I find if you stick to the original manufactures servicing advice, read all the owners manuals that it would have came with, make sure you have an idea about common issues with the make and model you’re interested in and keep on top of checking your fluids you’ll be fine.

 

[sierraman]

You could but would you want to? Constant worry about something breaking and meaning it’s off the road while you search for a replacement part, the weather taking its toll on the bodywork etc etc. 

[Mr Pastry]

I have used classics  daily all my life, and they are perfectly reliable if you start off with a good one and keep on top of the maintenance.  You have to be prepared to do the work yourself as not all garages will want to, and you need a good understanding of the vehicle.  Parts for most popular classics are not too much of a problem, but don't expect  to get everything instantly from Halfords.    Also don't expect to keep it immaculate all the time.   It will get scratches and bumps and rust damage the same as any car.   Breakdowns when they happen tend to be simple things, and they are certainly not a constant worry.   So basically, it is okay as long as the car isn't too valuable.   At the end of the day they are all just boxes on wheels.

 

 

[danthecapriman]

There’s no reason many classic cars can’t be used as a daily driver, they were used for that when they were new or just old bangers etc. what causes the worst reliability issues is trying to daily a car that’s spent the last few years/decades as a weekend toy! Pushing it back into being used more intensively, in traffic, crap weather etc is what makes parts fail! That part might have been fine and lasted years with light use but daily driving will undoubtedly cause some things to fail. Once you get those niggles sorted though, why not.

I used to daily drive my classics (including the Capri) all year round, and while they can do the job, you absolutely must keep them looked after - washed regularly in winter, undersealed well, grease points etc regularly topped up, serviced often etc etc. If you don’t you’re inviting reliability issues. 
 

Would I do it now? 
No fucking way! I’ve got no doubt about a classic’s mechanical reliability, even if that does mean spending more time looking after things, but it’s the winter weather and road salt that’s the killer! I’m simply not willing to have a nice solid car subjected to that shit again! The British winter is a truly grim time of year (humans would honestly be better hibernating through it imho!) and the constant rain, wind and cold fucks everything up, the wet, damp and salty roads will destroy the undersides in no time, even with undersealing it’s only a matt of time. Then you get the leaks most old cars inevitably have, shitty heaters, poor lights, steaming up windows… the novelty really does wear off quickly in winter.

If it was me, I’d use a classic for spring & summer use. For bad weather and through winter I’d get something newer. If you want an interesting car there’s still plenty of 80’s and 90’s classics that are well up to the job of daily winter use. I’d happily jump in my 740 and daily it through winter - great seats, reliable, comfy, doesn’t steam up constantly, heater & lights are good and it’s pretty well resistant to rusting. 

[Lankytim]

Interesting answers, just to add being a married father of two I’d also need to use it for the ferrying around of kids etc so any breakdowns would be under the scrutiny of an unconvinced wife, although as mentioned we’d have the Jazz to do most of that. I think running an old car would be slightly less stressful if I were single because it would only be at the side of the road should the thing FTP. 
 

The 145 pictured is currently in my garage slowly getting returned to the road, although things are going much more slowly than I hoped. The body will need some  TLC underneath and I fear won’t stand up to much in the way of road salt before needing major surgery, I’m not sure it would be suitable as a daily when it finally hits the road. On the other hand Rover P6s seem to be pretty plentiful, are easy to get spares for and an up and running example that’s previously been regularly used and doesn’t require too much work can be acquired for not too much ££.

[Bazfr69]

Mine gets used for work once or twice a week as long as there’s no salt on the roads. Fifty odd mile round trip of mainly motorway so not ideal but it helps to keep it running well imo. 
I wouldn’t want to do it every day though as any car daily driven loses it’s appeal for me eventually. 

[chaseracer]

Once the 'appliance of science' disappears back to the leasing company next week, my newest vehicle will be the ex-Talbot C180K.

So... yes.

[Lankytim]

2 minutes ago, chaseracer said:

Once the 'appliance of science' disappears back to the leasing company next week, my newest vehicle will be the ex-Talbot C180K.

So... yes.

That’s basically a modern thought isn’t it? 

[MJK 24]

I do.  Though split between a winter classic and a summer classic these days.

I swap from one to the other on 1 October and swap back 1 April.  The six months downtime allows me to catch up on jobs etc.

