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Daily Driver or Weekend/Track Car?

ECR033
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ECR033 Mentor

ECR033

Posted
Posted

With more impending mods on the horizon and the high fuel prices looking like a permanent part of Sydney life, I've started to contemplate buying a cheap, economical "shitter" for the daily grind to and from work, leaving the Skyline for the more enjoyable weekend drive and a bit of track work.

So, I was just wondering what other people do - do people use their modded (200rwkw +) Skylines as just a weekend and/or track car or do you still use it as a daily driver?

Thoughts? Opinions? Pros? Cons?

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https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/74749-daily-driver-or-weekendtrack-car/
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Sydneykid Grand Master

Sydneykid

Posted
Posted

Do the numbers.........

Rego and 3rd part insurance for the shitter will cost say $1,000

If the shitter gets 10 litres per hundred kilomtres

Compared to the Skyline that gets 15 litres per hundred kilometres

Fuel costs say $1.00 a litre for the shitter and $1.10 a litre for the Skyline

You would have to do more than 24,000 k's a year in the shitter to get your money ($1000) back.

I don't know about you, but I couldn't drive a shitter 2,400 k's a year let alone 10 times that much.

:P

Morgs Veteran

Morgs

Posted
Posted

Ahh - but then add the cost of worn components and maintenance and then I think you'll find the bunky/shitter will be a winner - at least its the case for myself!

:P

PS Mason I didn't just see your R33 at Ermington shops did I ... ? (Going off your avatar)

ECR033 Mentor

ECR033

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Posted

Both valid points SK & Morgs - some food for though eh. Still not decided on what to do to be honest, hence the reason for floating the question to see what other people do/think. Thanks for the input.

Fatz/Mark,

I am considering a 31 (amongst other things), although I don't know how "economical" they would be.

PS Mason I didn't just see your R33 at Ermington shops did I ... ? (Going off your avatar)
Yep that was me (first time i've been spotted lol!) - I work in the area, so I'm up there fairly often. I was just getting a bite to eat :P
Morgs Veteran

Morgs

Posted
Posted

Haha. Classic. I got a R31 for my daily, and Mason it was up at the shops you parked just near it. Car sounds nice btw. I see your car up there on occasion.

They're economical enough... drive maybe 300-350km a week and it will cost me about $35. Parts are cheap, manual, rwd, so a bit of fun as well!

benm Grand Master

benm

Posted
Posted

I have an automatic 2000 hiace van (for work) and for the 10mths that I had that + my R33 gts-t (before selling it) I have to say without a doubt the van was used more than the skyline. The skyline only came out on thur/fri/sat nites only, it was just too much hassle.

I drove my hiace van everywhere else because its more economical, no risk of theft, easier to park (don't have to worry about finding a spot 100m away so no1 will bang my doors), it's auto so I just put my foot down and not worry about anything. I've never had a cop glance sideways at me (regardless of my speed or time of day driving) and it's also totally tax deductable :thumbsup:

My Skyline went from doing 400-500km/wk to maybe 50-75km/wk on avg. My work van does around 1,300km/wk (but 95% of that is for work). If I had a regular job (no vehicle requirements) I don't know that i'd go out and buy a 2nd vehicle though, it'd be a consideration if I had maybe a 300+ kw skyline but a 200kw is certainly daily drivable.

In the 48,000km that i've had my hiace (10mths) it has never ever missed a beat, and the engine feels exactly the same as it did the day I purchased it. Tell me how many skyline owners have driven 48,000km and just put fuel+oil in it whilst driving well over 1000km/wk (totally different types of vehicles I realise).

Sydneykid Grand Master

Sydneykid

Posted
Posted
I have an automatic 2000 hiace van (for work) and for the 10mths that I had that + my R33 gts-t (before selling it) I have to say without a doubt the van was used more than the skyline. The skyline only came out on thur/fri/sat nites only, it was just too much hassle.

I drove my hiace van everywhere else because its more economical, no risk of theft, easier to park (don't have to worry about finding a spot 100m away so no1 will bang my doors), it's auto so I just put my foot down and not worry about anything. I've never had a cop glance sideways at me (regardless of my speed or time of day driving) and it's also totally tax deductable ;)

My Skyline went from doing 400-500km/wk to maybe 50-75km/wk on avg. My work van does around 1,300km/wk (but 95% of that is for work). If I had a regular job (no vehicle requirements) I don't know that i'd go out and buy a 2nd vehicle though, it'd be a consideration if I had maybe a 300+ kw skyline but a 200kw is certainly daily drivable.

