VW Beetle all around good daily driver/ snow driver?

[AmericanFreightBoy]

Hello Samba,

I recently moved to the Cleveland, Ohio area. I am looking to purchase a car. I have always loved classic bugs(buses as well). My question is, would a classic beetle be a good car for about 20-25 miles of highway driving a day at 60-65 MPH? Could it take the "heat"? Now I do realize upgrading brakes would be advised for stopping from those speeds, but would a 1600cc be up to par for this? Maybe something like a 1776 would be better suited for my needs. I am also wondering about driving it in the snow as this would be my daily driver, most of the year. Your experiences, and thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks! Also do please feel free to post pictures of your beetles or buses! I am always ready to see others Vdubs! Also I am new to this site, just joining today, only knowing of the site for about a week. Sorry if this in the wrong category. Thanks agian!

[DuaneL]

a well maintained bug in good condition could handle it no problem though the heaters and defrost is a little lacking something to wipe your windshield with in the winter is a must. And a lot of people will say that it is bad to subject them to winter road conditions due to the salt used on roads (luckily in Washington we use chemicals so not as bad) but they do handle good in the snow
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1971 std bug, 1776, ACN Super Stock 34-3, dvda dist, 27x8.50 14 tires

[wayne1230cars]

First of all, welcome to the Samba. It is a wonderful resource for VW information.
I would say that a well restored VW bug, with a good working heating system, is capable of being a daily driver. Having driven beetles through many Canadian winters, I found them to be very capable handlers in snow conditions. My concern would be, particularly in the Cleveland area, the use of salt on the highways. Road salt and VW floor pans are not friends.
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1960 beetle
1970 beetle convertible

[andk5591]

I was considering building a year round daily driver/beater a while ago, but bagged the idea for various reasons, but I had pretty much worked through the how. I have salt like you do and I didnt want the car to rot, so the entire pan, inner fenders etc, would have been coated with spray on bed liner. Probably would do the same with as much of the suspension as possible as well.

Would do heated seats and spring for winter tires.

As far as how good they are in snow - They are legendary. I just did a test drive in my stock 65 a few weeks ago. The main roads were clear and not treated. BUT my lane is a state forest road. Mile long with up to an inch of ice in most spots. Big hill right after a 90 degree turn. The bug went in and out just fine - some sliding and a littel spinning, but the all season radials did great.

A regular front wheel drive car would not make it in and out unless they had good winter tires and a driver who knows how to drive on ice.

Personally, I think your nuts unless you do it right or just have a beater that you dont care if it rots out.
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D-Dubya Manx clone 1914. Ex wifes car.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Ex-wifes car.
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

[mikeshorts]

+1 on the salted roads....

I use my '67 bug as a daily driver, but I do have a "modern" car for the just-in-case times. My bug is extremely reliable but its still an older car and requires more proactive maintenance.

[carcrazed]

Please...don't subject a classic bug to the salt and slop. I also live in Ohio and recently rescued a 61 from the elements and have painstakenly began a long overdue restoration. My other bug, a 65, sits nice and dry in the garage during the winter months. Please...find a nice used Cavalier etc. and let that sheet metal soak up the salt.
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1965 Herbie Replica. 1776cc dual Kads.
1961 Beetle 33,000 Original Miles

"Just When you think you are getting ahead, you're always wrong."

[Dwayne1m]

[andk5591]

[AmericanFreightBoy]

Unfortunately Ohio uses salt yes. I really want a bug for my daily. I understand they need regular tuning and care. I've always wanted a bug, I can not put into words how bad I want one and love them. Although I probably don't have to as I'm sure you all understand my love for them. I would do some sort of undercoating if I was to do this. But I still want more opinions, as most are still 50/50. But I'm starting to think maybe that would be a good car to have when its not winter and buy a beater for winter. I'm still waiting for Glenn to pop in posting his opinion.

[mikeshorts]

[drscope]

My advice, save your money. Buy a beater Honda or something similar that you don't have to worry about and drive the crap out of it.

Then with your savings, buy your VW as a second car that you can drive when you want.

Trying to use a 40 or 50 year old car as daily driver often doesn't work out so well. These cars needed a lot of attention when new. Time hasn't changed that except that they now require more attention.

So unless you have a good place to work on it, a good supply of the correct tools, knowledge of how to keep it running, the skills to use that knowledge and tools, and a VERY understanding boss at the job you are going to be late getting to or missing from more then the other employees, a VW may not be your best choice for a daily driver.
And then there is the issue already brought up of using something like this in the ice snow and salt.

These are great cars for what they are. And they make a nice play toy, second car, show car. But trying to use one as a daily driver as you have asked about, ain’t a great way to go.

