Are Daily Drivers Three-Footers?

[Older]

After battling daily dew-induced water spots,I`ve resigned myself to having my daily driver being a three-footer.

I have to admit, from 3 feet, it does look great. I get tons of compliments, even from strangers.

[Accumulator]

IMO, the answer to the Title Q is..."if that works for *you*".

Some stuff bothers some people but that doesn`t mean anybody else has to adapt those values.

If somebody in [INSERT dream car ] thinks that running it through the Tunnel of Marring every six months is fine, then it is. If somebody in [INSERT some vehicle] thinks that passing a meticulous Dark Environment Inspection is the only level that`s acceptable, then it is. Their cars, their rules, none of my business or anybody else`s.

Don`t let this place skew your values.

Heh heh, compliments from strangers...it`s my beaters that usually get those, along with my wife`s 160K daily.

[rlmccarty2000]

It’s hard to keep a DDer perfect. I wish people kept their DDer clean. Not asking for much, just clean.

[Accumulator]

It’s hard to keep a DDer perfect..

Not being snarky or challenging or [whatever might be crappy], genuinely curious:

What makes a Daily Driver a challenge? Why *can`t* one be just as perfect as a Garage Queen/Showcar?

I basically treat the Dailies exactly the same as the Garage Queens, I just wash them more often. And as a result, my nearly-unused Garage Queens with ~20K aren`t really *that* much nicer than our >120Kmi Dailies; the real diffs are just "wear" from having more miles. Not like the Dailies get marred up and need polished every few years or anything like that, or don`t have the "areas that don`t show" kept just as nice as I`d do for a Concours..

I can understand somebody just not caring about a Daily/Beater/Work Vehicle, and in that case just keeping it "clean enough that you won`t get dirty driving it" sounds fine to me. The "disposable car" concept does resonate with me and I`ve done it myself. But now that I care about all our current vehicles, they all get treated the same so they all stay the same.

[dcjredline]

Not being snarky or challenging or [whatever might be crappy], genuinely curious:

What makes a Daily Driver a challenge? Why *can`t* one be just as perfect as a Garage Queen/Showcar?

I basically treat the Dailies exactly the same as the Garage Queens, I just wash them more often. And as a result, my nearly-unused Garage Queens with ~20K aren`t really *that* much nicer than our >120Kmi Dailies; the real diffs are just "wear" from having more miles. Not like the Dailies get marred up and need polished every few years or anything like that, or don`t have the "areas that don`t show" kept just as nice as I`d do for a Concours..

I can understand somebody just not caring about a Daily/Beater/Work Vehicle, and in that case just keeping it "clean enough that you won`t get dirty driving it" sounds fine to me. The "disposable car" concept does resonate with me and I`ve done it myself. But now that I care about all our current vehicles, they all get treated the same so they all stay the same.

Maybe not your personal daily but when its a customers daily who just drives it and doesnt pay much attention there are ALLLLLLLL SORTS of reasons a Dailys potential for minor damages that a garage queen wont be exposed to. Do I really need to list all the environmental and other driver possibilities for ya?

[Desertnate]

IMO, the answer to the Title Q is..."if that works for *you*".

Some stuff bothers some people but that doesn`t mean anybody else has to adapt those values...

Don`t let this place skew your values.

So true. I think some people get really wound up when they aren`t able to either achieve the same level of perfection of perfection or have the resources (money, TIME, physical space, etc) to do so. Everyone knows what they are willing to put into their vehicles. You have to find what that means to you.

Not being snarky or challenging or [whatever might be crappy], genuinely curious:

What makes a Daily Driver a challenge? Why *can`t* one be just as perfect as a Garage Queen/Showcar?

Time and environment would be the difference to me if I had a garage queen.

