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

Thu Aug 18, 2016 1:32 pm

john1910 wrote: I am considering buying a classic vw beetle to make my daily driver............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............

IF IT'S ONLY TO SAVE MONEY.......FORGET IT YOU WONT SAVE MONEY....Get a modern F.I. Asian economy car.
Don't misunderstand me, I LOVE THESE CARS. I have taken beat up Bugs & Busses on 6,000 mile road trips through mountains, jungles & deserts and back. In their day I wouldn't drive anything else for a long trip. But 40-50 years of neglect & hack mechanics have taken their toll. Having said that I hope you get one as a hobby, bring it back to good mechanical shape and then decide how you want to use it.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 1:56 pm

VW Beetles were not designed for the abuse of daily driving! :roll:

Thu Aug 18, 2016 1:56 pm

I was in the same boat. I have a 2001 Dodge Ram (with 35's) and saw the gas just being sucked down. I ended up buying a '74 Bug for my daughter for her first car. My Father went through and retromodded it and spent about $30k on it. It looks GORGEOUS! Though I am trying to drive it daily now in 100+ degree heat to try and break things before I give it to my daughter. So far, there is a gas sending unit leak in the front, the oil drain plug leaks, the valve covers leak, and a valve adjustment rod broke a head off (easy repair). The alternator also went bad, but it looks like the PO let it arc against itself and killed it. Easy fix on my own. I LOVE LOVE LOVE driving it around, it is pure enjoyment. I'm now thinking of getting a Type 3 for myself to retromod and drive daily. FYI, my bug has an 1835cc engine with A/C (aftermarket).

Thu Aug 18, 2016 2:02 pm

57BLITZ wrote: VW Beetles were not designed for the abuse of daily driving! :roll:

I don't know, I think they were meant for daily family living when first developed. From our favorite "everything-you-read-on-the-internet-is-true" Wikipedia page:

"In May 1934, at a meeting at Berlin’s Kaiserhof Hotel, Chancellor Hitler insisted on a basic vehicle that could transport two adults and three children at 100 km/h (62 mph) while not using more than 7 litres of fuel per 100 km (32 mpg US/39 mpg UK).[11] The engine had to be powerful for sustained cruising on Germany’s new Autobahnen. Everything had to be designed to ensure parts could be quickly and inexpensively exchanged. The engine had to be air-cooled because, as Hitler explained, not every country doctor had his own garage (ethylene glycol antifreeze was only just beginning to be used in high-performance liquid-cooled aircraft engines. In general, radiators filled with water would freeze unless the vehicle was kept in a heated building overnight or drained and refilled each morning)."

Thu Aug 18, 2016 2:08 pm

Quote: I don't know, I think they were meant for daily family living when first developed. From our favorite "everything-you-read-on-the-internet-is-true" Wikipedia page:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sarcasm

"sarcasm
noun sar·casm \ˈsär-ˌka-zəm\
Simple Definition of sarcasm
: the use of words that mean the opposite of what you really want to say especially in order to insult someone, to show irritation, or to be funny"

Thu Aug 18, 2016 2:20 pm

My 2 cents....no for a daily driver. Classic Beetles are getting a reputation for being unreliable because of poor quality replacement parts(and poor maintenance). These are 40 year old cars and parts wear out and break and sadly some replacement parts suck. Other reasons in my book for not being a daily driver are safety and comfort. I have a 97 Cavalier and had a 99 Escort before my daughter took it and both are safer, more powerful, more roomy, more comfortable, handle & ride better, better heat, have A/C, bigger back seat for passengers, maintenance free, parts more readily available, & better gas mileage. For me my Beetles are fun cars, almost like a motorcycle. A nice toy to tinker with and have fun and something you want to keep nice, but I'm aging so take that for what it's worth.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 2:44 pm

Can you troubleshoot a carburetor and points on the side of the road, in the dark, without a manual? If the answer is yes, then you might be OK with an almost 50-year-old car as a daily driver.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 3:50 pm

Your answers are all over the map. If in the event you do make a purchase, drive as many as possible first. I prefer as close to stock as you can find. Then if you do not like well it is hopefully still unmodified.
My vehicles happen to be mechanically sound. I drive them.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 3:51 pm

john1910 wrote: 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.

