Buy a daily?
Posted by General-Lie8709@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 70 comments
My car is a 24’ WRX. The entire time I’ve had it, over worked under 2 miles from home. It was nice, but I recently got offered a new job that’s 20 miles one way from home.
The company offered to pay for one tank of gas a week for me. I am Very thankful about that, but I am concerned about miles. The WRX is my dream car and I don’t love the idea of racking up the miles on it.
Maybe I’m just used to such a short commute, and 40 miles a day isn’t too abnormal? What do you guys think?
Triple-Depresso@reddit
Just drive ur car dude wtf it’s not a rare vintage or anything, like if you had a 22b I get it but like bro unless ur selling in the near future it’s not likely miles will matter provided you keep it maintained
At the end of the day if there’s no rust on the frame you can always just replace motor, trans, drive trains and suspension in 10yrs, stuff wears out over time anyways regardless of miles
FirehawkLS1@reddit
I drive my T/A as my daily when it's not snowing or below 40 degrees (expanded use antique plates and summer performance tires). I am enjoying it and putting mileage on it. I have a crappy weather car that I drive when it's winter and between November to March. I personally never not drive a car to keep miles down.
IGetGroceries@reddit
A WRX… is a daily, lol
Inner_Surround8689@reddit
Haha i get it. I have a similar drive to work, it's not bad but the miles do add up quick. I had an older Mariner SUV that died shortly after I bought a Volvo S60 last year. The miles all going onto the Volvo has been bothering me too lately.
I actually do need to either trade it in or get another cheap SUV because now I only have a sedan and zero cargo space to move anything.
IWillEvadeReddit@reddit
Jfc imagine having a nice car and not driving it, 2 miles is nothing. Hell 20 miles is nothing when I commuted to school. Took 30mins, little traffic, and a very scenic ride.
I agree on others where you might face issues because you might not be letting the engine run to full temps.
Some time ago my rear shocks were toast and while looking for parts, I was taking it easy on my car, seldom throttling the engine and tryna avoid potholes and bumps and such. After like a week my engine started stalling on me, liking shutting me down while on the road, it happened a couple of times. I realized I was really babying the pedal and not soon after I was able to change the rear shocks so was able to drive normal again. Really scared me at the time though. You love your dream car? Drive it.
JCC114@reddit
Know it’s been said, but that short commute where car does not even get up to temp was taking more life off that car then a 20 mile commute. You can keep driving it in 2 mile bad for it cycles and it will be needing major maintenance much earlier then you would expect or you can drive it the 20 mile commute and have the car last as they are designed to minus any problems that may have already started from prior short commutes.
finnbee2@reddit
If you are mainly driving it to work that's only 2 miles away, that's hard on the vehicle. It barely gets warmed up and you are turning it off. Take the new job and don't worry about wearing it out. It's not a collectable.
Squintz_ATB@reddit
I'm gonna agree with the general sentiment of most other people here.
20mi each way really isn't much at all. How much fun it is to drive to work is obviously gonna depend on things like if the drive is mostly on the highway, stop and go traffic, back roads, etc... but you're talking prob 30min each way which isn't bad at all - especially if you enjoy the car and enjoy driving. It's also not like you're driving a truck that gets 8mpg, plus the new job is giving you a tank of gas each week.
One job I had was 52 miles each way so 104/day and it was all down single lane back roads where logging trucks were constantly driving 10mph under the speed limit every single day. I had a slammed Miata at the time and then where I had to park was about a 10min walk to the building and that shit really sucked.
Fast forward to now and I live in the mountains, have a 25min commute to work, and have a focus ST as my daily. It's a great feeling to rip it up and down the mountain roads on a nice day coming home from work with the windows down and some music blasting. That shit would not be the same in a carolla that I bought just to not put miles on my ST. Whatever additional car you got you'd also have to insure, pay registration and property tax on, get inspected, do maintenance on, etc. etc.
Just drive it and enjoy it dude. I'm sure you worked hard to get the car you wanted. 99% of cars are never an investment, they're a depreciating asset. Have fun with it.
