Thread: Conundrum-How much is too much: the cost of Driving your car.

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It's all about what makes you happy. Like Don said, we'll find the money to pursue what we like. In my case, I build my cars to drive. Even when I lived in Indiana, I never put my hotrod in storage. If we had a clear day and the roads were dry, you might have seen me in a ski-mask and gloves driving my fenderless C-Cab delivery in 20 degree January weather! Now I live in Florida, so seasonal weather is not a factor; my coupe gets driven year-round... a lot!

Here are some real numbers: Since I do 100% of the work myself, I build my cars pretty reasonably. It cost me just over $7,600 to build my coupe. It's undoubtedly worth at least 4 times that (No, it's not for sale at any price!), but the real worth is in those smiles per gallon. I have regular plates on it and conventional insurance because I don't want any restrictions on when, where, and how much I can drive it. I have liability, property damage, uninsured motorist, medical, and comprehensive insurance. I do not carry collision insurance because if I wreck it I'll be the one who has to fix it anyway. The insurance costs $644 per year. It's not a blindingly fast car, but it has decent acceleration and handles like a European sports car. It averages 18.5 mpg on the road and about 15-16 mpg in town.

Haven't put a drop in mine in 5 years. Can't seem to get it to start.

I must be the exception.... Most of the time when I do have a "done" car of my own around it either sits or does most of it's travelling in the trailer....and not because they are a show car. When the car is out of town in the trailer it could be going to a show, to the dragstrip, or maybe even up to Brainerd for an open track day.....

Soooooo many idiots, drunks, and cell phoners on the road these days I just prefer not to let them take a shot at my pride and joy. The trailer isn't bullet proof, but it does give it a bit of protection. I still enjoy driving Hot Rods, I just am a bit fussy about the playing field I use.... I guess when I was a lot younger and there were a lot fewer cars on the road I wasn't quite as fussy about it as I am now. When I do take something out now it's either very late at night after all the drunks have floundered their way home or early on Sunday morning when most are sleeping in.

As for the hamb and other of these if you don't drive it, you ain't **** sites, I would imagine a lot of them are relatively new to Hot Rodding, or suffering from "I am Invincible" syndrome!!!!! Another reason, I'm afraid if someone did run into me, I'd probably wind up comitting at least one felony before the cops got there!!!!!

I still enjoy the process of the build as much or sometimes even more then curizin' in the finished product anyway!!!! Given my druthers, I'd rather be out in the shop then out on the road anyway.....

....my '32 w/ a small block Chev motor gets 10 MPG {w/ 4:11's} it used to get 12 MPG (w/ 3.0's}. It's insured for 1 million PL/PD, 2 G's deductable, w/ $60 G's agreed value that costs $525 every 6 months {State Farm}, no restrictions. I drive it everywhere, 365 days a year, cuz it's the only car I own. Although, I do rent cars from time to time to go long distances {if I'm in the 'mood' for a little confort!}.... I spend a lot of time in a town that's 25 miles away so I pretty much fill it up every time I leave the house {$50 bucks}. BUT the SPG are well worth it! I get the 'tumbs up' all the way from kids that are 6 years old up to 90 year olds! I'd drive it everyday even if it got 4 MPG!!! A while back in a gas station I had a guy driving a Ferrari looking it over & complimenting me on it! Bill

Hmmmm
What does it cost to drive my car?


Lets see. 2 1/2 weeks ago- drive to car show, lumber falls from truck, Deuce hits lumber.
That was a $19,970.00 day.

Still fighting w/ Grundy & the car sits at SoCal- gathering dust.

I get 8-10 MPG, depending on how and where I'm driving it. That figures to about $.40 per mile for fuel at today's prices. I drive it a lot in the good weather, and unfortunately, in this part of the country, that's usually only April to October most years. Cruising is my favorite pasttime, so I'll continue to do it as long as my funds holdout. I spend about $600-$800 a year playing golf. That money would be traded without a second thought for the cruising fuel, if push comes to shove. If I can't drive it, I think I would get rid of it. .

Steves32......I don't have Grundy, but all I've heard is how great they are about settling quickly and fairly. Looks as though you may disagree? i currently have Heacock, and have never had a claim, but am thinking about switching to Grundy, to save about $125 a year.

I participated in a recent Hagerty insurance quiz and the results concerning cost to drive, gas prices and stuff in that area would not affect things- so said the majority of hobby car owners.

