Does anyone else drive their classic Cadillac as thair daily driver?

[Andrew Wall CLC#10638]

In 1991 I purchased a 1967 Eldorado for $2000, replacing a 1962 Coupe Deville, which replaced a 1977 Volvo.  Loved them all.  I put a total of $10,000 in the Eldorado in the 6 years I owned it before it was sold for about what I paid for it.  From a depreciation standpoint, that was perhaps ok compared to a new car purchase.  From an agravation standpoint, not so much.  These were primary drivers about 25 years old.  Today, a 1990 vehicle is much more reliable and safe than a mid-60's vehicle was in the mid 90's.   Whether driving a 25+ year old car as a primary/only vehicle is a good idea depends on whether you need reliable auto transport.   In a major urban area, perhaps not as necessary with Uber/the bus/your bike/your feet.  In a rural area, presuming a long commute, perhaps not a good choice.

The real issue is safety.  I could rationalize the lack of an airbag in my 68 Deville convertible, but stopping that 2.5 ton vehicle at freeway speeds is not fun.   The Eldo, with front drums, was worse.  I started to be concerned, and I would not drive any vehicle daily without front disc brakes. The reality was that US manufacturers really didn't offer greatly different cars from the mid-60's through the mid-80's, so you could drive something safely within that time frame.  In the last 25 years, not true any longer

I have 1988-94 vintage cars today that have ABS and "modern" systems  (compared to the early 80's) controls.  Always a challenge  to maintain the fleet.

[Maynard Krebs]

This long discussion covered a number of subjects.

The trends of states in the NorthEast, for example, are generally similar.   TAXachusetts is an awful mindset....but I believe what Bill Young wrote about New York State.

My daily driver is an '85 Town Car [I know, shame on me] that I bought cheaply in late Oct., '10 . . . . and it's the best $1200 car I've ever owned.   Yup, the A/C still blows COLD.

I want to buy an older four-door hardtop w/ vent windows.
Maybe I'll get lucky and find a '49 or '64 Cadillac.   My current 'garage queen' is an '89 Caprice w/ F41 suspension option, which gets 22.5 mph...in town!   But I want a Cad.

Yes, the 'trick' is to buy a car that you can afford to "self-insure"; i.e., no collision coverage.   Then you own it, and it doesn't own you.

Many of the early comments here were making a comparison to buying a new car... for relative costs, etc..   I don't know many folks that could afford a new one, OR would want to own a new one.

What makes it tempting to buy a big bomber from the 60s or 70s now is that gas is relatively low.   But we all know that won't last forever.

Yes, it depends on whether you're retired or not.... and have
some $$$ for a nice old ride.   : )

[mauro]

my 1979 Seville is a daily driver, just took it on 800mi trip- no problem      

[bcroe]

my 1979 Seville is a daily driver, just took it on 800mi trip- no problem

My 79 Eldo has become the most frequent daily driver; driven it a couple thousand miles since
it was made roadworthy again for the GN.  Between the style, the color (yellow), and the size,
it gets comments wherever I go.  It was considered a much more compact ELDO in 79; now
not so much. 

I started driving 60s cars.  They were simple enough, but needed too much maintenance. 
Later I found 70s cars required far less effort to keep in top condition; that was even more
so after I replaced all the steel plumbing with stainless steel, copper-nickel, or copper.  And
they run fine on crap unleaded.  Mine are driven to all the USA borders, and in Canada. 
Bruce Roe

[Bill Young]

I know I started this thread , Sorry for any misspelling initially , however I exist back in New York State now rather than Georgia so no more '72 Eldorado as my daily driver. Gas is much more expensive , tax tax tax and the weather is lousy at least half of the year.

[yachtflame]

I drive my 1930 Lasalle sedan every day that's not raining. (Too much car to wash!). I use it to grocery shop and to run to Home Depot. If you don't drive your car, why do you have it?
Wayne
CLC #17057

[David Greenburg]

I don't drive my Seville every day, but on nice weekends, of which we have a lot in N. California, I do use it for general purpose driving, including, like Wayne, trips to Home Depot.  I don't have a pickup or SUV, so over the years, I have used my Seville, and before that, my '59 60S as cargo haulers. If you tie open the trunk, its pretty amazing whatbyou can fit back there.  8 ft 2x4's, medium size Xmas trees, pieces of furniture . . .  And the guys at the local lumber yard get a huge kick out of it.

[TJ Hopland]

I saw a guy with a 56 at home depot last week.   He didn't have any lumber or anything like that in it but it was still cool to see.    I used to haul oversize items in my 73 by putting the top down.   I have had 2x4's and large pieces of furniture in there.    Once time I took it to the landscape place for couple yards of gravel but for that I was pulling my 16' trailer.   Would have been interesting to tell the guy I wanted it in the back seat and see if he would actually have done it.   