Definitely a daily driver candidate. Like this one. Just make sure you winterize it in the fall - clean the bottom, treat any rust, paint and rust-proof the underside, undercoat it, clean off all the crap during winter and then in spring, repeat next fall.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 4:39 pm

I had a friend who just got rid of his bug because he needed a reliable daily driver for work and to get his kids to school each morning. He wasn't very mechanically adept, so he farmed out almost anything that went wrong with the car. So, unlike him, unless you really know your stuff, I's say that no car which is 40+ years old is for you.

If, however, you have a decent amount of knowledge about older cars, and are willing to do most of the work yourself, then go for it.

I trust my bug to go wherever I want to go, but take into account that I have spent a lot of time and money, bringing the car back to like-new condition. So, in effect, if it moves, it has been replaced with new parts, or "seen to". It may look like and old classic car, but it's not really. It's a refurbished classic.

Tim

Tim

Thu Aug 18, 2016 4:40 pm

vamram wrote: Definitely a daily driver candidate.

I still find it hilarious that the guy who says this is the SAME GUY WHOSE BUG CRAPPED OUT ON HIM AND LEFT HIM STRANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSTATE A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, AND STILL HASN'T FIGURED IT OUT.

OP, note how NONE of these people posting in here about how great their bug is to daily drive, how they'd take it all over the country, blah blah blah have mentioned anything about how many times it threw them a curve ball that put them in an inconvenient (at best) situation- and I promise you it DID, many times. They ONLY mention what they would do with it right now because it happens to be running fine right now. I GREW UP with my bug, which my dad bought brand new, and I know with absolute certainty both from my dad driving it and now me that it will NOT WORK OUT well as a DD. Guaranteed.

Drive it down to the store, drive it to work here and there, and drive it leisurely, but DON'T count on it as a DD. It's a fool's game.

NO is the correct answer.

The correct answer, is a 4th generation Nissan Maxima.

Here is mine with nary a problem:

Try 100th of that with a DD bug and see how far you get.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 4:49 pm

sb001 wrote: how they'd take it all over the country, blah blah blah have mentioned anything about how many times it threw them a curve ball that put them in an inconvenient (at best) situation

I can own up to many of those, and I'm glad they happened. Few could have killed me, some could have rendered the car as a paper weight, but since I had resources available to me I can keep going.

Spun a bearing on an old engine two days before my could thousand mile trip; put in a spare motor. Destroyed a crappy generator on that trip; found another one at a friend's house. Aftermarket spindle broke; replaced it.

Story is, they need attention. But if you attend, then you're good. These cars were new once, NOS parts are available.

When I first started I had a pos bug and a bike, I seemed to end up ok.

sb001, I think the rings are probably just wearing in on that Nissan :D

Thu Aug 18, 2016 5:03 pm

Brian wrote: sb001 wrote: how they'd take it all over the country, blah blah blah have mentioned anything about how many times it threw them a curve ball that put them in an inconvenient (at best) situation

I can own up to many of those, and I'm glad they happened. Few could have killed me, some could have rendered the car as a paper weight, but since I had resources available to me I can keep going.

Spun a bearing on an old engine two days before my could thousand mile trip; put in a spare motor. Destroyed a crappy generator on that trip; found another one at a friend's house. Aftermarket spindle broke; replaced it.

Story is, they need attention. But if you attend, then you're good. These cars were new once, NOS parts are available.

When I first started I had a pos bug and a bike, I seemed to end up ok.

sb001, I think the rings are probably just wearing in on that Nissan :D

Thank you for admitting that you've had issues - it certainly helps when you have resources available (money, knowledge, etc) growing up with mine neither my dad nor I knew anything about working on it, so we had to rely on the local VW aircooled mechanic which cost time and money and took us down to one car more than once. I still wouldn't give mine up- but it is what it is.

I used to be Honda guy but they've just lost their way to me over the last several years- this Maxima has impressed the crap out of me.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 5:18 pm

Old n' slow wrote:
IF IT'S ONLY TO SAVE MONEY.......FORGET IT YOU WONT SAVE MONEY....Get a modern F.I. Asian economy car.
Don't misunderstand me, I LOVE THESE CARS. I have taken beat up Bugs & Busses on 6,000 mile road trips through mountains, jungles & deserts and back. In their day I wouldn't drive anything else for a long trip. But 40-50 years of neglect & hack mechanics have taken their toll. Having said that I hope you get one as a hobby, bring it back to good mechanical shape and then decide how you want to use it.

