How old for a daily driver classic

A few recent threads asking about classics for daily driving got me thinking aobut this. How old can a classic car be and still used as a daily driver? First off, it is whatever the owner can afford but let's keep the value under $20,000 for purchase and 5 years of maintenance. My 79 Fiat Spider was perfect in 1998 for daily classic driving. I drove it to work every day and parked it outside at home. Now, at over 30 years old, I find it more for weekend use and car club fun. Its status changed at around the 25 year mark and just about that time the value began to rise and better restorations were becoming common. I am not as comfortable leaving it in public areas in danger of door dings or worse and out in poor weather conditions. So when asked about an economical classic for daily use, I think that between 18-25 years old is reasonable (late 1980's to early 1990's). It is hard for me to think of my 1993 Miata or anything from that era as a classic but it fits the profile that I propose.
Cheers Ron

I think that might be as much a question of value as age. I'd be careful where I park anything of particular value, especially when there's also sentiment from having a car that you really love, old or new.

Both of my cars are on the outside edge of classic status under these guidlines, but I don't really think they qualify yet.

My Miata is a 1994, and it's really odd to imagine it qualifying as a classic, but you're right...my kids consider it downright primitive with crank windows and no power steering. It's blisteringly quick, though. ;)

On the other hand, my Benz is a 1991 and even with all the creature comforts it feels more like a classic than the Miata. It oozes quality and craftsmanship, there's hardly anything digital or electronic in the driving experience; even the door locks are pnuematic. Owning this has really got me wanting another Mercedes. Maybe a 250 SL...

Well I am a bit out there, but I use many of the classics I have owned as daily drivers. I drove a Ferrari Daytona to work for 5 months when we lived in the D.C. area. I also used an Aston DBS, the Bentley, Fiat's, Alfa's and many other cars that way including a Ferrari Mondial QV that I drove summer or winter and even in the snow.

If I can ever buy the Bristol I am after I will use is all year from spring to fall.

I would say the best choices given your criteria would be an MGB, a Porsche 911SC and Any c3 Corvette.

So I would say that probably 30-35 years old is a realistic age limit for daily driver classic with a more normal owner.

Oh and Tom, the Pagoda Benz cars are amazing.

My 1970 Volvo 142S would be perfect if it were a bit higher spec. Its only a 4 speed with a crappy Weber so its rather slow. If it had the overdrive and factory F.I. to go with the 4 wheel discs I'd drive it year round.

Tom,

Just a little off topic, but I really like that paint on your Miata!

Dave

DneprDave wrote: Tom, Just a little off topic, but I really like that paint on your Miata! Dave

Thats not paint!

mtn wrote:

DneprDave wrote: Tom, Just a little off topic, but I really like that paint on your Miata! Dave

Thats not paint!

Thanks, and he's right. It's all vinyl over the factory paint. Here's a link to the Miata's project car page from the Grassroots Motorsports site. Click Here

Back OT-

I'm still waiting for the perfect old Mercedes (or Volvo, or BMW, or Jaguar) to fall into my lap. Once the kiddies are off to college, I'll start actually shopping for a classic.

My '84 BMW 733 is used as a DD except for the worst winter weather. I won't use it on the salty or sloppy winter roads-usually from December to late March. Maintenance isn't anymore expensive than driving anything else

Are some people considering early 90's classics already? They still seem like new cars to me. It was sort of a mind trip when I realized my 1992 Camaro is about as old today as my 1977 Corvette was when I bought it in 1996. I always considered the Corvette an old car, but the Camaro doesn't seem that way to me. I was a teenager in 1996 and the Corvette was slightly older than me. On the other hand, I can remember my parents bringing the Camaro home in '92 and it doesn't seem all that long ago. I think it is all about my age and perspective...

Coincidentally, the Camaro is sitting in the parking lot outside my office this morning. It's a beutiful sunny March morning here in MI today. The Camaro still has a mere 18K miles since new, so you can tell it really doesn't get out that much.

My take: If the car was competent in the 1960s and it's well maintained, why wouldn't it make for a good daily driver today?