ThorMcGee@reddit
This is a solid take. Its not a Lamborghini, or something that can really be collectable in the future. Although, I believe those should be driven more than they are too.
Aggressive_Ask89144@reddit
Lamborghinis are supposedly stout little cars too from what I've heard. It's obvious above my tax bracket by several degrees lmao but technically the distant cousin of a Jetta, after all. Probably just under the Corvettes in drivablity since they're designed to be wringed out an a track and fluffed around town.
Big difference from say, a McLaren. Their powertrains fail catastrophically if you don't follow their rather expensive service regime.
ThorMcGee@reddit
True, i get the idea of depreciation, but thats not what I bought the car for. I bought it to fall in love with it. As stated in a previous comment, I have an e90 m3. Its got 133k on it. Im getting it to 200k, at least. I love that stupid thing. To me, theres no excuse why there isnt a 154k mile P1 or F40 out there. Drive the fucking car. Please. Thats what they want.
Old_Cars@reddit
Drive it I drive 40 miles a day total back and forth to work every weekend I make a 100+ mile one way trip and just yesterday I drove 173 miles. I can get years out of cars and highway miles are far better than city miles
HighInChurch@reddit
A wrx is a daily lol. There's nothing special about it in any way.
General-Lie8709@reddit (OP)
I said it’s my dream car, didn’t I? It’s not yours, great. What’s the purpose of this comment?
Questions_Remain@reddit
It’s not special, rare, unique or in any way will ever be worth preserving, storing or restoring. You’re literally ruining it by driving it 2 miles @ a time. The condensation in the oil and fuel never burn off. If you keep it waxed, it will just become a shiny POS. It’s like only eating health food and getting run over by a bus instead of enjoying some life. One way or the other, it gets wrecked.
SideShow117@reddit
If my dream car is a Toyota Corolla, would that not be a daily driver?
smokingcrater@reddit
Yeah that post was a bit of an ass.. as a former wrx and 1 sti owner, I'll attempt to clean up what he said.
Wrx was also my dream car. Everything about it. Because of that, I drove them constantly. Having a dream car sit in the garage while you drive a beater gets old very, very quickly. At some point you even wonder why you own it, especially when you get the insurance bill.
In other words, dont worry about it. Go drive it, have fun!
(Still sometimes miss my wrx's, especially unequal headers, but a tesla m3p with a bit of suspension work and tires is so much more capable in every way).
HighInChurch@reddit
Cars are meant to be driven..
HenryLoggins@reddit
Did you buy it to enjoy it? Having a car with no miles is like keeping your girlfriend, a virgin, for the next guy.
GreyStoneGamer@reddit
PLEASE just drive your car! Subaru made it to be driven! Plus it's your dream car, why wouldn't you wanna drive it?
Prudent-Jaguar6845@reddit
Are you trying to save the miles for the next guy? Just drive it
Adventurous-Depth984@reddit
It’s your car. Use it up.
twelfthfantasy@reddit
Driving 20 miles at a time is better for it than driving 2 miles at a time. Engine doesn't even have time to come up to temp with commute like that.
NuclearHateLizard@reddit
You bought the car, would you rather it age out of your hands or get the driving time out of it? Depends on if you prefer looking at the thing or driving it. Are you a collector? Lol
Willing_Cupcake3088@reddit
Others have said it, but I’ll elaborate. Your car needs to get driven and get up to operating temperature to drive out the water vapor that condenses and makes its way into the oiling system. Regularly getting it up to operating temperature (from driving, not idling it up from cold) helps drive that moisture out. If you just crank it up and zip from one place to another you’re not allowing it to do that.
rufusalaya@reddit
Yes I worked for a guy once who drove is Impreza to work two miles every day and the engine just quit at 40k because the oil never got hot enough to burn off the water and fuel that gets past the rings. When you only ever take short trips, the oil gets to where it doesn't lubricate the bearings and they wear out super quick.