Here is how I`d treat them differently:

- I would drive my garage queen in the cold and rain, but I wouldn`t drive it in the snow and crud where ice, salt, and sand would scratch the paint
- I would park my garage queen at the outer limits of a parking lot where it wouldn`t get marred up by some passing women`s purse or backed into by a short person driving a huge vehicle (both have happened to me). The daily gets parked where ever there is an open spot to facilitate a quick ingress/egress.
- I would spend more time fawning over the garage queen to ensure perfection and looking amazing, while I`d keep the daily`s clean looking really good.

I`m not advocating letting a daily driver become totally neglected, but a daily driver gets exposed to life every day and the perfection from a good detailing session potentially will only hours. A garage queen will hopefully last much longer. My time is finite, and unlike my kids, I will play favorites and put more of my time to the target of my affections. You can go insane trying to juggle life and keep a daily in show car condition...At least I would.

[Accumulator]

Maybe not your personal daily but when its a customers daily ... Do I really need to list all the environmental and other driver possibilities for ya?

I wasn`t thinking of "customer cars"! You Pros have my sympathy, I`d simply go nuts.."why did you mess it up, I had it nice?!?"

Environmental stuff will be situational and *if it matters* it can indeed be a challenge. We passed on numerous nice houses because IMO the properties weren`t "Detailing friendly", and I wouldn`t park in Faculty Lots at the U, tie up traffic if they`re painting, etc. etc. to avoid such stuff. Which I understand many wouldn`t do.

Guess I should`ve qualified my post So...for Autopians and their vehicles, why a diff? E.g., I think of 99% of all marring as being almost completely avoidable. IF (thinking ahead to Desertnate`s post..) the expenditure of resources, and that Environmental Factor, just don`t allow..hey, it`s just a car.

Maybe I expect people who presumably prioritize Cars more than we do (more like the way I used to) to approach it all the same way I still do...my bad, shouldn`t use my wife and myself as any kind of Standard; I keep hearing that I`m "different"

[Accumulator]

Time and environment would be the difference to me if I had a garage queen.

Here is how I`d treat them differently:

I found the following very interesting! Needless to say (I hope), I trust my responses don`t sound argumentative or challenging.

- I would drive my garage queen in the cold and rain, but I wouldn`t drive it in the snow and crud where ice, salt, and sand would scratch the paint

Ah..good example. I DO NOT drive the Crown Vic in the salt because IME it`s virtually impossible to keep a salt-exposed vehicle near showroom underneath. Learned that on the (aluminum, no less) S8 when salt discolored some undercar bits in a permanent way.

I did drive the Jag(!) in salt without any issues, but Oh Man was that a job after every outing. (Yeah, for years some of my cars got washed to perfection after every use, what a waste of my time!)

The A8 simply doesn`t suffer from it though, nor does the Tahoe. But look at the hours I spend on every wash!

- I would park my garage queen at the outer limits of a parking lot where it wouldn`t get marred up by some passing women`s purse or backed into by a short person driving a huge vehicle (both have happened to me). The daily gets parked where ever there is an open spot to facilitate a quick ingress/egress.

OK, that`s sensible. Being, uhm..us...we park `em all where it`s safe. Well, except the Tahoe but it only seems to get dented, not scratched and IMO "what`s one (or six) more dents?" can apply with that thing.

- I would spend more time fawning over the garage queen to ensure perfection and looking amazing, while I`d keep the daily`s clean looking really good.

Ah yeah, that "it`s a labor of love, not just another chore" perspective I somehow lost that

And with all these, uhm..accumulated vehicles...I can spend ages on the Dailies just like the Queens (and basically do when it`s necessary), we just drive something else. (How nutty is "we need multiple dog-haulers?!?)

I`m not advocating letting a daily driver become totally neglected, but a daily driver gets exposed to life every day and the perfection from a good detailing session potentially will only hours. A garage queen will hopefully last much longer. My time is finite, and unlike my kids, I will play favorites and put more of my time to the target of my affections. You can go insane trying to juggle life and keep a daily in show car condition...At least I would.

That all makes such perfect sense that it has me wondering why my experiences differ!