[hjlint]

I drive a 1972 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible as My dailey driver. I was wondering does anyone else?

My 1978 Seville is my daily driver. Not in snow or Ice though.

["Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364]

My wifes daily driver and out "traveling" car is her 76 CDV. Mine is currently my 75 de eleganse, but when I finish the AC on my new car (79 "Paris" conversion truck) that will be my driver. These cars were designed and built to be driven, and with minimal work maintained.
Greg Surfas

[64\/54Cadillacking]

What I find amazing is that you guys are driving your classics as dailys, and I really respect and admire that. You simply don't see anyone driving old classic Caddies unless it's to car shows, or on the weekends. But where I live, I rarely see anybody driving old cars. I get the sense that many of these owners are afraid to enjoy their oldies, and it irks me to why that is. I understand a trailer queen and the owner being scared of getting a scratch or dinged up from rocks and debri from the road, but if you own such a beauty, and hardly ever drive it, what's the point of having it if it just sits most of the time?

This is part of the reason most show car owners mostly pamper their classics, instead of driving them, and to me I would never want to own a show car because of that "worry" of possibly ruining the paint or chrome from driving it too much.

The 70's Cads are a good decade for daily driving as disk brakes became standard up front, they handled better, more reliable engineering was introduced during this time. Plus the added benefits of the 472 motor and TH400 was a perfect combo of reliability, durability, and enough power to get you going and being able to keep up with traffic. The cars were more refined as well. By the 80's, all the emission equipment was in full effect, and more things to go wrong.

[Tpicks55]

I bought a 75 Eldo convertible a year ago.  It needs a lot to get it road worthy but when I am finished with it I will drive it most anyplace.  One I want to show it off as I just love the big boat.  Two, its a statement that I saved a old car to keep it alive and for all to see what Detroit did in the past.  when its complete I'll have a reasonably good car to drive just about any place in style and enjoy the experience.  I'll retire with a smile.

Hope I didn't make too many spelling errors for you spell checkers.    Tony

[Stereorob]

i just have regular insurance with my '50 series 61, as i plan on using it as my DD, shes just not there yet but almost! i have a classic plate on her but thats what they give you with a car this old in florida. they acted like it wasnt really a choice lol

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

My Daily Driver is a 1991 Sevile getting ready to turn over (I think...I didn't drive it today,) 24K. I was paying GM about $5700 a year to drive my ATS. In almost three years of ownership, I would have spent well over $15,000 to drive a "new" car. I've probably spent $4-5,000 on repairs on the '91. That's still a saving of about $10,000 at least. It has one airbag, Disc brakes all around, and ABS. The body is generally rust-free and dent free. It's been on one round trip to VA of about 1500 miles. Nice car.

[scotth3886]

I'm pretty close to using mine as a daily diver.  I've put 4,800 miles on it since I got in mid April.  Given the time that it's spent in the shop trying to make it into the car I thought I was buying, that's rolling the miles on pretty quickly.  I think most of the mechanical issues are now behind me and it's just a reliable big cruise ship.  I have some winter projects that can get done whenever, such as front vent window regulators, the vacuum pan for the HVAC blend door, cruise control, rechroming bumpers, etc.

Gas mileage isn't great, but 12 in town and 15 - 16 on the road a bit isn't terrible. 

For a daily, I leased a 2020 Honduh CRV and it just sits.  I have little to zero desire to drive it so I've only put a couple thousand miles on it.  I got it the same time that the fleetwood got here.  I'm going to Mecum Indy on Thursday so that will put another 500 miles on the Honduh, round trip from C-Bus to Indy and back.  I'm registered for the sale, but I really need to behave until I have the fleetwood fully sorted. 

[walt chomosh #23510]

I bought my 1955CDV over 20yrs ago and drove it home. It's been on the road as a driver and generally put 5K miles per year on it. I added a 09DTS approx 4years ago and find myself driving the 55 less and less as time wears on. Car shows have never rang my bell and cruises don't either. So lately my 55 sets in my toyhouse along side of my 1955 Airstream "Bubble". My consider clearing the garage space soon.....walt...tulsa,ok

[dochawk]

I'm having to *make up* reasons to drive just to get my Fleetwood driven enough . . . with barely one trip a week on average, it's barely seeing enough action to charge the battery . . .

If the Eldorados and Miata were running, I'd have some serious issues here . . .

[Biodude]

Since buying my '68 Eldorado this September, I've driven it nearly every day the sun is out. I love the car!

It's been a lot of fun working on small projects each day on the car, learning new things, and keeping up with maintenance.

The '91 Eldorado Biarritz gets a lot of use from my brother, and my '92 Deville has been my workhorse for road trips and inclement weather for the past few years.