I am not crazy about cars today-they are too bland, and most look the same. I’m wondering if buying an old Studebaker Avanti and using it as a daily driver would make sense. To my mid:
-it is unique-i like the styling
-the body is fiberglass, so it won’t rust
-it was amodern car for its time-it had disc brakes and seat belt
Plus, I would be driving a car that appreciates in value (instead of losing value).
However, how hard is it to maintain such an old car? Would spare parts be a problem?
Not if you drive it every day.
There’s also serious safety issues here.
As of the last I knew, Ralph, Studebaker parts were still being produced as needed by the successor company which bought their U.S. plant. (I.e., don’t think of a factory going full bore cranking out Studebaker parts, but also not “made to order” – when inventory shrinks, they run another small bunch of whatever it is.)
My great aunt continued to drive her Studebaker, one of the last ones off the assembly line, regularly several times a week and irregularly to art shows as much as 120 miles away [she was a gifted amateur artist] for well over 20 years after they went out of business as a car manufacturer. She had arrangements with the Pontiac dealership six miles away that had formerly been a Studebaker-Packard dealer to keep regular-maintenance parts on hand to service her car. (She finally had to give up her car at about age 85 due to glaucoma and/or cataracts.)
ralph124c, what a co-ink-i-dink. I’m just starting the process of restoring my grandpa’s '64 Studebaker Champ. I’ve got a line on a parts supplier, just ordered complete brake kits, lines, etc., however I’m not fired up about the delivery time (it’s been two weeks, no parts yet).
Every day driving will definitely reduce value, plus the wear and tear. How many miles each way? BTW, do you have the fully kitted Avanti, ie dual superchargers?
Why don’t you just buy a new one?
Driving a car from the golden age as a daily driver is a pain in the ass. Parts can take months to locate. No one you take it to will be familiar with it. It uses technology that was discontinued before may of todays current crop of mechanics were born. (Ignition points were last used in 1974, almost 34 years ago)
There’s a good chance I’m wrong about this, but I had the impression the Avanti had a Chevrolet engine. If that’s true, finding under-hood parts would be simpler.
With most vintage cars, the surviving ones of each model are either lovingly restored or limping toward the scrapyard. With an Avanti, there won’t be any rusty ones, so the picture changes. I have no idea what an Avanti costs, but Ralph124c does, or he wouldn’t be discussing it.
I have been the owner of a daily-driven old car, and I generally encourage it. The Avantis are not plentiful, but not rare, either. If we were talking about something with only 45 survivors, it would be unthinkable to drive it daily. They’re jaw-droppingly beautiful; everyone will turn to look, and it could well be a top-notch crumpet catcher (sorry, that’s an ancient phrase for chick magnet.)
Dr. Deth raised the safety issue, and that’s a risk to consider. That’s your call, Ralph. No crumple zones, no airbags, and no collapsible steering column.
Ditto. There have been real performance and handling improvements since the 'Sixties (or for that matter, since the 'Eighties), and keeping something like an Avanti running is strictly for the automotive hobbiest, or the guy with a garage full of classic cars. Plus, as already noted, the value of the car is going to go down the more miles you put on it and the more wear and tear is done to it. “Classic” cars hold their value because collectors baby them while other owners drive theirs into the ground.
I once entertained the dream of owning a Volvo P1800 Coupe or a Datsun Fairlady Z, and still may someday if I have the space, money, and time to keep one, but I’d never consider it for a daily driver. My current ride is a fairly bland looking, moderately priced Japanese sedan that can run nose to nose with a Porsche Niner-Sixty-Four and is more reliable than anything that ever came out of Germany. It’s never going to be a classic (despite pretensions at being a serialized limited production model) but it gets me where I’m going QSR (quickly, safetly, reliably) and clings to the pavement like a kitten climbing a curtain. When you go for cool you generally have to give up reliability, safety, or performance.
Stranger