TheSamba.com :: View topic - Is daily driving a classic beetle a good idea?

Thu Aug 18, 2016 10:36 am

I am considering buying a classic vw beetle to make my daily driver. Is this a good idea ? If so what is some good years for this purpose? What are some good mods to make it safer on today's roads? Any advice from any one who has a daily driver beetle would be greatly appreciated!
I guess a little history about my self might also be useful I was daily driving a 1985 d350 dodge for most of 2014 and a good part of 2015 and loved it. The only reason I stopped was for its high gas consumption.
P.s. I'm new here sorry if this isn't in the right place

Thu Aug 18, 2016 10:41 am

Welcome!

Driving a classic car is great, I love it. But there are a lot of responsibilities that come with it. These cars are as reliable as the mechanic that preps them and the parts that are used. Old cars aren't cheap, you'll have to dish out money to get it to a reliable state and look good. In the end it is well worth it too.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 10:49 am

It depends how much you drive and where you live. I drive 100 miles a day to commute to work and live in a climate that pours road salt on the roads in the winter, so no - my Classic VW is not my daily driver.

If I lived in Santa Monica and drove a few miles a day - it might be.

If you want to save gas and have a good daily driver that is pretty safe and has heat and a/c etc, I would buy a used Honda / Toyota or Ford Focus and use that as my daily and keep my Classic VW for fun drives and keep the miles from piling on and the wear and tear on it.

Just my 2 cents.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 11:05 am

I do it. Even in winter.
Biggest downside is it is a lot harder to break the law, commit crimes, or do devious shit when the whole city knows your car. Gotta drive like grandma and not piss anyone off. Plus when you break down (flat tires, etc) or get hit by an old lady at a stop light (see my gallery) people will actually stop to help you out.

Mechanically its no different than keeping up with any used car. I am however watching this thing rust and disintegrate before my very eyes. Fascinating.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 11:10 am

If you want it to keep it, I feel at this point they are fair weather cars. I don't take mine out in salt, wet or snow. But hey, that's just me. I'm nuts.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 11:16 am

My .02: It totally depends a lot on the car and your situation.

In the summer here on the East Coast the last few weeks it's been 100 degrees or about there and humid as heck. The kind of weather where I start to sweat in about 5 minutes with no AC. If I were showing up to a construction site to work outside anyway then who cares, but if I were showing up to a white collar job with a soaked shirt and swamp butt that might not work out so well.

What would happen if the car breaks down and you were late to work? Do you have a flex schedule and a cool boss? How likely is that, what kind of shape is the car in?

If you set the car up with good quality components and take good care of it and get all the kinks worked out they are usually pretty reliable. For a project that often takes a year or so of breaking stuff here and there until everything is pretty well proven. Then things calm down and don't break as often.

If something does break, how fast can you get a replacement part and put it in? Are you willing to ship overnight, have a local vintage VW shop or club that can hook you up? Would you have a back-up plan like the bus? Are you good at fixing the stuff?

There are so many variables involved that I don't think there is a one size fits all answer.

Buggsy

Thu Aug 18, 2016 11:17 am

Okay a little more info about how much I drive and where I drive. I drive roughly 80 miles a day and while salt is sometimes used here its not too often, maybe once a month we will get a bad snow in the winter in which case I would drive another car or not drive at all . But I do plan to drive this in the rain and light snow.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 11:17 am

I drove a 64 VW camper back in the 80s, it was right for me then. Nobody can answer for you they can only relate what suits them. I know grown men that only feel comfortable driving a 1 ton dual wheeled diesel trucks as a commuter vehicle. I can relate to the fuel savings thing though, that said I drive a hybrid getting better than 60mpg and I don't care nor do I seek approval from others.
I still got VWs though a 54 bug,55 bug,63 bug,65 double cab,74 bug. Whatever we drive is right. :D

Thu Aug 18, 2016 11:24 am

Zundfolge1432 wrote: I drove a 64 VW camper back in the 80s, it was right for me then. Nobody can answer for you they can only relate what suits them. I know grown men that only feel comfortable driving a 1 ton dual wheeled diesel trucks as a commuter vehicle. I can relate to the fuel savings thing though, that said I drive a hybrid getting better than 60mpg and I don't care nor do I seek approval from others.
I still got VWs though a 54 bug,55 bug,63 bug,65 double cab,74 bug. Whatever we drive is right. :D
What is your favorite air cooled that you own? Nice collection...

Thu Aug 18, 2016 11:27 am

Then just get a beater with a heater. Late model bug, get it undercoated and you're set

Thu Aug 18, 2016 11:41 am

Brian wrote: Driving a classic car is great, I love it. But there are a lot of responsibilities that come with it. These cars are as reliable as the mechanic that preps them and the parts that are used.