Heh heh, guess my version of "go insane.." is losing the enjoyment

I *will* admit that the A8 has some minor marring from elderly passengers having to grab a handful of car to avoid falling, and it has some interior wear from when the kids-in-law were little (and a bit from the cats and dogs too, before I wised up about properly outfitting Pet Haulers), and its interior wood is imperfect. And when any vehicle hauls big, active dogs all the time, [sruff] will eventually happen in the jamb of "their door". Heh heh, I guess those will qualify as The Difference after all!

Resources, the environment, kids and the elderly are total wildcards IMO...

Eh, same ol` same ol`...I`m spoiled and "different" and can`t extrapolate too much from my experiences.

[Accumulator]

Eh, I do still get hung up on the "exterior marring" thing though (swirls/scratches/etc.) and I guess that`s what has me wondering. I sure don`t pamper that Tahoe/A8/Crown Vic by *any* means, but it`s not like they need any correction every few years. Well, as long as I don`t hit a cone with the Crown Vic or make a Big Mistake at speed or somesuch.

Isn`t it just as simple as "don`t touch it except when Detailing"?

(Young child in TN: "Our neighbor has a car like that (A8) too, but you can *touch* it." If my wife could teach little kids who know her family not to touch the paint of her car..)

OH...and yeah, my wife has curbed the wheels of the A8 a little too, though not badly enough to need fixed. (Think she`s over that )

[Desertnate]

I found the following very interesting! Needless to say (I hope), I trust my responses don`t sound argumentative or challenging.

Not at all. An intelligent, cordial, conversation from different viewpoints is always enjoyable.

That all makes such perfect sense that it has me wondering why my experiences differ!

Different "seasons of life" would be my bet. I`m working full time, holding down a senior leadership position in the Reserves, activity engaged in the life of my youngest child who still lives at home, and still attempting to be a responsible husband. At this point finding time to simply wash one of our vehicles is a major victory. In a couple years, I`m sure I`ll again have hobbies again. Once the Reserves is done and the child is off to college, things will change significantly.

Heh heh, guess my version of "go insane.." is losing the enjoyment

Close. For me it`s trying to achieve a standard I`m simply not capable of reaching because I have prioritized other things in life before detailing. I start to loose the enjoyment when I can`t do everything I`d like. To keep the frustration down and the enjoyment up, I have to adjust expextations. These days I`m thrilled to do a simple bucket wash.

[Lonnie]

Daily drivers as "Three footers"?? Mine are more like "50/50" vehicles: At 50 feet going by at 50 miles-per-hour, they look pretty good!

Your dilemma for "properly" cared-for daily drivers is one everyone faces. It`s just how much time and money one wishes to spend on their personal daily-driven vehicle. There is this law of diminishing returns that clashes with my being a Obsessive-Compulsive Detailer (AKA, OCD) and when to say good enough is good enough. As I tell most of my friends and family for the vehicles that they drive daily that I "detail", "Now you have a shiny, scratched vehicle". No, it is not even close to being perfect, but most of them appreciate a better looking vehicle. I can gauge my workmanship by two vehicle owner replies:
1) " I did not expect this to be a show-car when you got done"
2) " This is better than the day I bought the car from the dealer"

[Accumulator]

Desertnate- That was one great response you gave there! Your "priorities argument" makes perfect sense and explains it all just fine IMO. You`re *not* making the mistakes that I made (time spent/not on certain things..) and if that means some vehicles aren`t Autopian then OK.

Heh heh, at a few points in life I simply sold/mothballed my nice vehicles and used/abused a Disposable for that same reason. Now that I`m retired and have the facilities things are different. Gee, maybe I`ll start enjoying it again some day too

Daily drivers as "Three footers"?? Mine are more like "50/50" vehicles: At 50 feet going by at 50 miles-per-hour, they look pretty good!

Heh heh, we consider that `93 Audi to be a 20/20.