When folks get all wiggly about gas prices they rarely take into account the actual price differential. If gas costs 50% more that figure riles them up. 50% sounds like a lot of something. Yet say gas cost for a little vacation trip that cost $200@ $2.50 a gallon now costs $300 at $3.75. A $100 more for 80 gallons of gas.

Your meals, Motel 6 and other crap far outweighs fuel cost as a percentage of the trip's cost. Yeah Motel 6 WAS once actually $6 and its usually like what $39-59 the ones I've seen advertised lately. So if gas went up like cheap rooms did we'd be paying 6.5 to 10 times as much @$2.50 per gallon or $16.25-$25.00 per gallon.

I've only got about $20,000 into my '55; but, I wouldn't really want to drive it as a daily driver; mainly because I too worry about the other folks on the road, and 32 miles each way (to and from work) every day on I5 just doesn't compute.

I still have 4 wheel drum brakes on it and, even though I have a dual master cylinder for the sake of safety, there's just no way I'll be able to stop as fast as the guy in front of me with 4 wheel disks. In the end, it would end up being me that would rearend someone because of that and I'd be at fault; even though they may have cut me off and then slammed on their brakes like I see just about every day. In my current daily driver, I can stop because my brakes are as good as or better than theirs. No way I'd be able to do it in my '55.

I don't really see the need to pay higher premiums and then have to turn around and rebuild the '55 all over again as well because something stupid happens, just so that I can drive it everyday.

I'll agree I need to upgrade to disks; but even when I do, I'll still have the cell-phoners, make-up artists, drunks, narcoleptics, idiots riding wheelies on crotch rockets, TV watchers, computer users, trucks with un-secured loads and every other kind of yahoo I see out there daily. It's simply too much to worry about and it just doesn't seem worth it to me.

As such, I don't drive the '55 as much as I used to; but, spring before last, I did start driving it quite a bit more than I had for the 5-6 years prior to that. Mainly, I drove it around town through the spring/summer/early fall and had a lot of fun doing it. I also drove it to work 1 day and used the "back roads" to get there (because of all the issues above). Took me about 2 1/2 hours to get to work and a little over another 2 to get home; but, I didn't have to worry about going from 70 - 0 in under 100 feet either. Still, I felt that the 4 1/2 hours was a bit excessive just to go to work and back; so I haven't done it since.

Spring is about here now though and I'll drag it out and drive it again through the summer.

Cheers,
Dutch

Originally Posted by Firechicken

...the cell-phoners, make-up artists, drunks, narcoleptics, idiots riding wheelies on crotch rockets, TV watchers, computer users, trucks with un-secured loads and every other kind of yahoo I see out there daily. ..
Dutch

I used to drive my 62 Impala alot, even in bad weather until I went to Walmart one Sunday. I parked way out in the toolies just to make sure no one would park next to it, lo and behold, when I came out the left rear fender was caved in. If I didn't have agreed upon coverage buy a specialty insurance company they would have wanted to total it for the cost of the repair. That's the biggest reason to have specialty insurance, restrictions and all. And just the thought of some idiot gawker taking out a fender is one of the reasons I hesitate to drive the Willys.

Must have been the same person/idiot that got our 88 Monte Carlo SS, I always parked it way out since we bought it new. My wife didn’t want to walk too far so I thought I had a safe place. When I went to the car I saw the driver side quarter panel caved in. The parking lot can be as bad as the expressways sometime.

I don't have the typical hot rod build mentality. From what I see as i am sleezing around the forum, it looks like the 'true' hot rod is a big block, built for power, getting about 6-8 MPG.

Well folks, that just ain't my concept of a hot rod. To me, it has to be streetable, and that means being able to afford to fuel it as a daily driver. Enough power to blow away 90% of 'stock' cars, but moderately economical if you keep your foot out of it.

I think your thread premise was, how much is too much? Well, if the bank account is falling off, then it's too much. It is a relative thing.

As I read in a recent Hot Rod magazine article:

" Who cares about the price in gas, when you are breaking thousands of dollars in speed parts"

If I should decide to build a daily driver type again, it would be a featherweight (under 2000 pounds) roadster with a raspy V-6, maybe a blower or a turbo, and a 6 speed for the double overdrive..... Light car + reasonable power= performance, double overdrive = very respectable mpg.....

That's sort of the idea behind my track-T, Dave, although it's a 4-cyl with a 4-speed tranny. I expect it to weigh about 1600 - 1800 pounds. Like everything I build, this one, too, will be a driver...

I've been doing a bit of planning, have to see how much work I get done this summer and if I can free up a stall in the garage..... Then the next day I want to bring my '68 Torino in next fall and build another bracket racer!!!! Who knows?????