I learned the hard way about daily drivers...

I made the mistake of making my project truck my daily driver and it's brought more stress to my life than I could have anticipated.

It's one thing to be able to take the truck apart when you have time and make some fun mods when you can afford it, but it's another thing when you need the vehicle to function properly to get you to work or to go across town. And all I carry every day is the fear of something else happening to it and needing to put it into the shop without another vehicle to get me back on the road.

So anyway, in my humble opinion, if you don't have a daily driver and you're thinking about a project truck, focus on the daily first.

 

Totally agree, that's why the Tacoma is the fun truck and I don't have to worry about it when doing upgrades or repairs.
I have a daily driver that I pretty much leave along except for maintenance.

 

My 2010 RC 5-lug, which was a gift from my parents when I got my learner's permit almost 16 years ago, is an ongoing project. However, I've undertaken anything that took it off the road for than a few hours. My girlfriend's "commuter shitbox", a 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser with less than 100K miles that we basically stole for $800 this past April, is also an ongoing project. The longest turnaround for a modification to my truck (and NOT routine maintenance or a legit repair), was the 2" lift that my mechanic installed in April 2021.

 

Desperately wish I had that luxury right now. Planning on purchasing a newer camry this coming weekend.

 

Sometimes the daily is also a project out of necessity to keep it on the road.

 

Yeah.. I also don't have a place to really store tools and work on the truck. That made it more difficult, because building out a shop with tools takes a lot of time and money, and I was freshly married at the time when I got the truck.

 

Which is the case with my girlfriend's PT Cruiser. It was 100% turnkey and ready to drive when Amanda bought it, but it needed new rear shocks in order to pass PA inspection. This was barely over $300, and after that it passed inspection with flying colors. The car is worth anywhere from $1,900 in fair to good condition, all the way up to about $4,500 in mint condition. She bought it from her landlady for $800. The car has a clean title and everything, including the A/C and cruise control, works! Well, the A/C worked, but it needed to be recharged to reach peak coldness. The car needed front and rear brakes and a power steering rack as well; I bought Amanda a Bluetooth touch screen head unit with a backup camera for her 35th birthday and had no problem installing the stereo, but also ended up having to pay my mechanic for the backup camera install because the wiring diagram was very confusing. In all...

• The car itself
• Transferring the title
• Registration
• Insurance
• Repairs listed above
• New stereo with backup camera
• WeatherTech rainguards

...We are into it for a total of just over five grand. A bit more than we would have like to spend, but it didn't break our budget, and it is a good price in my opinion for a used car!

 

yes!!! took me a car or two come to the same realization. my first project car, I was living with my parents still. not too bad. second one? WTF am I doing??

now I just leave them bone stock, and drive them..the money I spent is on the adventure itself..not the buggy that gets me there.

 

I 100% know what you are going through!

I split my time between my parents' house and the place my girlfriend is renting, while I save up to put a downpayment on a house of my own. My girlfriend's place is absolutely useless for wrenching on a vehicle, and my parents' 2-car garage currently has no room to park a vehicle. I have done stereo upgrades and headlight/taillight replacements in my parents' driveway, as well as minor paint work, but my dad would shit a brick if I tried to do an oil change or something and made a mess. I know how to do an oil change, and I could probably undertake a lot of the more significant work that's been done over the years, but it's just easier to have my mechanic do that.

 

Yeah I did an oil change in my apartment parking lot and I was like.... never again. Can't wait to get a little house of my own. Although the apartment I'm in now has garages for rent so I will definitely be snagging one.

 

I always say my favorite mod to my truck is my daily driver.

 

My Taco and my girlfriend’s $800 PT Cruiser…

 

What's going on with the PT Cruiser sun roof?

 

It didn’t work when my girlfriend’s landlady bought it, and it leaks, so it’s been permanently sealed.

 

I built several show cars over the years and won probably won a 100 plus trophies with them but I fell into the trap of only being able to take them to shows and worried myself sick that something would happen to them if I drove them on a regular basis. The solution? I sold them along with the trophies and have been much happier ever since. In 2017 I bought a new Tacoma and tricked it out. Its still spotless with 31K and the few nicks and scratches I dont get overly concerned about. I just keep it nice as I can and drive the damn thing except in the snow and rain and I am so much happier. It gets a lot of compliments and high 5s which makes me realize I made the right decision. I still love old cars and go see them when ever I want but I don't have the baggage that goes with them anymore. Fix yours up the way you want and then drive it.

 

I hear you man. Unfortunately I’m probably gonna sell my baby could use the cash right now and I’ll just go with a newer Camry to lighten the emotional load that I’ve been carrying with this truck. Somebody is about to be set up big time cause I did all the hard work lol

 

You have to treat projects completely different from your daily vehicle. I have a 96 4wd that i mechanically restored and lifted and what not. I didnt drive it at all while it was in project mode and that was a couple of years. (family, kids, business,) takes priority. But I finished it up in the spring and have been driving it almost everyday since.

 

yeah I wish I had that advice a year ago. It was good experience but damn there were easier ways to learn this lesson lol

 

pretty sweet set up man.

 

The taco and the not-taco take turns on which is the daily and which is the project on jackstands. Its nice that both are fun. Its not nice that both have a humongous wallet-draining market of bolt-on modifications to buy. But in case a weekend project runs long, there's always another car ready to go.