57BLITZ wrote: VW Beetles were not designed for the abuse of daily driving! :roll:

Two more great posts.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 5:29 pm

Good idea? probably not. It's not really practical from a objective view.

The trouble is, I drive other cars for a week or two, and get tired of them, and go back to driving my 50 year old VW. So, I guess I don't make sense. Oh well, most people don't.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 5:45 pm

I don't see it as a big deal. But then again I'm not adverse to jumping on a rigid chop and layin down a few hundred miles in a day. I guess if you've got the grit to do it, do it. If your comfortable without ac, heat or adjustable seats, go for it. If you can dig being under the car on the side of some road a couple hundred miles from home trying to rig your pile together so you can get on with it, this car is for you.
Don't think for a second a 40 sum year old car is as reliable as a Nissan maxi pad, but if you know the inherent problems/dangers you can have a shit ton of fun on the fairly cheap.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 5:50 pm

Personally, I bought the '74 for my daughter because I want her to "learn to drive" a car. I don't want her relaxing on a comfortable seat with the A/C cooling her down, no road noise, and driving an automatic and steering with her pinky while she's texting on the phone and a Starbucks in the other. She's going to learn to take care of a car, drive with both hands (steering without power, shifting with a clutch, etc) and being very aware that she is driving a car. I have had some incredibly good cars in my life, but nothing comes close to driving a bug for the full driving experience. I'm looking at a Type 3 now for myself, and think I'll keep my 2001 Dodge Ram as a backup (and parts getter) because it's paid for.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 8:04 pm

Well I'm not doing it to save money. I am currently driving a 1999 Pontiac Grand am and if I do get a bug for a dd I will still have this one as a spare and for really bad weather. I am currently thinking about buying one that was a dd up to about 6 months ago when they got something that had a/c . It was drivin quit a lot and made trips of about 5 hours somewhat frequently. This is how I got the idea : I was shopping for a NEW car I went to three different car lots (chevy, dodge , and ford) and could not find any thing I liked then I remembered how much I loved driving my old truck every day. So I figured that the cheapest NEW car was going to cost me around $20,000. So I figured I could pick up a good beetle for around $3000 do some work to it and have a Great old daily driver . That and the fact I have always wanted one .. I'm looking at spending close to $12000 by the I would trust it to be my only for of transportation. Would that budget do the job ?

Thu Aug 18, 2016 8:10 pm

sb001 wrote: vamram wrote: Definitely a daily driver candidate.

I still find it hilarious that the guy who says this is the SAME GUY WHOSE BUG CRAPPED OUT ON HIM AND LEFT HIM STRANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSTATE A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, AND STILL HASN'T FIGURED IT OUT.

I give up. You really are a fucking troll looking for opportunities to bring people down. Oh and an asshole. I've figured out my problems if you bother to read through the threads rather than take what you want and stir it into your shit soup of negativity. Last year I took it on a trouble-free 2400 mile round trip. Just because you cant take yours around the block without it taking a shit.

Thu Aug 18, 2016 8:17 pm

john1910 wrote: Well I'm not doing it to save money. I am currently driving a 1999 Pontiac Grand am and if I do get a bug for a dd I will still have this one as a spare and for really bad weather. I am currently thinking about buying one that was a dd up to about 6 months ago when they got something that had a/c . It was drivin quit a lot and made trips of about 5 hours somewhat frequently. This is how I got the idea : I was shopping for a NEW car I went to three different car lots (chevy, dodge , and ford) and could not find any thing I liked then I remembered how much I loved driving my old truck every day. So I figured that the cheapest NEW car was going to cost me around $20,000. So I figured I could pick up a good beetle for around $3000 do some work to it and have a Great old daily driver . That and the fact I have always wanted one .. I'm looking at spending close to $12000 by the I would trust it to be my only for of transportation. Would that budget do the job ?

You've already got it in your head you're going to buy one--how you use it is up to you, but I'd take some of these more recent posts in this thread (except for the last one) at their word.