Last Updated on February 10, 2024
While it can be fun, driving a classic car on a daily basis is considered to be risky. Fortunately, with the right preparation and planning, you can enjoy driving your classic car as regularly as possible, while mitigating the associated risk.
Prospective classic car owners often ask the question, “Can you drive a classic car daily?” Considering the fact that most of us dream of owning a certain classic car from an early age, and can only afford one later on in life, it makes sense you would want to know whether the classic car can end up as your daily driver. This way, you can enjoy using it as much as possible.
The answer is YES. You can drive a classic car daily. Many people think that it is quite hard to drive a classic car on a regular basis. However, if you choose the right car and make the right preparations, you can enjoy riding in your favorite classic car, day in day out. If you opt for a modern classic, you might have an easier time driving it regularly.
Considering that you have wanted to own and drive your favorite classic car, and have spent your hard earned cash to acquire it, you should be able to enjoy driving it whenever you want to.
However, before you start using your classic as a daily driver, be sure to consider the following important facts first.
Factors To Consider When Deciding Whether You Can Drive Your Classic Car Daily
Safety
Classic cars are basically older vehicles. Cars are likely to be less safe, the older they are, according to published statistics from the US Department of Transportation .
Safety should not be overlooked when it comes to driving your classic car on a daily basis – especially if you will be ferrying your family around in it. The chances of you ending up in an accident increase the more you drive.
Over the recent past, there have been numerous advancements in the field of car safety. As such, even though some modern classics may come with multi airbags and side impact systems, they are not as safe as the latest models.
Wear And Tear
When it comes to deciding whether you can use your classic car as a daily driver, wear and tear, and maintenance requirements are among the main considerations to keep in mind. The more you use your car, the higher the mileage, and the more it accumulates wear and tear. All this leads to enhanced maintenance requirements. Therein lies the issue, as classic car maintenance can be quite costly.
In some cases, locating spare parts for some classics might be very hard. As such, driving it more means that you might end up breaking apart that might take a lot of effort and time to find a spare.
Practicality
Practicality is another important consideration you should keep in mind when deciding whether you should your classic car on a regular basis. Here we are talking about the number of seats in the car as well as the presence and condition of other important care features, such as stereo, air conditioning system and GPS among others.
If your car only has two seats, you will not be able to carry more people in it. On top of that, you may have to change the head unit, in order to upgrade an inferior navigation and entertainment system in an older car – a change you might not want to make if you want to preserve the car’s original stereo system.
Simply put, you are likely to get tired of your car fairly quickly, if it fails to do what you want it to do.
Impact On Value
Driving your vehicle on a regular basis can have a huge impact on the value of your classic car. With that in mind, many people who buy classic cars with the intention of selling them off in future at a higher value normally keep them stored away. However, if you bought your classic car so as to enjoy driving it on the regular, you might not have much regard for its residual value.
Insurance
You will need to take out a regular car insurance policy if you intend to drive your classic car on a daily basis. This is mainly due to the fact that classic car insurance policies normally require you to have a separate daily driver, in addition to placing a mileage limit on your classic car driving.
Classic car insurance policies tend to be more affordable. However, they come with a variety of conditions on how the car is to be utilized. For instance, you might be required to keep your car stored in a garage for longer periods of the year and abide by an annual mileage limit. Furthermore, the insurer may require you to have a separate daily driver.
With that in mind, you might have to take up a standard policy on your classic car, in order for you to use it regularly. However, you should note that such a policy may be more expensive than a classic car policy. Furthermore, the insurance company may only agree to cover the car to a set value (a stated value policy) – instead of the full value of the car. ValuePenguin provides a great breakdown of agreed versus stated value car insurance policies.
I would encourage you to look at the value that the insurance company is covering before you take out a policy. To make sure that you cover the full value of the car, consider having it appraised before you start shopping for a policy.