My regular driver is a '66 Volvo 122S I've been driving since '83, and I'd bet it's had the cheapest operating costs overall of any car I've owned (and I've had something like 16 or 17), including various serial upgrades, a cheap restoration, and an expensive restoration. As long as I can get parts for it (generally not a problem), I see no reason not to use it for the purpose Volvo built it.

VClassics hit it on the head.

For 3 years I drove an MGB as a DD while I was at Ft Bragg, and then a GT6 throught flight school...NBD.

Leo

"My take: If the car was competent in the 1960s and it's well maintained, why wouldn't it make for a good daily driver today?" VClassics.

It is more than just reliability, to me. So yes, it will perform well enough. But, we often get emotionally attached to our toys and don't want to have them in harms way in every public situation. My Fiat was hit in a parking lot messing up a very clean unmolested body and the top was cut open on my Miata. Both repaired by me. I don't feel this way about my more valuable Honda. I still use the Fiat a lot but now think twice before I take it to the rough side of town and park it on the street. If Bigfoot crushed my Fiat at Walmart (it happened to Ramona and the driver drove off) would I or could I replace it easily? Would I go through the effort again to make one reliable? The legal term "attractive nuisance" come to mind and I don't want my car to become one.

Cheers Ron

I understand what Ron is saying. I am insured with Hagerty Insurance at the true replacement value of the car based on the prices in the Cars That Matter price guide. I just bought an amazing all original 1968 124 spider. It is a very difficult car to find. My coverage is high enough that if it was a total loss, I could pay whatever it would take to replace it.

I also would not drive it everyday. Besides that sometimes I want the convenience offered by my 2009 Saab 9-3 Aero and don't want to do the vintage thing. I am the same way with bikes. I have a BSA, A Triumph T140 Bonneville and others but really enjoy riding my Ducati Monster S4 for longer trips over the vintage stuff.

WilD wrote: Are some people considering early 90's classics already? They still seem like new cars to me. It was sort of a mind trip when I realized my 1992 Camaro is about as old today as my 1977 Corvette was when I bought it in 1996. .

Really stunning to think about, isn't it? My first car (Datsun B210) was only 6 years old when i got it... and my first "classic car" (MG Midget) was only three years older. My first MGB was only 4 years old.

Today, my wife daily drives a 20 year old E30 93 hours commute/day)... and my first new car (1985 Firebird) is now eligible for Historic tags in MD (as is my last new car, a 1987 Taurus MT5)... and my newest car (BMW M Roadster) is 10 years old... younger than my first collector car was at the time...

Times have changed, but in general cars have really gotten much better in many respects...

I agree with cars getting better.

The other part for me is I can sometimes be less tolerant than I was at say 20 or 30 years old. When something breaks on a car, new or old, because of a bad part or a bad design, I get a bit unhappy.

Now I think if a classic car is well sorted really can be used as a daily driver as long as you take it for what it is and not care that there is no airbag or heated seats.

I will be driving the new Fiat from Chicago to Monterey this year. It should be fun.

I'd say any well sorted car can be a daily driver. My driving is currently split 60/40 between an 87 E30 and a 73 Spitfire. The BMW is basically new underneath the old body, so I consider it my "modern" car. I drive the spitifire for any trip that doesn't involve a long time in a parking lot, or night. It gets 35 mpg, and when (not if) it breaks down, I can fix it with a pocketknife 90% of the time. Another benefit to driving an old car, people are nice to you. In the black BMW, Im constantly cut off and tailgated. In the spitfire, people give me plenty of space, and even let me out in traffic.

Agree with the people are nice to you in a classic. I find that I get to park for free at some places in a classic and that people tend to pay attention to the car on the road and not drive like idiots.

I alternate between the '64 Valiant, the wife's generic modern car, and the Suburban, depending on my mood and the tasks at hand. I prefer the Valiant, but the headliner is sagging and the AC's still not installed ... I wish my elves would get to work.

My daily and only driver is a 1967 Olsmobile Cutlass 6 cylinder automatic. It stll has the early 60's feel to the styling and interior, a bulletproof drivetrain, incredibly cheap and available parts, and pulls down 24 mpg all day. Believe it or not, it only weighs 3050 lbs. Detroit took on alot of FED madated stuff in '68, some good, some bad, but the '67's in all Detroit makes are SUPER daily drivers!In reply to rconlon: