daily drivers

[85redpini]

how many people are still using these cars as daily drivers? or even weekly drivers?

[Zoofly]

I've recently been using mine as a daily driver. I know the car is an inanimate object, but I can't help feeling the car seems happier serving a purpose in getting me to and from work. The commute is short, but it always feels like an adventure.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

I'm a bit of an oddball in that I ride my bicycle pretty much everywhere around town. When traveling with the wife or for longer distances, we use our "modern" cars. So, my two spiders are not daily drivers.

But, I try to drive both spiders at least every couple weeks or so, for three reasons:
1) They are great good fun to drive.
2) Fiats don't like to be ignored.
3) The dog absolutely loves to ride in the back with the top down. I swear that dog is learning English as we can no longer say "Let's go for a ride" because he goes bonkers. So we have to spell it out: "Let's go for a r.i.d.e." and so far he hasn't caught on.

-Bryan

[TX82FIAT]

Drive it once a week so a weekly driver. Either on the weekend for a trip to the gym or about once a month I drive it to work. Really, any excuse to drive the car. But not a daily driver.

[spider2081]

I put mine away from around November through March. Still we drive it around 5.000 miles year. Ours is a 1981 with a little over 202,000 miles on the odometer. We purchased the car in 2003 with 130,000 miles on it and started driving it in 2004. At first we were nervous about taking it too far from home but then realized we were driving the car a few hundred trouble free miles a week. Since 2008 we have driven the car to a few Freakouts that were well over 100 miles from our home. The longest trip was to Nova Scotia. We drove over 3,000 in 10 days. Knock on wood to date we have never needed to call for a tow or assistance.

[FiatRunner]

Since I live near Chicago, it is too cold to easily drive the car from mid-October to March or April. Once it is consistently above 40 or 45 degrees outside, it'll be my daily.

I bought my car in early October last year, and in 3 weeks I put more than 1000 (mostly) trouble-free miles on the little car. The effect on my emotions was incredible. I couldn't believe how happy driving my car made me. I miss it so much, and I absolutely cannot wait to drive it again this spring.

I drive plenty, more than 150 miles per week, as I am still a student and I have to drive between multiple different campuses every day.

[WhistlerFiat]

Live in Whistler, BC, Canada with a red ‘78 124 with tan canvas. First car 40+ years ago was a ‘72 model. Loved It. Bought Honey 18 months ago from a North Vancouver Italian retiring to the homeland. Couldn’t take it with him. He went through the five stages of grief selling me the car. Denial that he put it up for sale, Anger that I showed up with money to buy it, Negotiation with himself that it must happen, Depression that he was losing a major love in his life, Acceptance when he handed me the keys at the insurance and registration storefront.
I gave him back the keys for a last drive back to his place. He opened it up on the Upper Levels highway, top down on a gorgeous day, and we shared a couple of beers, even though I don’t drink, at his house before I left. I told him this car is instant celebrity status, even in a place like Whistler. Day driver around town. Turns heads and everyday someone approaches with a story about how they had one, knew someone who had one, had an uncle who would flip the keys to one once a year for a week etc. parked underground through winter and cruising the ribbon highways of BC the rest of the time.

[redcars]

I use mine as daily driver's when no salt on the roads and it's not raining.

[Redwolf]

I use mine as daily driver's when no salt on the roads and it's not raining.

I don't drive mine in the rain either - mine is a '77 that I'd had since '97. It's probably been rained on a dozen times - due to daily driver being in the shop or an unexpected shower. Back to the original question - mine's not a daily driver but I still drive it a fair amount.

[litshopofguitars]

Mine was a daily driver from 1979 - 1990 March-November, NY Car.
However since 1990 it has been a once a month Sunday drive car, then it sat from 2005-2021, Just got it running this past March, drove it weekly, 3 weeks ago I started it to go for my Sunday drive and had a screeching sound then smoke from under the hood. shut it off now it wont start, won't turnover...nothing! But you can push start it!!! It has 60,000 miles, needs all new bushings, rusty gas tank & gas lines, leaky radiator, needs brakes, and Tires, the engine leaks oil, and everything else you could imagine is wrong with it...It's a Fiat!
The car is a family heirloom, should I do a full restore or not, That is my question?