In the 48,000km that i've had my hiace (10mths) it has never ever missed a beat, and the engine feels exactly the same as it did the day I purchased it. Tell me how many skyline owners have driven 48,000km and just put fuel+oil in it whilst driving well over 1000km/wk (totally different types of vehicles I realise).

The Stagea has done 30,000 k's and all it has received is fuel and the regular services. It tows race cars, goes interstate and carries engines and other heavy stuff around. It is getting a few mods along the way of course.

The questions;

1. Why on earth would I want to drive a Hiace instead of a Skyline? I don't own a Skyline to look at it, I own it to drive it.

2. I am not going to keep this Skyline for ever, somewhere between 2 and 4 years and I will move on. I don't need or want to be driving the same car for longer than that.

Best summed up as ......... I am not a car collector, I am a car driver.:thumbsup:

PS; Plus I only have a 6 car garage, where the hell would I put another car?

predator Grand Master

predator

Posted
Posted

I disagree.. sure on paper the daily seems like a waste. But there a lot of other factors.

Depends where you live. I paid $1500 for R31 (again a good choice for daily, although I am sure there are plenty of dodgy ones).. 3rd party was $220 a year. Extra rego was expensive true @ around $640 a year. You have to add maintenance costs, but if you do your own, and obviously a cheap daily doesn't require any quality servicing materials.. In the end, I sold the daily for $100 more than I bought it for 12 months later (should have never sold it :thumbsup:)

So lets say close to low $1000 a year to keep that car on the road. Therefore if your "main" car costs you $1000 above and beyond the skyline, its worthwhile if you ask me.

One accident could truly destroy your year in the expensive car, with a $1000 excess. In the daily you'd just fix it or not care.

If you drive the main car less, you can probably get away with 3rd party as its not going to be parked in dodgy areas, less likely to be involved in accident, you're driving it less. Never discount the *stress factor* of worrying where to park it, some turd keys the whole side (who do you claim insurance against then? your rating goes down).. that piece of mind is worth big dollars in my book. Nothing ever happens to a car you don't care about anyhow, no matter how hard you try.

Now my aussie R31 got about 12L/100km (new o2 sensor), and thats not even an economical car compared to say a small 1.6L hatch which may get 8-10L/100km.. I just drove it anywhere, drove about 30,000km in one year (I drive a lot). Say a reasonable modified skyline gets 14L/100km. Thats a 600L difference a year = 600 x $1L avg = $600. oh yeah, the daily can use regular rather than premium, 5c/L cheaper there.. you can fill up on budget safeway rubbish which may work out a bit cheaper too. The difference in financial terms was marginal, but if anything did happen I was always ontop, as on the odds, daily got used 80% of time, other car 20%.. If something bad happened, 80% chance of it happening in the daily.

Think about the cost of depreciation on the more expensive skyline with extra km on the clock as well.

I want to pull out the engine out of my car this year.. It might be off the road for a month. How do I do that if I don't have another car to drive around?

Duncan Grand Master

Duncan

Posted
Posted

sweet, I'm parking a few of my cars at SK's place :P

I used to do the daily driven + weekend car Skyline thing, did it for years. They are great cars and handle to pressure well...but in the end there are too many compromises if you are really serious about your car.

so now we have a 350z to thrash (i mean commute), the tow car and the race car :D

Sydneykid Grand Master

Sydneykid

Posted
Posted
sweet, I'm parking a few of my cars at SK's place :)

I used to do the daily driven + weekend car Skyline thing, did it for years.  They are great cars and handle to pressure well...but in the end there are too many compromises if you are really serious about your car.

so now we have a 350z to thrash (i mean commute), the tow car and the race car :(

Sorry Duncan, the 6 car garaging is full. And it looks like another GTR is coming..................:headspin:

Like Duncan, I have a car for weekends, it's called a race car. So I don't have to drive a compromise car during the week, it's set up nicely for the street. That makes sense to me, but having a hack to drive around just so the road Skylines does less K's doesn't add up. If my road Skyline was that bad to drive everyday, unrealiable and expensive to maintain then the compromise is screwed, it's not a road car anymore. That's the secret, not going too far and stuffing up a perfectly good daily driver.

:rolleyes:

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