You’ll need to be practical and I’d advise choosing a car with good parts availability.  Also, MOT them in the middle of summer is a good idea.  Much easier to work on a car when it’s bright and warm until 10pm than MOTing an old car in mid December which is just pure misery on every level!

[eddyramrod]

I'm lucky enough not to have a commute any longer, but I've often used classics of various ages for my commutes.  A Volvo estate is pretty much ideal really, as said above.  Good seats, good heater, quite enough power, livable fuel consumption, and built from Swedish girders.  P6?  As long as you can get one with a sound structure, you'll enjoy it well enough; there is support for them too.  Finding something with good support is quite important!  Mercedes are pretty good about older models, so maybe a W114/123/124?  Keep away from Jags (and US iron) if economy matters.

[Crackers]

I used my P6 as a daily in the summer of 2021. It was fine, if a bit juicy. Always seemed happier during regular use, than after being parked up for weeks. Would recommend. 

[chaseracer]

17 minutes ago, Lankytim said:

That’s basically a modern thought isn’t it? 

It's 18 years old.  We can agree to differ on semantics.

[PhilA]

Yes. But I also have a backup vehicle.

However, everything everybody has said about maintenance and managing expectations.

[Rocket88]

My daily…..what you lose in empeegees you gain in nil road tax 

[uk_senator]

I was dailying my old Fiats, mainly the Mk2 Uno 60S & the Mk1 SX, all year round till the inner ULEZ kicked in, & still would be now if I could afford the £12.50 a day charge, but now I have no option than to use my 500 98% of the time, which, as good as it may be, doesn't make me anywhere as happy as my old ones do, which is why I`m struggling to let them go..

 As Dan said, they were all used daily by millions when they were current, & there's no logical reason why they cant be now.. However, as others have said, its inevitable that they will get damaged, & may have a mechanical breakdown involving something unobtanium, or at least hard to find quickly, because of that, I`d say buy a common classic, something with decent parts backup, like a Moggy, MGB, bug etc, or, build up a good spares supply &/or spares cars if you`ve got room.  Of course, you should get something as rust free as possible, & fully rustproof it immediately, then regularly top it up after that.

[rusty_vw_man]

Have used various old VW shite - 1972 beetle, 1969 beetle, 1974 van, 1985 van and now a 1989 van as daily commuters for up to 100 miles a day.

Main downside is they will break occasionally, and it’s a right arse to have to fix it in time for the next days commute. That said, it depends how reliable the car is - I’ve had some old shite that has just run on and on, and others that have been desperate to die. 

Most vehicles seem to benefit from more use. 

 

[junkyarddog]

This gets used most days,lives outside rain,hail and snow.

They were designed to be used daily🤷‍♂️

You don't use them they seize up!

You drive them,you wear them out!

It's much more fun to wear them out.

[Mally]

I used a Minor for a couple of years. You need something with a ready parts supply.

Rover 75 at the moment. Not quite a Classic, but much more refined.

Cheap enough to throw away if you buy the right one.

[Floatylight]

1 hour ago, Lankytim said:

That’s basically a modern thought isn’t it? 

It's an interesting point, if in 1990 you were dallying a 1972 Triumph 2000, A MK1 Escort or a Hillman Imp they would have all seemed very dated and hanging on by a thread.

In 2000 dailying a 1982 cortina / early Sierra, Metro, mk1 Cav would probably have been less ancient feeling but still hanging by a thread

But now I'm dailying a 2006 C220d and doing loads of work miles, I'm sure my colleagues who are mostly in leased hybrid Auris, Corolla, Chr's etc are horrified at the though of running something 18yrs old but it feels like a modern to me.

[somewhatfoolish]

2 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

If it was me, I’d use a classic for spring & summer use. For bad weather and through winter I’d get something newer. If you want an interesting car there’s still plenty of 80’s and 90’s classics that are well up to the job of daily winter use. I’d happily jump in my 740 and daily it through winter - great seats, reliable, comfy, doesn’t steam up constantly, heater & lights are good and it’s pretty well resistant to rusting. 

Your 740 is a klassik too.

I use my landrover as transport, it's a shoddily modernised 1948 design with crippling ergonomics that drips water on me when it rains. I'm borrowing an Aldi A2 at the moment but at 21 yrs old it's arguably a klassik now as well.

