i daily drove mine for about 8 years. averaged 17 mpg

its an older car though so you'll have to replace parts every once in a while.

 

I daily mine .. and well .... Like stated above its an old car things break you get angry yell at it . LOL

want a fun car that you can daily on the cheap get a miata...


We dont know your economic status so I'm not going to say no ..

But atleast for me I've had quite a bit of issues . and if I hadnt the time , and space , resources to fix them myself I'd be screwed..


THAT BEING SAID ! I know people who have had their cars and havent had to do anythign but add gas and oil .

 

I DD mine out here in CA w/o issue - other than a **** load of money spent on gas. Didn't work quite so well when I lived in NYC though. The car totally useless in the snow and ice.

 

Depends how bad you want to daily drive it, and your finances, and your ability to work on it.

IMO, its not worth the wear and tear, the higher risk of door dings/accidents/hail/etc, and the miles you'll accumulate. If I'm putting miles on the car, they need to be miles I'm going to enjoy, not mindlessly driving to work in the morning on the highway.

All the cars you listed are not logical daily drivers lol, but it comes down to what you want, and what your tastes are. In regards to the evo and subaru, as a mechanic, I've seen a lot of issues with those cars, especially subarus lol, as j9fd3s said.

If money is tight and you can only afford one car, Civic Si hands down would be the best daily, perfect balance of fun, practicality, reliability, and maintenance.

 

Thanks everyone, the insight is great

 

I drive a wrx for a daily don't listen to the people who say they blow up all the time mine is creeping up to 250000 miles.

 

I wouldn't drive an FD at college, no way, I would have a second car IMO. I think the WRX is a POS. Never drove an STI, but the stock wrx in 2001 blows when I test drove it. EVO is alright, but driving one in College? really?

I would just drive a POS as it sits outside and kids won't try to steal stuff out of it. It would be cheaper all around insurance, gas, etc. Have fun with little worries in college, don't strap yourself down with an expensive car.

And for the record, down at PPIR (pueblo racetrack) we had (2) 7's down there, (1) subby blew up, one overheated, and the other was about to overheat in the 100 degree heat 5K above sea level. both 7's ran faster laps (2nd gen, 3rd gen) and both drove home afterwards.

 

I'd agree with most of the posters above. I have a 2001 Saturn SC2 as a daily driver... it does make the FD look like a high-strung performance beast.

The main problem with the FD is not actually the daily driving, it's the other factors. A well-maintained stock FD is relatively reliable. If you're driving country roads, etc. and not stuck in city traffic, it's great. Otherwise, the heat buildup and poor mileage are going to take their toll. Also, rough roads and construction are not good for the FD... being a performance car, it likes smooth asphalt and especially tracks. If the suspension has been modified, this goes double.

The main thing I'd be concerned about is theft. If the FD is left in a campus lot, even for a little while, there's a good chance somebody is going to have a go at it. As mentioned above, accidents and wear and tear are also bad for the FD. Since its parts were made to be lightweight, some of them will break due to age and exposure (e.g., UV).

I've spent almost nothing on maintenance for my FD this year. It's due for an oil change and I'll probably replace the filters on the A'PEXi intake soon.

 

Only thing I would worry about is door dents and scratches, my daily went through hell when I was in college, once it got a huge door dent a week after it got out of the shop from someone backed into me while I was parked. I would think twice unless you have a private spot where you live and a garage spot at school, I was not able to get a garage spot till senior year.

As far as Subie, those are definitely hit or miss. 2 of my buddy has WRX/STi, one guy is on his 3rd one. He blew the tran on his first one, has low compression on 1 cylinder in his 2nd, and now he has a 2014 STi, we'll see how this one go. My other friend has an STi that never run right, gets him from point A to point B but any car can do that nowadays.

 

fix it or die well said

 

Our '94 DD FD just passed smog testing today with lots of margin, at 110K miles.

 

i DD

 

You guys must have bad luck with the Subaru's 3 of my close friends have wrx/sti and they are all running. Funny thing is two of them have/had rx7s they both blew up lol.


Scratch that make that 4 running subies friends brother just bought one.

 

Best answer

It's a 20 year old sports car that gets terrible mileage, has no storage capacity etc..... but if you must, you must because as thatdon pointed out the car is just that fun to drive so for 15 years it's been my daily driver and I also WOULD NOT HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY

In the case of the OP

F#CK NO don't get a FD if you are going to college and living in a dorm, SERIOUSLY.....................DAMN!!!!!!

Get a scooter or a bike, save some money, get a job, buy a house............then buy a toy. However if I'm reading this situation wrong and you have lots of cash you can blow through then do whatever you want but don't ask stupid questions or you will get stupid answers.

 

I daily drove my Fd while in college, and I wish I would have bought something more practical. It will get door dings, has no cargo space and you can only have one other person in the car. I wish I would have just got some economy car at that time and saved money on gas, insurance, the car itself, etc. The best thing I have done now is to have gotten a DD. I have a daily that has a more comfortable ride, more space, and is cheaper to operate. The best thing in my opinion though, is that now when I drive the FD on the weekend, it is so much more fun and I fall in love with that car again every time.

 

The young guys are foolish enough to daily drive an FD. The older guys are smart enough to know better. Years (decades) of driving experience, and an appreciation of the car make it clear that the FD a horrible choice as a daily driver for those that have been around long enough to know better.

 

I agree. Especially on a college campus. Way to much traffic and opportunity for someone to mess with it.

 

I'm old (50 this year) and have been daily driving an FD for 15 years. AGAIN I would not have it any other way. If I go two days w/o driving my FD I miss it. I can't imagine going 5 or more days all the time.

Anthony Robbins: “If you can't you must, and if you must you can.”

 

Shoot... if I (still) lived in the same area you do Fritz I'd also be driving my FD any chance I could!!

On a college campus though, with a steady future of short trips and incomplete warmups... she'd go into storage to wait for the occasional long and twisty backroad.

 

Fritz,

Most of us have not had the wide assortment of FD's to choose from that you have had.

 

Understood, simply pointing out that some of us old bastards still DD the FD

 

You know to Fritz's defense I think his DD fds are pretty much stock and well maintained. The lesson should be that if you don't modify the car into an early grave and maintain it well it make a fine daily driver.

I personally haven't driven an fd on a a daily basis since 2004 but that again was due to single turbo conversion and removing the AC.