Fiero as a daily driver?

Hey guys (and gals):

So today I have decided to cancel the ICBC insurance and try to sell my 07 Sebring. I will be using the 86 GT as my daily driver (about 80 km, 5-6 days a week). Not sure if that was the right decision, so I have a few questions for you guys.

Is there anybody that actually uses a Fiero as a daily driver? What is the mileage on your car? What is the most mileage you have ever seen on a Fiero? How is it like driving on LIGHT snow and running in colder weather?

My GT is currently running great beyond belief. It's got close to 180,000 miles and counting. Found a great (and cheap) mechanic who knows how to work on the Fieros right next door to my gym. All recent work done include repairing engine oil leak, new clutch master cylinder, headlight motor replacement, new brakes and rotors, K&N air filter and more.

It will be much appreciated if you guys can help answer my questions above. Thanks so much. I never fail to find all the right answers on this forum!

Boxin' Robin wrote: Thanks for the feedback guys! What are your Fieros' mileages on original motors?

How many of us (except for Ken!) are driving Fieros which we bought brand new 25 or so years ago and would have access to such information?

When a used car is bought, it's pretty unusual to also be presented with a comprehensive history of the car's repair record. In other words, it's near impossible to know with any certainty (unless a car has been bought brand new off the showroom floor) whether or not a car still has its original engine or has had major work done to it.

Having said that, my '86 GT has about 198,000 kms and runs like a top (although I've never been pleased with the gas mileage), and my '84 (with a duke) has 205,000 kms and also runs great (except for a puff of blue at a cold start, due I suspect to hardened valve guide seals after having sat unstarted for six years).

I've gotta mention though that total kms driven is not going to tell you too much in regards to the life expectancy of any particular engine. Two identical engines can be treated very differently in their lifetimes... the way they were "broken in" when brand new, the type of engine oil (and oil filters) used over the years, the number of kms between oil changes, the temperature rating of thermostats used, whether or not the engine was usually allowed to be warmed up before being "pushed", the usual RPM range the engine was operated at (whether is was too high or too low), etc. These conditions (and others) will greatly affect the life expectancy of an engine.

I think with any used car you've got to expect the worst and then be grateful if you come out ahead of the game.

I've been thinking about my reply to this thread for a couple days now.

       I have been using a Fiero as a daily driver for the last 17 years, and until recently Fiero's were our only cars, my wife and I each had a Fiero.  We have a daughter and just got a Blazer so that we can haul 3 people plus tons of baby gear.

However back to topic.

       Fiero's have more than enough packing space for 2 people to take off on a 2 week road trip or even load $400 of groceries into.  They get great mileage if in well maintained condition and tweaked ever so slightly.  I get an average of 30mpg freeway and 26 in town driving with a spirited right foot.  Even towing a trailer at an average of 85mph in my 88GT I am still able to average 28mpg.

       If you "understand" the car it can be as reliable as any car on the road. Plus cost you a lot less to fix than any newer car would when it does break down.   Carry a spare ignition module and the tools to replace it in the glove box.  Watch your gauges.  If your voltage normally runs at 14v and you notice that all of a sudden it is at 13v, even though that is an acceptable voltage it means something has changed from the norm and when something changes it usually means it will change again and could mean its about to fail. Same goes for engine temp. If the engine starts to run warm, don't wait for it to overheat on you, give the cooling system a flush. 

        If you wait for the car to break down, it usually either damages or takes another part out at the same time.  Its much cheaper to fix a part before it breaks than to fix it after it is towed home or worse to a shop.

          As to fair weather driving, http://captfiero.com/videos/mycar/snowinthe88.wmv  A good set of snow tires and the car can be driven in a 6" of snow without issue.  I have another video zipping down the highway snow coming down like crazy, and managing a nice 80-100kph cruise. (50-60mph) 

        IF you have to ask about rain, please re-read snow.  Good tires and decent driving a Fiero is amazing.

Oh another quick tip, if you are running 5w30 and an 86 oil filter in your Fiero you are running the wrong stuff.  All V6 Fiero's should run an 88 Oil filter and be running 10w30, if your engine is an older tired engine I run 20w50 in my 88GT during the summer and 15w40 in the winter.

                 Before anyone says a thing, I have put 60,000kms on it with that oil and beaten the snot out of it, and guess what it fires up in below freezing and stays cool in the summer.

Romeo wrote: Well, it all depends on what you're looking for as a daily driver. The Fiero can be impractical for going to sports, or grocery shopping, due to the lack of trunk space.

I just wanted to add that I fit my Golf clubs (on a pull cart) in the back of my 86 SE and as for groceries, perhaps someone who actually goes food shopping  should comment - since as the Capt mentioned and I concur - you can fit tons of groceries in the back - so long as all the tools and spare parts are removed.

As for mine it says 150,000 km but the aircare report states that it was at one time up to 170,000 km before I bought it at 140,000 km.  So obviously anything can happen along the lifetime and for mine - so far with regular maintanence and the odd electrical part - 25yrs later - it still runs fine...knock on wood.

Patrick wrote: Capt Fiero wrote: Fiero's have more than enough packing space for...  $400 of groceries Romeo wrote: As for the shopping, I suppose it depends on what you're buying. I usually had to stop around $100 as I found stacking all my groceries on top of one another would lead to crushed/broken items, and even that was getting about as much as I could manage in. Although I might be better than Tristan at packing groceries into a Fiero without damaging stuff (and therefore can get a lot more than $100 worth of groceries into my car), I find it awfully difficult to believe, Dave, that you're even that much better at packing and can fit $400 worth of groceries into a Fiero. Bet there's not too much fresh fruit and veggies among your goodies.

I would routinly be sent on "house" grocery runs, I went with the $400 number to not scare anyone off, but I have actully done $525 in a single run.  Yes there were some expensive stuff like enough pork chops / hamburger and such to feed 5 meals of 8 people.  Plus laundery detergent for the same amount of people for a month, plus the basics that take up a lot of room 48pack of TP and such.  However with carefull packing, an empty rear trunk, front trunk and either empty passanger seat or telling the passanger well in advance they will have stuff stacked on top of them, even behind the head rests of the seats.  It can be done.  I shop 1st stop is Walmart to buy what I can on the list, then next stop is Safeway to get all the stuff I could not find at Walmart, plus get all the fresh stuff on the list like bag of lettuce, gatoraid powder, Hazulnut Coffee creamer. (The Creamer you can sometimes find at Walmart too.)

Romeo wrote: ...and the passenger seat I like to keep available for obvious reasons...

For your hockey gear of course.