Anyone else come to their senses?

[ALLWAGONS]

So after missing out on a rust free 2nd owner double cab, and running into a seller who upped the price $2k on a pristine Vanagon DOKA, I came to the conclusion ( at least in my case) it is better to lease a brand spanking new Toyota Tacoma for $400 a month than to buy a 50 yr old crew cab or 30 year Doka for clise to 30 grand. For the same amount, I will be drive a safe, worry free utilitarian vehicle for 6 years or 2 3 year leases. It’s a second car. Yes, I know about collectible value. I own a 13 windows, a 21 windows a type 34 and a sunroof squareback.

Martin
Allwagons
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I'd be UNSTOPPABLE if not for Law Enforcement and PHYSICS.

I recycle old cars and parts, other than when I rot, that's as Green as I am going to get.

Thanks to my Tesla driving neighbors, I feel more relaxed driving my SUBURBAN and old VW's.

NON INFLUENCER APPROVED

[Abscate]

30k into a money-sucking old VW habit is a lot of coin to have wasted in a depreciating goat.

That’s most of your retirement at age 30 , so it’s an old guys game.
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.ssS!

[hobthebob]

You’re not wrong, the buses especially are very expensive, and unless you’re dedicated to the vw lifestyle 24/7 you might as well spend your money elsewhere. Then again, although a Tacoma sounds good to me in some ways, I couldn’t justify spending 40k on any vehicle. I just spent 3k on an old Volvo which, after minor repairs, has been as good to me as any Toyota Tacoma, and I could spend ten times that much and still be under Tacoma money budget...

[slayer61]

Both. The answer is always both. It's good to have choices!
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[NJ John]

If it’s a spare car, I would have leased a Challenger or Camaro. A sacrifice in practically, but still way more practical than a classic.
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1973 standard, yellow, lowered, 3” narrowed front, 1600 blo-thru turbo w/single dell 15.4@86, so far
11.41 et buggy. Long gone
Let’s go O’s! Let’s go O’s!
https://www.youtube.com/@AirSpooledGarage

[oprn]

I don't have the budget for either to be quite frank. Leasing is a total waste of money in my view but so is the depreciation on buying a new one. I say buy a used car at least 3 years old so the worst of the depreciation is past and the warranty bugs are worked out. I have had the best luck buying 10 to 15 year old high end foreign cars. They are generally very well cared for and very durable.

Collector cars are just a money pit for the rich. Old VWs on the other hand are for the most part, if you shop around, affordable "hobby only" cars and can be as cheap or as expensive as you choose them to be.
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[doug bugg]

[oprn]

Every used car I have ever bought was sold for a reason. You just need to discover what that reason is. If it is major and you are not prepared to deal with it then sell it to someone who is. Tires, brakes, light bulbs, shocks, belts, things like that are like gas and oil, just consumables in my mind. You have to buy them not matter what you drive. Not deal breakers, but can be used as bargaining chips,
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[ALLWAGONS]

[dodger tom]

come to my senses?

what fun is there in that?
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1978 Champaign Edition 2 Westfalia
Would never find the time to keep up another classic air-cooled.

[ALLWAGONS]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

if a doka would fit my needs i'd buy it then upgrade it to do what I wanted.

even if you were 40-50k into it it's still cheaper (and cooler) than most shitboxes offered today

I did that to my rabbit truck. 1.8T swap and went thru it top to bottom. been a daily now going on 6 years

it will do 147 with the cap on

gets 40-42 mpg if I keep my foot out of it

has ice cold a/c

paid for

does everything I need it to

and other than gas and oil changes....nothing else. I am close to a 30k service.

and at this point, I could sell it for more than I have into it....even factoring in my time which is almost impossible.
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[Jon Schmid]

[Abscate]

[oprn]

Lately we have been buying Japanese imports. Bought a rust free 2000 Forester 6 years ago for $4500 cash with 38K miles on it. Just sold it a couple weeks back for $2500 with +200K miles on it. The only thing aside from normal maintenance was a new rad just after we got it and a U joint about halfway through.

We just replaced it with an '05 rust free Golf Variant with 43K miles on it. I expect to get another 6 years and 200K miles out of this one too. Compare that to your $400/month rental bill! You still have to buy tires and gas just like the rest of us. That's $28,800 for the same service we will get from our $6000 (+ $250 for a safety inspection) VW! Now I have $22,550 to use to play with old air cooled VWs.

Oh and did I mention that it gets 35 mpg on gas?

I came to my senses on buying new cars back in 1976!
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[ALLWAGONS]

I am not car shopping or car comparing. I just wanted a Doka, nothing else, no little wagon, no Japanese import. Either a Vanagon Doka or a double cab. It’s not about the money, as you can see or read above, I already have a few toys. If you can find me a Doka in the same conditions and price as your current/past vehicles. I will give you $2000. I am talking about not shelling out $30 grand versus your $4,500 and or a cheap lease fir a BRAND NEW MAINTENANCE FREE CAR. Oh, and I DO NOT work for Toyota, but they all come with Toyota care. Free maintenance.

Martin
_________________
I'd be UNSTOPPABLE if not for Law Enforcement and PHYSICS.

I recycle old cars and parts, other than when I rot, that's as Green as I am going to get.

Thanks to my Tesla driving neighbors, I feel more relaxed driving my SUBURBAN and old VW's.

NON INFLUENCER APPROVED

[Erik G]

Similar situation here. Been looking for a decent split DC for a while. Kinda like notchbacks, the sellers are delusional and each one that's listed is more money and not as nice as the last one, so they just sit and not sell...

[crofty]

I dont think youre gonna loose a lot of value with a Tacoma or a Bus.
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Your Vanagon sucks, Stop waving at me.

[chickengeorge]

[oprn]

Speaking of delusional, anyone who thinks that buying a new vehicle will insure trouble free driving is in for a rude awakening. If that were the case then new car dealerships would have a greatly reduced service department. I don't have numbers in front of me but I suspect the vast majority of the work orders that pass over the service desk are for warranty work.

This is coming from having the company I worked for supply me with a new pickup every 2 to 3 years for the last 30 years. I cannot recall one truck that was totally problem free. Most of the issues were small annoying things that never got fixed, if it didn't prevent the truck from running down the road it stayed broken. The reason for that was that I was paid off the work orders I completed so any down time was unpaid time. Any warranty service work required a trip to the city and 1 day to get there and back minimum. Then if the truck was laid up due to ordering parts... the time came out of my income. I had an 2 week lay off once because of a new Ford F250. I finally went in and demanded a different truck or I was going to find a new employer. They gave me one the next day.

That friends was reality. I dreaded each and every new truck and my confidence in them grew as the accumulated miles went up.
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)