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Is your C4 your daily driver?

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Old 07-12-2013, 08:24 AM
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JimGnitecki
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Default Is your C4 your daily driver?

I bought my 1992 C4 convertible a few weeks ago specifically to use as my daily transportation, but am getting the impression reading on this forum that not that many of you other C4 owners use your 17 to 29 year old C4s that way!

So, I'm asking: Do you use your C4 as your daily driver, or more as a hobby, race car, or toy?

Jim G
Old 07-12-2013, 08:35 AM
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Cruisinfanatic
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my 85 has always been my DD from April to November. I can't enjoy it if it sits in a garage.
Old 07-12-2013, 08:35 AM
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MZee
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Originally Posted by JimGnitecki
I bought my 1992 C4 convertible a few weeks ago specifically to use as my daily transportation, but am getting the impression reading on this forum that not that many of you other C4 owners use your 17 to 29 year old C4s that way!

So, I'm asking: Do you use your C4 as your daily driver, or more as a hobby, race car, or toy?

Jim G
My 90 coupe - is my sunny day only, summer daily driver ,when it rains I use my infiniti but prefer to drive the coupe.\,so summer toy.
I could not imagine winter in that, forget it.
MZee
Old 07-12-2013, 08:41 AM
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lkl2005
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^^ Mine also driven everyday (weather permitting) but not my primary daily driver.
Old 07-12-2013, 08:43 AM
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TA
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Weekend cruiser/race car. Unfortunately it's been been far more cruiser than race car in the last few years.
Old 07-12-2013, 08:51 AM
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JimGnitecki
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Originally Posted by MZee
My 90 coupe - is my sunny day only, summer daily driver ,when it rains I use my infiniti but prefer to drive the coupe.\,so summer toy.
I could not imagine winter in that, forget it.
MZee
The C4 is amazingly capable in winter weather.

When I owned my 6-speed 1995 convertible in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from 1996 through 1998, it was my only car. I commuted 40 x 2 = 80 miles per day in it, every weekday. Often that meant:

- minus 20 to minus 30 degree weather (heater worked fine despite it being a convertible, and it always started imemdiately, even after siitng in my employer's outdoor parking lot in minus 30 weather with up to 30 to 40 mph winds)

- Driving to work or home in freshly falling snow, with some blizzards delivering 12 inches or more of snow (wide performance tires and all)

- Driving on glare ice (wide performance tires and all) at 40 mph on the freeway

There were numerous time I had to literally dig it out of freshly fallen snow at 5pm in the employee parking lot.

I got a lot of incredulous looks from other drivers on those kinds of days.

I never once actually spun out or slid. Mind you, having been born and raised in Canada, I learned early that when you drive in the winter, you imagine there to be eggs on each of the accelerator and brake pedals, and you must not break the eggshells.

The traction control system did activate once, on a curved freeway on-ramp on a cold icy morning in the dark. Since I had never before felt that accelerator pedal "kickback", it took me a second or two to realize what had occurred. The car did not waver from its course.

In Minneapolis, winter is half the year, so I put on a ton of miles in winter conditions over 2 1/2 years or so.

It was experiences like that that reinforced in me the notion that a C4 is a pretty special car, and that's why I bought this second C4 two decades later.

Jim G
Old 07-12-2013, 08:57 AM
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LTFORC4
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Mine is a "Fair Weather Lady"
Old 07-12-2013, 08:58 AM
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JoeUser
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DD for me, too. The only time I don't is when there are t-storms forecast (get lots of hail down here in Tejas).

Otherwise, what's the point of owning the car if it's not driven? The more I drive it the better I enjoy it.
Old 07-12-2013, 09:21 AM
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I think most of us in the northern states only use them as pleasure vehicles. In the winter here in Pittsburgh, most of the nice ones are put away and stored for the bad weather months and only driven for fun in the summer. These cars are far from being new and dependability in bad winter weather is best left to cars that are only a few years old. If you are seen here driving a Corvette in the winter, you are constantly asked "why are you driving a car like a Corvette now"?
Old 07-12-2013, 09:44 AM
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96 Vette CE
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Originally Posted by FOURSPEEDVETTE
I think most of us in the northern states only use them as pleasure vehicles. In the winter here in Pittsburgh, most of the nice ones are put away and stored for the bad weather months and only driven for fun in the summer. These cars are far from being new and dependability in bad winter weather is best left to cars that are only a few years old. If you are seen here driving a Corvette in the winter, you are constantly asked "why are you driving a car like a Corvette now"?
I wouldn't even want to try and drive my vette around here during the winter months, that's what my 4X4 pickup is for, but in the summer months it's hard to get me out of it.
Old 07-12-2013, 09:46 AM
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I bought my 85 a year ago and drive it everyday. I've done 11,000 on it. No major problems
Old 07-12-2013, 09:57 AM
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Wife's C4 is her DD Yellow 95 200K+ miles, My C4 a few road trips a year and car shows. My C5 is a DD why waste a good C5..
Old 07-12-2013, 10:14 AM
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lt4obsesses
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These cars make great daily drivers. Mine was an only car for about five years, winter and all. Very durable and reliable.
Old 07-12-2013, 10:16 AM
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vl5150
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For me no DD in the plans. I work out of the house anyway, but I wouldn't want to waste the car on work related miles and then sit in the parking lot getting sunburned (I'm in S. FL) or getting beat up by other car doors. It's too nice and I want to savor the miles I put on it.

As a primary car, the convertible like I have doesn't have the space to really do anything practical so mine's a play toy only. I have a GMC 2500 4x4 for my other stuff and the pair covers my bases.
Old 07-12-2013, 10:18 AM
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I drive my '95 with over 152k on the odometer one day/week to work (100+ miles round trip). Other than that, occasional weekend drives.
Old 07-12-2013, 10:39 AM
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enventr
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It's a toy that I have wanted since I was 13 years old.I try to use it once a week in the summer months.Winter with snow around it sleeps alot in my garage.If no snow I do try to use it
Old 07-12-2013, 11:16 AM
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I drive mine on just about every sunny day until it's time to put it away for winter.

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Old 07-12-2013, 11:23 AM
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Originally Posted by JimGnitecki
I bought my 1992 C4 convertible a few weeks ago specifically to use as my daily transportation, but am getting the impression reading on this forum that not that many of you other C4 owners use your 17 to 29 year old C4s that way!

So, I'm asking: Do you use your C4 as your daily driver, or more as a hobby, race car, or toy?

Jim G
Absolutely a DD! when I buy a car, no matter what it is, I expect it to work for a living, in return I make sure it gets the best of everything!
Old 07-12-2013, 11:44 AM
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my 94 has been mine for the last 7 years now. put over 40K miles on it with the normal maintenance. drive it year round in show, ice, rain, and sun.
Old 07-12-2013, 12:22 PM
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mazdaverx7
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i drive my 94 6spd daily from April until it snows, be that November or December. i don't drive the car in the rain, i have other cars that don't have an optispark that hates water, lol. i think the 94 makes a GREAT daily driver and i usually see between 17 and 19 mpg in the city and between 20 and 24 mpg on the highway. not bad for a car capable of 160 mph plus!


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