Anyone drive a silly car for their work?
Discussion
Im not sure how silly (impractical) my current car qualifies as but I use my car (Gen 1 BRZ) working as a photographer day to day covering around 50-60 miles.
I did buy it with a view to maybe relegate it to weekend use a few years down the line but for now part of the appeal is that it does do the day to day stuff better than expected. I always wanted another MX-5 or a Toyobaru but having a boot, decent MPG and sort of back seats was part of the appeal.
I've had a few raised eyebrows but a few nice comments where most people tend to use something fairly run of the mill like a Polo or Yaris for trudging around during the day. Admittedly I did feel quite self conscious in it at the beginning - its in a typical Subaru colour scheme!
Which got me thinking .....During working hours you come across the usual vans, rep mobiles, SUVs and EVs (usually Teslas or MGs) However you occasionally see something interesting floating around like a Porshe 911 or an Alpine A110 - I see a surprising amount of Lotus Emiras. Tonnes of MX5s of all ages too. So I was curious to see who out there uses something really silly for their day job and who has just used something that they just want to use without considering the practicalities.
I did buy it with a view to maybe relegate it to weekend use a few years down the line but for now part of the appeal is that it does do the day to day stuff better than expected. I always wanted another MX-5 or a Toyobaru but having a boot, decent MPG and sort of back seats was part of the appeal.
I've had a few raised eyebrows but a few nice comments where most people tend to use something fairly run of the mill like a Polo or Yaris for trudging around during the day. Admittedly I did feel quite self conscious in it at the beginning - its in a typical Subaru colour scheme!
Which got me thinking .....During working hours you come across the usual vans, rep mobiles, SUVs and EVs (usually Teslas or MGs) However you occasionally see something interesting floating around like a Porshe 911 or an Alpine A110 - I see a surprising amount of Lotus Emiras. Tonnes of MX5s of all ages too. So I was curious to see who out there uses something really silly for their day job and who has just used something that they just want to use without considering the practicalities.
I used to daily a caterham round the country to work on customers sites. Did about 34k in 18 months. Completely lost my sanity, hearing and sense of humour. And the caterham completely melted away into a pile of rust and aluminium oxide and was rebuilt with the parts and a new chassis/body!
I'm well practiced at this.
Late 1980s 60 mile commute into north London in a 1966 MG midget , then in a 1975 Spitfire
Early1990s I was doing 200 miles a day in a Triumph Stag, the heater tap broke one day & I spent the weekend ripping the dashboard out to replace it. The replacement broke within a week so I did the same again the following weekend, the replacements replacement broke within a couple of days. At this point I gave up & traded it in for what was then a year old Mk1 MX5.
My work location changed & ended up covering most of the UK for work, Including a weekly commute from Hertfordshire to Glasgow for 6 months, that MX5 did 85,000 miles in under 2 years with nothing other than a set of tyres & normal servicing.
Subsequent less sensible cars for the commute have included:
8 year old 911 Carrera Supersport - 40,000 miles in a year, the tyre bill nearly bankrupted me.
10 year old 964 Carrera 2 - 60,000 miles in 2 years, the servicing costs nearly bankrupted me, but sold the car for what I paid for it
6 year old 997.2 Carrera 4S, 50,000 miles in 2 years - made a profit when I sold it
Year old Caterham 7 - managed 18months of a 50 mile a day lovely cross country commute before I got fed up with getting wet
Brand new lotus Elise 220 - 20,000 miles in a year, too fragile, aircon kept breaking, back injury meant I struggled to get in & out
Current daily is new 911T - twice weekly 100mile round trip to work, I don't see the point in having it if you don't use it!
Late 1980s 60 mile commute into north London in a 1966 MG midget , then in a 1975 Spitfire
Early1990s I was doing 200 miles a day in a Triumph Stag, the heater tap broke one day & I spent the weekend ripping the dashboard out to replace it. The replacement broke within a week so I did the same again the following weekend, the replacements replacement broke within a couple of days. At this point I gave up & traded it in for what was then a year old Mk1 MX5.
My work location changed & ended up covering most of the UK for work, Including a weekly commute from Hertfordshire to Glasgow for 6 months, that MX5 did 85,000 miles in under 2 years with nothing other than a set of tyres & normal servicing.
Subsequent less sensible cars for the commute have included:
8 year old 911 Carrera Supersport - 40,000 miles in a year, the tyre bill nearly bankrupted me.
10 year old 964 Carrera 2 - 60,000 miles in 2 years, the servicing costs nearly bankrupted me, but sold the car for what I paid for it
6 year old 997.2 Carrera 4S, 50,000 miles in 2 years - made a profit when I sold it
Year old Caterham 7 - managed 18months of a 50 mile a day lovely cross country commute before I got fed up with getting wet
Brand new lotus Elise 220 - 20,000 miles in a year, too fragile, aircon kept breaking, back injury meant I struggled to get in & out
Current daily is new 911T - twice weekly 100mile round trip to work, I don't see the point in having it if you don't use it!
BertBert said:
I used to daily a caterham round the country to work on customers sites. Did about 34k in 18 months. Completely lost my sanity, hearing and sense of humour. And the caterham completely melted away into a pile of rust and aluminium oxide and was rebuilt with the parts and a new chassis/body!
Ok these are all great but i think you win!!! 
Thats some serious dedication.Edited by AdamG_BRZ on Thursday 19th February 19:53
AdamG_BRZ said:
21TonyK said:
I used my Exige as a daily for pretty much 5-6 years, often pinched by Mrs21 as well.
Both too sensible now.
Thats actually a goal of mine now i think! Was it a series 1 or 2?Both too sensible now.
Surprisingly practical car and with the right seats very comfortable, albeit a bit noisy with a decat and Larini.
When younger, I used a mk1 mr2, vx220, smart roadster(s), MK1 mx5 as dailies for about 12 years or so.
Last year, I used my air cooled T25 for about 3.5 months as a daily whilst my DS3 was off the road waiting for airbags.
The novelty of using two seat convertibles wore off quickly once kids came along....although I used to take my 6 month old daughter to nursery in the mx5.
Also, last year using the camper soon wore thin, with no air con, smelling in traffic, heaters jammed on hot, a breakdown (slave cylinder failure), noisy, no power steering, no electric windows, four speed, 18mpg, tyre valves leaking.
Last year, I used my air cooled T25 for about 3.5 months as a daily whilst my DS3 was off the road waiting for airbags.
The novelty of using two seat convertibles wore off quickly once kids came along....although I used to take my 6 month old daughter to nursery in the mx5.
Also, last year using the camper soon wore thin, with no air con, smelling in traffic, heaters jammed on hot, a breakdown (slave cylinder failure), noisy, no power steering, no electric windows, four speed, 18mpg, tyre valves leaking.
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