This.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 11:44 am

Normally I say go for it, but since you have a little inclement weather, I would go with a modern beater car, and leave the VW for better weather. The Brakes, heater and defroster do not like the conditions you describe.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 11:56 am

The correct answer is no.
However this does not also mean relegating it to weekend cruises only or whatever. You can drive it down to the store every day, or to work once in a while. Just don't rely on it as your primary vehicle.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 12:17 pm

yea, they suck for long road trips, camping or just driving anywhere really :wink:

Thu Aug 18, 2016 12:24 pm

Yeah, and we all know how terrible they are in snow, as the classic snow-plow driver ad shows :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfirnP08FP0

Thu Aug 18, 2016 12:33 pm

sb001 wrote: The correct answer is no..

Only you can decide if a bug for a daily driver is right for you. I have a 70 and a 60 I can and do drive all over the country side. 3-4K 2 week road trips in either one once a year. My wife drives the 70 to work each day. My 60 I used to put 80-100 miles a day, I have over 200K on it.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 12:41 pm

meh. I drive mine rain sleet hail and snow 365 days a year. Left me spun out and battered on black ice one time, had a ball joint go (right in front of a muffler/suspension shop, no effing joke) one other time. That and a flat tire and an old lady that backed into me. Considering its been about 4 years of daily driving, and 2-3 years of nice weather driving before that since the re-rustoration, and considering I drive in Boston, in heavy traffic amongst America's WORST drivers (yes we actually claimed that crown, look it up) I'd say the old girl's track record ain't bad.
I put a decent amount of time and money into the heat and venting system so my defrost actually works, and the car heats up to non-shiver status even in zero-degree weather. I spend the most money on brakes and suspension, aside from having an engine rebuild about 2 years ago. So...just like any used car. I think I had worse luck with my Saturn actually, but then again, I wasn't giving it the attention I give my bug either. Saving pennies for new tires before winter comes!
The real key is getting each system up to snuff. When I bought this car in High School I did the whole JC Whitney hodge-podge Band-Aid limp-the-thing-home scene. It never worked out very well. Anyone here seen a pushrod tube with a hole in it fixed with rubber hose and clamps? I have! :lol:
Once I made the decision to be a stock purist and got everything together right it hasn't given me much trouble at all. I started gathering parts and saving money for an engine rebuild after it started noticeably losing power on hills, and that was about 4-5 years into the oil light flickering at idle. These cars limp very well, they can keep running with all kinds of problems, but these are blaring warning signals and when they go it is spectacular! Smoke, oil, gas, fire, brimstone! (Bridgestone?) It's car-guy hell.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 12:45 pm

john1910 wrote: I drive roughly 80 miles a day.
Then no.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 12:52 pm

YES! It is a great idea! I have been doing it for a few years. For 2 years my only car was a 78 camaro I picked up for $800. For a little over a year my 75 Beetle was my only car. I ended up getting a newer car (2014 Abarth), but it was more of a new car itch than any issue with the bug. And I still drive the beetle daily! At least more often than my Fiat. Maybe not as often as my 72 Bus, but buses are totally different animals.

It comes down to how much you're willing to work. My fiat is nice because it requires no wrenching at all. I dont mind working on my car, but everyone has lazy days or forgets something, run late, and dont want to risk something such as a condenser going bad or a sticky float.

I would highly recommend getting the most well sorted bug you can in your price range. The beetle I picked up was a $600 junkyard pull more or less. And boy has she had a long hard life. With the obvious lack of care the previous owner showed her, she is sometimes tempermental. But even if you do get a great car, pick up an electronic Ignition system. My Thunderbird and Bug are still condenser fed, but it has really smoothed out the idling in my 72 bus. I'll be getting one for the other cars soon as well.

I hope to see you rocking the classic metal daily soon! More air-cooled power to ya!

Thu Aug 18, 2016 1:03 pm

If you have the mechanical expertise/the money to pay someone with said expertise to keep an old car going, I say go for it. Remember that though these car are generally reliable provided you perform the recommended maintenance at the right intervals and use quality parts, you can't just walk into Autozone and buy any part you need. You can find a lot of stuff there for sure, but lots of things have to be ordered from a supplier that specializes in ACVW parts.

Though inclement weather could be a problem, millions of people have and still do drive these cars in all weather every day of the week. When hooked up correctly, the heat and defrost will work for you just fine. You can even install AC, though it ain't cheap.

If you've ever owned an old car before, you know that previous owner hacks and "modifications" can cause more problems and headaches than old worn out parts. Keep this in mind while you're shopping for a Beetle. Look at pictures on here and of other people's builds to see how things are supposed to look before you pull the trigger on buying something. You don't want to have to deal with "typical" old car problems, plus a mountain of hacks done by some previous owner. Also rust! If it's starting, it'll only get worse on a DD. Be prepared to tackle and manage that too.

I'm sure there's lots of opinions out there, but that's my .02 cents worth :)