I had a $300 Mercury Sable that lasted for 2 winters, then the tranny took a dump. I'd say it was a good investment to not drive my baby in the snow. Now that I actually have a job 'n stuff, I got a Nissan Altima as my daily driver/winter car.

I got myself a '78 Datsun 510... 300 bucks. Have driven from Largo to Ft Smith Arkansas and back and not one hint of a problem... Oh ya and it has 70k miles on it. =)

Matt P.

There are probably as many opinions on this as there are personal situations. For me, I categorize my FD as a DD but only in the Summer. Living in the midwest, I put it up for the winter for obvious reasons. I have a "company" car for work so that's not an issue. When the family goes anywhere, we pile into my wife's Aurora. BTW, I have an old 4x4 pickup (beater) for the winter. Good heater, handy to have.

my reasons for having a daily driver are:
1. having to worry less about being hit by a dumbass
2. insurance is less
3. less wear and tear on the fd
4. keeping the miles low
5. fd's are gas guzzlers
6. i have more $$ to put into my fd
7. its an irreplaceable car for the deal i got on it
8. no trunk space, impossible to travel with (long rides suck in a car that has "Heman" suspension)
9. i alreay had a daily driver:)

With all this talk about sub $2000 DD'ers I'm surprised no one has mentioned the ULTIMATE compliment to a dd'ven FD3S......A nice FB :)

1st gens rule! I'd love to have my ol '82 back...(4 port 13b + BPU)

I drive a Mercedes CLK-GTR to and from work.

I've daily driven my FD for SEVEN YEARS and about 95k miles. Yes, it has been down a bunch of times(two motors due to bad coolant seals). It has been my only car.

I'd love to have a second car, like a 4x4, for a daily driver. But since I live in SF in an area where street parking is a bitch and only have one garage space, I have held off on buying DD. I do have my beater sportbike for short tirps to the autoparts store:)

Drove my FD daily for about 8 months, then it blew up. Decided i needed a beater car. Friends own a car dealership, making it very easy.. and if any of you guys ever need a car PM me.. we can go to auction and find what you want!

I drive a 92 mustang LX 4cyl as my beater, since it just lets me play with my FD in the garage or on the weekends. Just nice to have reliable transportation that gets good gas mileage. A beater is just a car to get you around...

If you have some social problems and can't see yourself driving an 800$ car, and you NEED to be in your FD.. you got problems man...

Used Hyundai Elantra GLS. Reliable and cheap. Never an issue in 5+ years...

I tried that for awhile but you need a very well taken care of FB. The frames tend to rust out...

Old Saturns are pretty cheap also but not sure how reliable they are

Actually my FD is my daily driver as was my first FD and my FC before that.

I do, however have a backup.....
The magic 1987 Volvo 245 that I purchased 6 years ago for $1500 with 120,000 miles on it. The car now has ~350K miles on it and during the time I have owned it has cost me less than $350 in total repairs, including a new clutch.

Before the 87 Volvo I had an '84 245 wagon that I retired at 430K miles. Total repair costs on that one was about $1300 (2 clutches, ball joints, exhaust system and u-joints).

If you have to have a beater, do yourself a favor and get a 240 series Volvo.

i feel more dumb

This is unrelated, but the same thing happened to my FC, when I tore it down for the rebuild, the #1 oil jet plug was found in the rotor - seriously beat up.

I have never heard of that happening before.

I drive a '96 Saturn SL2 as my beater, and it's been very reliable for the four years I've had it. I got it for free from my grandmother, so that helps too! But on the maintenance side, apart from regular maintenance, I've only had to spend about $400 on getting the engine mounts redone, and that's it. I would definitely reccomend a Saturn as a daily beater car (plus they have some decent amenities like leather seats).

anyways...
my car has been extremely reliable. I drive it hard on the road, track it, and run it at the strip. My FD has been very good to me...its amazing how things work well when u take care of them. My theory is that FD's get a bad rap cause of shitty owners...no?

My FD Is my daily driver. I have so much fun driving it, I actually look forward to getting up at 6 AM and driving to work. I think I would feel dead inside to drive a FWD 4 banger every day.

When I get my Elise, my FD will remain my daily driver.

I've driven the FD daily for a yr before I got a beater. It was ok driving it daily but I wish I'd kept my '86 GXL. It was a much better daily driver.

I don't drive the beater every day. Just makes the days I drive the FD that much more fun. You get used to the speed if you have a fast car every day. Plus I don't enjoy the FD unless I'm doing something which may get me in trouble (i.e. too fast, agressive, etc). Got pulled over like 3 times in 1 1/2 months about a year ago. Also like to keep the mileage off of it and not drive it in bad weather.

Hard to get into trouble with a Hyundai. Can't even spin the tires unless it's wet. Also have a truck which even with a 5.9L V8 is not any faster than the Hyundai. It's such a sleeper;) Thinking about going single on my 1.8 DOHC...

I bought my 88 Monte SS for $2,100. What a great car.
Incredibly reliable.
I just got tired of having Boston beat the crap out of my 7. Snowy winters were also a big consideration. The car is also at the point that it needs restoration.
I loved driving mine everyday. It only stranded me twice in 3 years of driving it everyday. It didn't ever run consistently though. I just got the car at the wrong time........when everything was about to go.........and believe me it did.
Once I get it restored, I will drive it 80% of the time again. It won't be for over a year(possibly longer) though.
The 7 can be reliable, but certain things have to be done.
If you do all the reliablity mods, maybe even go non-sequencial, and run 10-12 psi, the car will be really reliable.

Well, they can be really good daily drivers, but who wants to put all that nonsensical mileage, wear and tear on a car thats meant to have the shit beaten out of it on the track, autox course, or drag strip. I bought my FDs to have fun working on something, and to build something. I don't like driving them in the rain, mud, snow, just no point.. its a sports car, why drive it to do mundane things? I'm with most of the people.. its a car to drive to get into trouble with.:D

my FD is my daily driver, 100 miles, and 100 mph daily! that is why, i need opinions, find my poll please.