Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rick]

Erindoors and I were discussing this t'other day, after commenting on how few daily-use classics we tend to spot nowadays.

At one time it'd be reasonably common to spot something like a Minor, a Beetle, or a 2CV say, seemingly in regular use. Now such spots are quite unusual. Weekends still see a few older cars out and about, perhaps going to a show or on a Sunday afternoon cruise, but what about daily/regular user classics? Are they getting scarcer? And why might it be - cost? difficulty in finding spare parts? Or the lure of taking the modern, with its many conveniences, proving too strong to resist?

I miss having a regular-use classic I must admit, if I see something fairly priced and up and running, I could be tempted with something a little later (say 1950s) than what I normally tinker with.

RJ
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[Peter_L]

My immediate thought is lack of skill/knowledge/interest.

So many things to occupy the life of the modern family, tinkering with the car may have slid down the scale of weekend pursuits.

[ukdave2002]

I suspect that a very high percentage of folk who run a classic are affluent enough to run a modern, plus running a classic on a daily basis is probably more expensive than running a 5 year old modern, so not worth it if one has a tight budget.

As I have posted before, I need to be able to jump in a car drive 200 miles for a meeting without worrying about what's going on under the bonnet.

Dave

[mikeC]

I think the daily-use classics are still out there - it's just that they are getting younger, and we're getting older
I still see several 30+ year old Minis in daily use, and there are at least two Mk3 Cortinas locally, beginning to look decidedly scruffy, but still in daily use. It's just that I cannot look on them as classics, and I don't think the owners see themselves as classic owners!
Oh, and there are at least two MGB GTs locally in daily use, and several Beetles too.
edit: My old Singer Vogue estate is still out there in daily use, too

[goneps]

[colwyn500]

I have recently turned into an almost "daily user" and I know what you're all getting at...modern cars are more confortable, faster and more reliable.

But the secret to this is that by using it daily I have started to think less about "what's going on under the bonnet" and jumping in for a 200 mile journey is not unusual.
Take yesterday...as posted elsewhere...260 miles there and back to Drimnin..(go Google).
DSC_4559 by peterthompson, on Flickr

[Ray White]

The most noticeable thing about a scrap yard today is how many of the cars look far too good to be there. With modern cars capable of much higher mileages and improvements in rust prevention one might have expected to find far older vehicles but most of them (excluding wrecks) look to be in quite reasonable condition.

I can only assume that chronic depreciation, coupled with astronomical repair costs are the reason why nearly all the cars we see on the roads today are fairly new. Also, we have more of a throw away mentality these days.

Another reason that older, less fashionable, cars are not kept going must be their complexity. You now have to go back a long way to find a car without a computer and even further to find a carburettor. I am not surprised that youngsters today don't understand how their cars work - let alone how to repair them. The idea of maintaining a classic car must seem quite bizarre to kids these days.

[colwyn500]

[Penman]

Hi
One of the biggest complaints my colleagues in my former (pre retirement last year) occupation have is the need to half strip the corners or even the whole front or rear of the car to fit a bulb.
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[Ray White]

[goneps]

I don't think I've ever taken a car I've owned to a garage/dealer for servicing. For a while I even serviced one company car, having become fed up with the ineptitude and appalling workmanship at the main agent.

When you cut through all the dealer nonsense about the need for regular servicing, which is merely designed to generate business, there's so little to do on modern cars that it's scarcely onerous. Thanks to synthetic engine oil, changes at 15,000km or 10,000 miles are the norm, and with the negligible mileage I do these days that's three years. The instructions for my modern state that the ATF doesn't need to be changed, neither does synthetic brake fluid.

There's nothing to grease, nothing to adjust, the engine oil level remains at the full mark between changes, and having deliberately chosen an engine with chain-driven camshaft, there's no cambelt to worry about. Compare that with 26 chassis grease points on the Morris needing attention every 500 miles, and oil changes every 1,000. The traditional monthly check of oil, water, battery, and tyre pressures about covers it. On that basis I wouldn't take the modern for regular services even if I could afford to.

Richard

[Mog]

My mother had her car "serviced ". A few miles down the road , she was having problems getting gears. She went back and it turned out that they had drained the gear box but failed to put any oil back in !

[Landy Des]

I won't debate if my daily user is a classic (1985) as I don't own it for that reason but it is becoming a fairly rare sight these days.

It costs absolute pennies to service and I can do it all myself. My commuting days are over but the Volvo still gets used for general running around and a monthly 400+ mile motorway thrash that it does with ease.

I was in the fortunate position for many years to have a company car or a car allowance. I always took the allowance and ran a number of classics rather than leasing a new car. It worked well as if I had to go out on business with the boss he always insisted we went in his new BMW....

[/img]

[alanb]

My modern that is now 15 years old need servicing (oil & filters) every 2 years or 18,000 miles. The onboard computer tells you if anything needs topping up or changing between services, apart from the washers and the odd bulb that's it, not even a dipstick for the engine oil.
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Morris 8 two seater

[mikeC]