OP, if you aren't already, make sure you get that thing out on the highway for a long fast drive at least once a week to make sure the oil stays in good shape.
Willing_Cupcake3088@reddit
I love watching Lake Speed’s YouTube channel and I get dragged on here all the time for telling people to change their oil filter every OTHER oil change.
More people on here know about what you’re doing during cold idling and the resultant fuel dilution that they don’t normally get their pitchforks out when I tell them to crank their car and drive it normally to get it up to temperature
BuyLandcruiser@reddit
That is not a car worth not putting miles on. Enjoy it and drive.
too-left-feet@reddit
200 miles a week in a WRX,… where do I sign up?!
DJScaryTerry@reddit
It's a WRX, it's not rare. If you mile it out you can easily get another one.
fad3dm1ndz@reddit
S2000 is my dream car, it has 197K miles lol. DRIVE YOUR CAR, especially if they're offering a tank a week.
Individual-Fail4709@reddit
That's about the average amount of driving that most drivers do in a day. 35-42 miles. Just drive the vehicle.
Jamestown123456789@reddit
You probably need some longer trips anyway to avoid prematurely clogging/killing your catalytic converter.
General-Lie8709@reddit (OP)
Are there any signs of this?
Waste-Limit1644@reddit
No but short frequent trips are worse for a car than longer trips. Oil takes time to get to temperature, so frequent trips that are 2 minutes mean it is in that mode of “warming up” for a larger portion of the engine’s operating hours.
A 40 mile drive will not hurt the car, that’s what it’s designed for, and it’s too mass produced to hold value unless you keep it for 30 years and it’s got 10 miles after those 30 years.
ThorMcGee@reddit
Had a super short commute before this job, about 2 miles or so. Only time I drove the fun car was when I had something going on after work, where it would be driven long enough to warm up properly at least. Usually it would warm up in the morning right as I parked :/
ThorMcGee@reddit
Drive it. Since I put it back together, I've been driving my m3 to work just about everyday. 22 miles one way. I want to get to 200k.
SpankyDammit@reddit
I drove my 02 hopped up bugeye 20 miles to work every day for 15 years and enjoyed every minute of it. Keep up on maintenance and it will survive. I get it though, you just want to keep it pristine. Get a beater to drive a few times a week if you can to keep the mileage low if that suits you. Nothing wrong with that.
watchgeek401@reddit
Its not a Ferrari. Drive the damn thing. Your just paying the depreciation for the next guy to enjoy it. 🤦♂️
broke_fit_dad@reddit
Drive it. The fuel savings won’t justify the CoO of a beige commuter car.
kortheuerm@reddit
Dude I drive mine 60-80 miles a day and it’s great. Who cares about miles? You bought it to drive it 🤷🏼♂️
tuckedfexas@reddit
Only reason to not drive a car is if you really need to limit miles. Classics or singular purpose vehicles are the most common use cases.
Immediate-Share7077@reddit
Its a WRX bro just drive it. It won’t ever be worth more than you bought it for no matter how low miles are
BChalley@reddit
I drive 47 miles one way currently and thinking about trading in my colorado for a civic or something cuz gas is expensive 😂
ORV21RDT@reddit
Drive it. That is what you bought it for, right?
Bulocoo@reddit
Inhad a buddy buy a brand new 1977 Celica. Thials was Toyotas first real. Mustang challenger.
He kept the factory plastic wrap on the doorsnfor like 3 years.
Idiot...
Mountain_Muffin_124@reddit
Very considerate
NotUniqueWorkAccount@reddit
Basically poetry
SCH00NY125@reddit
Ex wrx owner. Just drive it. Its not a rare car, worse for them to sit than it is to drive em
Wonderful_Setting_29@reddit
You did buy a daily, you bought a wrx. Its a great daily. Its not a 22b, or even a spec c or something obscure. And a 40 mile commute is a perfectly normal commute. The car will be fine.
AbruptMango@reddit
It's not a museum piece, drive it.
