Diablo as a daily driver?

Ok all of you who own Lambos, how realistic am I being on having a Diablo as a daily driver? By daily I mean like 10K-12K miles a year. I have never driven,sat in a Diablo or any other Lambo for that matter but I don't want one to just have it sit in a garage. I will drive it in the rain, I will drive it in the winter, as long as the roads are clear.Am i being realistic here or just dreaming?

 

I doubt if you will find winter a very enriching experience.

You might want a back-up plan for that.

 

Being a Diablo owner I could not imagine driving it everyday. In my opinion it is not suitable as a daily driver. I have a 7 series BMW as a daily as I like to lounge and relax. The bumper to bumper traffic would take a toll on the Diablo and your body.

 

It wouldn't be my choice. The car is a nightmare in the rain let alone snow. The size of the rear tires makes it so prone to hydro planing in any wet or damp conditions. And that includes the VT's. And then you have the maintenance issues.

 

I wouldnt use mine as a daily.

Running errands, getting groceries, inter city traffic and lights, nope.

Taking the Diablo on nice long drives, now that's what its made for.

 

Now I don't own a Diablo but I do know a guy here who owns both a Diablo and a Testarossa he drove them both for about a year as his only source of transportation. Both cars where banged up pretty bad with colorados weather and he said he'll never do it again.

I want one as a daily driver myself but I thinking about an Fbody as a daily driver and leaving the exotics for the weekends.

 

I would only use a Diablo as a DD somewhere where the roads are perfect . And if you have a very large parking at your work..

Snow might be a pb too ..

A Diablo 6.0 is actually very easy and comfortable to drive at low speed, so it really is a matter of where to park, potholes and not minding adding miles.

 

I didn't work for about a year so I used my Diablo as a daily driver. The best year of my life! I used it for everything. I put about 20,000 miles on it that year. It never let me down. I say do it!

When I was kid in Detroit I drove my 308 GTB as a daily driver. It was my only car and I used it all winter. I would not do that to a Ferrari/Lambo/? today. Its to hard on the cars body. Just young and dumb.

So drive it but not in the winter.

 

You might want to get a Gallardo then (with that money..)
I own one of the last SVs which is considerably capable for daily driving, much like the 6.0 - (i had to use it for 2 weeks once, when my 993 was in the shop.) First of all, the older the Diablo, the less of a good idea it would be to rely on it as a daily driver.
On another note, the car had no problems, but that was only 2 weeks.. If you do this for a year, you will most likely face higher maintainence, both cost and time. You will end up wasting money on extra maintainence, when the reality is, you could have used a less dependent car for everyday use.. simple as that. The car may be fine and capable, but it will cost you.. It also depends on how much you drive - when i am in London, i use a 355 as a daily driver, but only actually drive it maybe three times a week. In a place like that, its better to resort to taxis and such if you dont really need to drive.
But even still, a 355 would be better as a daily driver than a Diablo...

 

I bought my 400GT as a daily driver back in 1982.

Problem is, I was always scared to death to leave it. When I did, it would always get backed into or something.

Too many soccer moms out there....

I finally gave up and just use it for fun. The good thing about that is that I probably appreciate it more than if I drove it every day.

Cheers,

Fred

 

Why?

 

Disagree. I've had my early 2WD Diablo for a year, and never had a problem in the 1200 miles I put on it. I would consider it for daily use, it's just that I won't let it see rain or snow, I love it too much.

 

Why? its mainly down to cost and maintainence. One of my mates who previously had a '93 VT had more issues within one yr than i had in 3 yrs of owning my '00 SV... So i put things into perspective: the older the more cumbersome (for daily driving.)
And i know for a fact a countach is even worse... driving the countach is an event in its own... so as far as im concerned my logic is based on experiences.

 

1200miles is miniscule... you can do a road trip from Lisbon to Marbella in a Miura even, without any problems...
We are talking about long-term, DAILY useage.. aren't we?

 

How old are you?

I donno many kids who had 308's and the guy I will race against in his 308 is like in his 40's.

 

A new, Audi-Engineered Lambo drivetrain probably will hold up fine to everyday useage (comparing high-performance wear-and-tear to getting groceries is a non-issue for such an engine), but why would one be so completely vain and shallow to even WANT to drive such a car every day? It is not the 'right tool for the job' as they say - if you can afford a Lambo, can you not afford a Honda to get those groceries? You will obsess over every parking space, road hazard, pothole, errant SUV driver, hail storm, road debris, runaway grocery cart, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. Unless you have a burning desire to make your local bodyshop VERY wealthy with the contents of your wallet, I suggest a more sensible tack because a Lambo as a daily-driver with gas going to $5/gallon this summer, a car with a fuel capacity of 15 gallons, and a MPG rating in the single digits...this is completely stupid. You'll be spending more of your spare time filling the thing than driving it.

 

That was my point. Let me see, 1200 miles, 4 miles for each trip give or take a few yards, that's 300 days for the mathematically challenged, or what I would categorize as daily use, sorry I don't do trips to Marbella.

 

Why is everyone freaked out about rain??? It makes driving more fun!

 

If I had to worry about driving my cars in the rain.....well here in Seattle I might only get to drive it from July 3rd to July 18th LOL LOL

REMEMBER the VT cars are AWD!!

 

driving my car in the rain is not my worry, it would be everyone else driving around me.

Luckily, it never rains here.

 

+1. My exact fears, others in the rain with bald tires. Not good for my Diablo. As far as snow, I had a car skid into mine a long time ago in NC, total destruction, luckily it was a rental.

 

just do it, you only live once...

 

I don't know if that post will help your sales Roy. There are buyers out there that are meticulous about their cars, if you drive all your Lambos in the rain, that's a lack of care in my opinion. Not something I would disclose out in the open.

 

Thanks all for all your comments.
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Dear Lamborghinisti,

No...that's not me. He does however have great taste in cars!

Boy you guys are missing out. This is no different than the wife saying, no...you can't use the fine china or silverware...it's only for special occasions.

I say, make everyday a special occasion.

I drive my 97.5 Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster and my 91 Ferrari Testarossa as absolute daily drivers. They are just great....nothing more fun. I drive them in all weather and back and forth between my homes in GA and FL. (1500 Miles round trip+ errands )

I maintain them both to death and concours them. I also get a stone chip or two, and they get rained on. Just keep after it and you'll be fine.

When I'm at Walmart or Home depot, I just park really far away. Everyone's too lazy to park out in the lot. Sure people drive crazy (soccer moms ) but with a car that can drive 200 MPH+ think of the handling and brakes you have at your disposal to avoid or run away from them.

If you drive in winter on a clear day, just make sure to brake later. The ZR rated rubber can't come up to temp and will not be grippy. I was up in GA in the Roadster in NOV. The morning temp was 28F. There was frost on the windshield and the door was heavier to pull up. Well the defroster worked just fine, I just pulled up a little harder on the door but I did have to watch punching the "loud" pedal as the grip was reduced.

Some have mentioned the maintenance costs. Believe me, if you just have it in your garage and look at it, it will still cost almost as much as a wife ( ok, maybe not that much ) But if you can afford and justify the costs...why not, have some fun and enjoy your life ! I say, if you've got to get from point A to B ....it might as well be in style.

I say buy a Diablo and drive it everyday ! You won't regret it...your wallet might not like it but hey, you knew that going in.


BTW, I drove a Countach once, I would drive it everyday too if I didn't just prefer the style of the Diablo.


Shamile

Freeze...Miami Vice !