[danthecapriman]

13 minutes ago, somewhatfoolish said:

Your 740 is a klassik too.

I use my landrover as transport, it's a shoddily modernised 1948 design with crippling ergonomics that drips water on me when it rains. I'm borrowing an Aldi A2 at the moment but at 21 yrs old it's arguably a klassik now as well.

Yeah, I suppose it is, but when someone says ‘classic car’ most people think you’re on about something from the 70’s or older with chrome bumpers and all that. An 80’s Volvo brick? Depends?

I think a premium make car of the 80’s is still well up to the job of daily use whereas a 70’s Ford… not so much!😆 in summer fine, but I’d feel bad and guilty, and worry about the damage a hideous winter’s commute would do to something really old! Although, I definitely do worry too much!

[Mr Pastry]

Perhaps worth mentioning that people do judge you by your car, and even those who have no interest in cars at all can be a bit sniffy if you don't rock up in a brand new one.   That will probably not bother anyone here very much, but it can affect the way people deal with you. 

Other drivers I think are generally OK with classics - those who treat you like shit would do so anyway - but many will underestimate your speed and not be aware of your longer stopping distances, so you have to drive accordingly and basically give everyone enough space.  This doesn't actually slow you down.

 

[grogee]

I used my Puma in the winter due to Circumstances. I rustproofed the shit out of it the autumn before but things were already starting to 'go' after just 6-9 months. 

I've now put the Puma away and the Maestro will sleep under cover this winter. I just don't think it does them any good. 

Probably OK if you can weld & paint though. 

[Weird Car]

27 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

but many will underestimate your speed and not be aware of your longer stopping distances

This is accurate. 
the amount of people who pull out on me whist in my classic is way higher than a modern, maybe they just think “slow old car can’t be going that fast” when in reality I’m doing the same speed as everyone else but with 4 times the stopping distance.

[HMC]

Ive used all the old stuff ive owned to get about, part of the fun of it IMO. Admittedly only for a month or so at a time, i always have backup, and i dont do many miles at all. 

Its an odd one about buying a very good one to do it with, i agree but also if you get a REALLY nice one you can devalue it through use (manly particularly low miles/ unrestored ones)  

And as others have said, pressing one thats been used to potter to the odd show and be polished etc can mean theres a bit of pain to work through first before it becomes turnkey reliable in everyday conditions for me any car is a piece of equipment and it has to work dependably.

[Matty]

Most classics can be upgraded to meet modern conditions better though. Mine has midget discs and calipers and stops as well as anything else I can think of. Obvs no servo assistance means you've to put more effort into the process but still.

[Shite Ron]

I think daily driving a classic is a perfectly good idea although the term classic means different things to different people. For me I just want to drive the cars I like regardless of what others think. From 1986 to 2006 I drove mk5 Cortina’s daily then 2006 to 2007 a mk4 Cortina. Late in 2007 I took a job with a compulsory company car and have unfortunately had new company cars since. I mostly only use the company car for work and use a 2002 Mercedes E320 or 2004 Panda for general running about, I consider these modern cars but both are around 20 years old and far nicer to drive than brand new cars. I have no doubts about driving these anywhere at any time  and have done many 200 plus mile journeys and are both used in preference to the company car. For best I use the Cortina’s or. Granada. For European road trips a Cortina is always favoured by me as the best car for hundreds of miles per day. We did over 2000 miles in two weeks last year on our holiday to Italy in a 1977 Cortina.

For such a short commute pretty much any car should be more than capable. My only concern is quality of  replacement parts as genuine oem  stock dries up. Using pattern parts is a minefield. For all the time I used Cortina’s for work they were less than 25 years old and genuine parts were still available, I mostly used genuine motor craft parts and they were extremely reliable. The main thing that compromises reliability is lack of maintenance and poor quality replacement parts. Old cars are no less reliable if maintained properly. An ability to weld is recommended though.

My advise though is do it! When I had a stressful office based job, the only part of the day I enjoyed was the drive to work and the drive home, if I had a modern car at that time life would have been extremely miserable. Driving a car you like is important to your mental health and well-being, I never get bored of driving Cortina’s, find the car that suits you and drive it as much as you can.