UpYourAsteroid@reddit
Got nothing fancy but I drive the piss outta my car and I don’t regret it in the slightest. Would rather experience a car running it into the ground, instead of barely driving it and dying with a low mileage car
avoy93@reddit
It’s a WRX man
Virginia_Hall@reddit
Driving your car 2 miles at a time is arguably harder on it than 20 miles at a time.
Uncle-Istvan@reddit
It’s a sedan and not rare. Drive it. 40 miles a day isn’t crazy.
thyperson69@reddit
How will you know if the car works well if you never drive it? Enjoy your commute with the car you love. That's why you got it right? Because you enjoy driving it. I've never heard of a company paying for a commute so consider that a huge win.
AlphaDisconnect@reddit
You want an electric car. Registration is expensive. But sounds like if you 120v home charge. 4 miles of range per hour of charging. I assume you eat and sleep. Toyota bz4x. Buy a used electric car. New is for greenie weenies.
DeFiClark@reddit
If it were a 2014 or before WRX hatch that can’t be replaced I’d say save it. But a 24? Drive it.
Addison_Clark_1964@reddit
What is a 24-foot CRX?
Bombastic_tekken@reddit
WRX is a daily man.
Drive it, it's far better for your car to be driven than to be short tripped.
Siegepkayer67@reddit
Why not lol it’s not like it’s a collectible, the VB WRX is also very capable of daily duties (light clutch, not super stiff suspension, liner powerband etc) so I don’t see a reason not too. If the mileage gets too high you can always just trade it in for a lower mileage example.
guyfromthepicture@reddit
If a wrx isn't a daily, I'm not sure I know what is. Especially if someone else is paying for gas.
SevroAuShitTalker@reddit
I have a 23 WRX.
10,400 miles a year on a commute is not bad.
If gas prices are the concern, get a cheap, used Prius. A guy i work with did that and it paid itself off in a year compared to the gas prices for his truck
RobertForTheWin@reddit
You bought your dream car to drive it not to look at it in the garage. 40 miles a day is a very standard commute and it is actually better for the car than your previous 2 mile trip. Short trips where the engine never reaches full operating temperature are actually harder on a car than a 20 mile highway cruise.
The 2024 WRX is a modern mass produced car. It is not a limited edition Ferrari. Saving the miles for the next owner is like not sleeping with your girlfriend so she is fresh for her next boyfriend. By the time you rack up enough miles for the value to really drop you will probably be ready for something else anyway.
Financially buying a second car to save miles almost never makes sense. Between the extra insurance registration and maintenance on a second vehicle you will spend way more money than you would ever save in depreciation on the Subaru. Plus the company is paying for a tank of gas a week which is a huge win. Use that free gas to enjoy your dream car every single day. If you are really worried about it just be obsessive about your maintenance and get a good paint protection film for the front end to handle the highway chips. Drive the car man.
Rough_Cancel7265@reddit
2 miles is barely enough time for the fluids to get warm. Not to talk down to your car, bit it's a WRX. It's not some crazy rare edition. Drive it
thebbygiraffe@reddit
I’d just drive the car.
Ironically, the 20 mile commute is probably better for the car in the long run because short drives cause condensation buildup and stuff like that. Everything will get up to temp on a 20 mile drive, with a 2 mile drive that’s not the case.
Cool-Bunch6645@reddit
Can you afford a second car and have space? Then go for a cheap econo box beater. You could drive the WRX half the time if you wanted still. I wouldn’t let it become a garage queen, but that’s just because I bought my car to drive it because I do like it. I like it, I drive it.
diaperedace@reddit
If you don't take any vacation all year, that's just under 10.5k miles a year. 15k is average so you'd be well under that. If you don't want to out the miles on, you can always buy another car or see of there's public transportation available.
Bug-03@reddit
Dude drive it.
Captkarate42@reddit
40 miles a day is not a crazy amount of commuting. The commute will be about 10k miles a year. If you only used the car for work it would take nearly a decade of use to get to 100k miles.