What 20 year old car would you choose as your daily drive?
Discussion
For a daily from 97 i'd either have a bmw 740 or an audi a4 tqs depending on the mileage i was covering and if borkage would cause me grief workwise, the 7 was a lovely place to spend time and was a relaxing but perky drive but my £500 audi never put a foot wrong and was fun to drive.
280E said:
Jaguar X300
Or maybe a Citroën XM if I was in the right mood...
Both cars I would happily have on my drive Or maybe a Citroën XM if I was in the right mood...
Edited by 280E on Monday 29th May 21:10
(though how long would it be before the XM takes root unhappily on the drive? 
)Got mine. A PH favourite of the Mazda MX-5 (okay mines a 2001 Mk2.5 but still). I also have a 23yo Range Rover so slightly older than 1997 but still has airbags/ABS/TC so I stand by it
Daily driver... needs to:
- be reliable
- go easy on fuel and tyres
- not depreciate too much
- cope with all weathers and being left outside for long periods
- be reasonably comfortable and not too effort-intensive to drive
- not bore you s
tless and/or make you look like a tt
Porsche 968, Land Rover Disco diesel, Some sort of hot Peugeot 306... that's about it huh?
- be reliable
- go easy on fuel and tyres
- not depreciate too much
- cope with all weathers and being left outside for long periods
- be reasonably comfortable and not too effort-intensive to drive
- not bore you s
tless and/or make you look like a ttPorsche 968, Land Rover Disco diesel, Some sort of hot Peugeot 306... that's about it huh?
I drove a '88 Porsche 944 as a daily for 8 years. It was 20 years old when I bought it.
Running costs were very reasonable, at least for maintenance; fuel a bit less so. Reliability was superb (one breakdown due to porous plug leads). It was a source of admiring looks and positive comments at petrol stations and car parks despite being the 'poor man's porsche' plus the odd 'is the engine in the back then?' and even a 'must be nice owning a ferrari' - it wasn't even red.
I loved it on the B roads. It wasn't fast by todays standards but the feedback and poise it had were excellent. Being a bit softer and on 15" alloys it rode well, with plenty of notice if things were getting toward the edge of its capabilities.
There were a great number of fellow enthusiasts willing to weigh in on any subject, offer parts, assist in maintenance issues. It was a car I ended up doing work on myself as it was relatively simple and fairly easy to do in the driveway.
Would I go back? Possibly. I think it would be hard to find a car built as well as the 944. On the other hand its nice to have a modern car now where everything works, fuel, tax and insurance are cheaper, and it has air-con. I doubt it will match the 944 in longevity.
I certainly wouldn't put anyone off owning a modern classic, just be careful and find the right one. Despite regular maintenance the niggles start to build up and mine was on the verge of becoming a money pit, so I decided to save the cash to spend on another car.
If i had to buy a 20 YO car now I think I'd have an Integra DC2 or a E46 3-Series Touring depending on practicality level required.
Running costs were very reasonable, at least for maintenance; fuel a bit less so. Reliability was superb (one breakdown due to porous plug leads). It was a source of admiring looks and positive comments at petrol stations and car parks despite being the 'poor man's porsche' plus the odd 'is the engine in the back then?' and even a 'must be nice owning a ferrari' - it wasn't even red.
I loved it on the B roads. It wasn't fast by todays standards but the feedback and poise it had were excellent. Being a bit softer and on 15" alloys it rode well, with plenty of notice if things were getting toward the edge of its capabilities.
There were a great number of fellow enthusiasts willing to weigh in on any subject, offer parts, assist in maintenance issues. It was a car I ended up doing work on myself as it was relatively simple and fairly easy to do in the driveway.
Would I go back? Possibly. I think it would be hard to find a car built as well as the 944. On the other hand its nice to have a modern car now where everything works, fuel, tax and insurance are cheaper, and it has air-con. I doubt it will match the 944 in longevity.
I certainly wouldn't put anyone off owning a modern classic, just be careful and find the right one. Despite regular maintenance the niggles start to build up and mine was on the verge of becoming a money pit, so I decided to save the cash to spend on another car.
If i had to buy a 20 YO car now I think I'd have an Integra DC2 or a E46 3-Series Touring depending on practicality level required.
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