Daily-ish or special occasion?

[irdave]

I drive my car most days, shy of snow, salt on the road, or really big rain- got a Taco for that.  Curious how all y'all use your cars.

Edited December 2, 2021 by irdave

[bavariaboy]

I live in SE Pa just north of Philadelphia. Once the salt is washed off the roads, have had time to dry fully, I am out and about.  Never stored a coupe or a Bavaria or a 2002 all winter. Why deprive myself of the pure pleasure.

 

Will take it to tennis tomorrow, high of 58, sunny here in Bucks County on Dec. 2nd.

 

stevve

[1936spyder]

I have a pretty comprehensively restored ‘74 tii that I drive much more than I ever intended to. I’m trying my best to change that but it’s just too much fun to drive. I suppose $5+/gal for premium might make that decision a bit easier though…

[Malagatii]

Mine was my DD for about 3 years until my job change warranted something with AC and could accommodate the occasional client and/or conference call. While it’s been more of a garage queer lately, it has been the go to car for me and my daughter during the pandemic for many “we need to get out of the house” drives. Looking forward to the next one….

[tech71]

Have to say more of a special occasion driver, definitely not a DD. 
Partly to preserve it,
Partly to protect it (rather see my Kia or X5  take a hit)

Partly because the Kia and X5 both have better tunes, AC ,  Bluetooth, heated power seats , far superior  lights/ visibility at night  and in bad weather

Party because lots of car time is spent with the wife who likes to drive but never learned to drive a stick. She is not learning on my 02! 

And partly because Im still working on it regularly so it’s out of commission on a regular basis.

A work in progress?

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by tech71

[toddfx]

I take mine out for a lengthy scenic cruise every Sunday morning, and try to use it for Saturday errands around town when I can manage to make it out before traffic gets too bad, 

 

I'd love to take it out more often during the week for coffee runs and stuff like that, but my garage situation makes it a bit of a hassle. I live in an older style apartment so the garage is a short walk outside back to the alley. It's secured by 2 separate padlocks and has a manually operated door, so I have to stop and re-secure it after pulling the car out.  Plus I keep a cover on the car, a lock on the steering wheel, and have a removable battery disconnect switch. It's a lot to go through for a quick Tuesday morning coffee, so I end up just relying on my street parked DD for that kind of stuff.

 

It does sound pretty silly typing all that out as some kind of excuse though... Every time I hop into the 2002 even for a small task around town, it's obviously immediately worth any amount of hassle involved.  I also keep telling myself I want to create a habit of waking up extra early before work to go out for cruises more often.  Plenty of time any day of the week to do so, really. 

Edited December 2, 2021 by toddfx

[irdave]

8 hours ago, bavariaboy said:

... Why deprive myself of the pure pleasure.

 

Will take it to tennis tomorrow, high of 58, sunny here in Bucks County on Dec. 2nd.

 

stevve

 

Taking mine this morning for an early workout with the boys HS tennis team- that about my speed mentally, so it's a good fit.

 

I think some of the changes that get made are based on DD status- for example, it's dark and I'm driving, so LED bulbs with even better lights waiting to go in.  All the things like that that driving in regular traffic encourages one to make it work better...

[dblinsqaun]

My other toy is a '95 993.  Love it, but rarely use as its 12 quarts of oil takes forever to warm up.  My newly purchased '74 tii is just what I was looking for to drive to the beach, hit the grocery store, visit my lady, grab the dog & head to the gym.  And of course the occasional spirited ride.  I only avoid the salt.

 

[Jdddrigot]

When I bought my 02A a couple of years ago I was looking for a taco after the lease came up on my Audi A3 Etron. The car was incredibly clean, mostly original and for $5,700 it was going to be my first money maker. $15,000 later it continues to amuse me and like everyone else has said, it’s just a hoot to drive. It’s my daily when I’m not riding my bicycle and once a week I leave a little early for work and take it up to the reservoir. Current concerns are the temperature needle creeping up and white smoke on hard deacceleration.  Ignitor II hopefully going in this weekend and then it’s going to purr like a kitten. 

[cda951]

I used my '73 tii as a daily driver for almost 5 years, and plan to do so again soon. I am fortunate to live in the mild climate of Santa Barbara, CA, so that helps! We also have a '99 BMW Z3 Coupe in our fleet for a "modern" car, and my '86 Porsche 944 Turbo, but that is more of a track car and a bit tedious to drive on the horrible roads in town. My current daily driver is my Copart-special '81 Alfa Romeo GTV6, and that has been surprisingly good, but it is due for another round of repairs, so the tii will take over. My girlfriend drives a lot for her job and has a modern Acura SUV as a company car, so I don't really count that one

 

I understand the arguments about the risk of driving so many miles in an old tin can while surrounded by distracted drivers in SUVs; it is a real risk. One needs to follow the mentality of a motorcycle rider and assume that nobody can see you! But, I don't have much of a commute, my girlfriend and I don't have kids, and I cannot abide by driving around in a soulless appliance. Plus new cars are too damn expensive. Our fleet of scruffy but mechanically sound old cars works well for us

[Mike Self]

02s were our family car from 1969 until my wife bought a Buick (!) in 1985.  My '73 is my daily driver when there's no snow on the ground or salt on the roads, and take it to Mid America (of course) and to Vintage.  I do alternate some with my "1991 2002" (an E30 318is) especially for trips that include my wife--the '02's seats are too hard on her back.  She much prefers the E30 sports seats, even though it has a much stiffer suspension than the '02.  

 

Echoing what others have said about driving an old car in modern traffic...years ago I developed what I modestly call "Mike's law of cars and horns:"  the smaller the car, the louder the horns.  Mine all have air horns, and I'm not afraid to use 'em when necessary.  So far, so good--although I had a close call this week in the 91 with a young lady who very nearly ran a red light.  

 

mike

[landon]

Still a daily commuter car for me until the snow falls. I get good use for 8 months a year although this year it's still dry in CO so have been  driving it later than usual. It performs fine in modern traffic. Freeway speeds are running 75-85 these days and we certainly have no problem with that. I like Mike's comment about horns. Oddly enough I do not have a working horn. I never could get a spring mechanism working for my aftermarket steering wheel. When I was in Houston and had to have safety inspections, I would swap out the original wheel for that so the horn would operate. I have learned over the years that heads up defensive driving is key and never feel the need to hit the horn. Always keep space around you. When a pickup truck tailgates, move over and let them pass. Stay in the fast lane as much as possible as I feel it's safer to pass than to be passed. My wife doesn't like to ride in it anymore because of it's size relative to modern vehicles. After 40 years of driving 02's I'm still having too much fun in it to be pushed off the road by others preferences. It takes more discipline, but heads up and be safe out there!       

[tzei]

Build it to be DD so... that's what it does unless it's under maintenance (like now, 2nd year and counting). And she likes seats better than Skylines on longer runs so there is that too.

 

But i might have to consider to retire it from winter (salt) duty. Hmmm...

[jp5Touring]

Mine is a garage queen. In three summers it's seen rain once maybe twice. Having said that when the weather is good it gets daily driven.  I almost look for a reason to drive and yes there a days that I don't need a reason and I just take off for some back roads. The twin Webers and exhaust noise puts a smile on my face every time. Rowing the 5 speed enjoying such a great car.

So simple but so perfect.  Life is good. 

[NYNick]

If I put 200 miles on my 02 per year I'd be surprised. But I have other cars too.