A 10 year old Honda on the other hand has heat, defrosters, and other things to help you survive the cold winter months and still get to work. And many cars like that can survive a long time on abuse and neglect.
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Mother Nature is a Mean Evil Bitch!

[pav266]

In my opinion running a vintage beetle as daily driver in the salt belt will destroy the car in a relatively short period of time.

When I was a kid, we had a 1963 beetle that my dad had bought new. We lived near NYC in Connecticut until 1972 when we moved to Vermont. The car was in decent condition when we moved, but after only 2 years of daily use in Vermont, it was in such bad shape that it would no longer pass inspection due to rust. My brother and I repaired the car, but the damage was incredible and took months to repair. Rust damage is always much worse than it looks and once it starts it goes from mild to very bad very quickly. As a rule, the actual damage is at least 10 times worse than at first glance.

Save the beetle for nice weather and run a beater car in the winter.
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Paul

1963 1200 Anthracite
1969 Citroen DS21 Pallas BVH
1974 Citroen SM 2.7L 5 speed injection electronique

[Dirtylittle70Bugger]

Since when did a VW need a lot of attention when new? If it needed alot of attention than something is/was wrong. These aren't quirky or problematic Bristish or French cars. They're minimalistic well made German cars with the technology level of a modern lawn mower. I've seen you post that before and I just dont get it. If your taking about regular oil changes and valve adjustments. That's no different than any other solid lifter car. Carb over fuel injection...ok. I'll agree that a 30 plus year old car may not be an ideal daily driver for everyone. And you should probably have a basic automotive repair/maintainence knowledge or skill base if your gonna consider it. But they're still just as good of a car now as they were when new. They sold over 21 million of them for a reason. Yes, you have to contend with the possibility of buying cars that have had numerous PO's that may have botched repairs, lacked preventative maintainence or were abusive towards the car. And I know these cars are becoming more valuable as the years pass. But what's worse a car that's used and receives wear and tear over time. Or the one that just rots in a field, parking lot or someone's backyard doing nothing? How many fell victim to the dreaded blue tarp? Thinking it would be preserved only to find the car rotted out from trapped moisture. I say have fun and drive a Beetle. Do yourself the favor and educate yourself about these cars and make an educated decision as what series or model car is best for you. There, I vented I feel better
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I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.

1967 VW Beetle, Java Green, 1500SP, Roof Rack, trailer hitch

[KTPhil]

Extra attention included:

- More frequent oil changes, which also include the labor of cleaning the screen instead of discarding a filter.
- Valve adjustment (and it must be done cold).
- 4-wheel manual brake adjustment (other cars are self-adjusting).
- Frequent front end lubrication, including tie rods on older models.
- Adjust link pins.
- more careful tune-ups (no horsepower to spare!).
- more careful tire pressure and wear monitoring (from rear weight bias and swing axle).
- cleaning of air filter instead if discarding paper element.

Back when they were new, imported parts were expensive and often back-ordered, and labor was cheap. So the VW was cheap to maintain despite the issues above.

Now when parts are relatively cheap and available, but labor has skyrocketed, it is a rather expensive car to maintain if you don't do it yourself. And your time is worth something, too.

[Dwayne1m]

Here in Pennsylvania before a snowfall they spray the roads with some kind of saline solution. My buddy works in a body shop and says that stuff is worse than the salt. Once I am done with my car it won't see the saline or the salt. To much love, time and money to expose it to that stuff.

[mikeshorts]

[Seb67]

I am in the process of restoring my '64 for use as a year-round daily driver in New England. In order to prepare for the worst the chassis must come off the body. Some points to consider:

1. Chassis must be completely sealed off from the elements with POR15/powder-coat, etc with a good measure of WAXOL, etc. on top of that.

2. Temporary access holes must be cut into the back of the heater channels in order to access their entire length with a long spray wand. The wand is used to coat the INSDIE of the heater channels with POR15, etc The holes must then be sealed up with caution to make sure you don't create a rust problem where there wasn't one before (special primer, etc).

(A simple search through TheSamba gallery for the word "rust" will show you where the weak areas are on these cars.)

3. I am going to try increasing the heating and defrosting efficiency by installing a secondary heater channel within the stock heater channel using liquid tight, rubberized flexible steel conduit (2" diameter) that will run the entire length of the car. This step is controversial but I believe it better than nothing.

4. Insulate the paper tube that runs up to the defroster vents at the front or replace it with something better suited to the job than, well, paper.

5. The underside of the body, while off the car, must be sealed in the same way as the pan. POR-15, bed-liner/stone-guard/WAXOL, etc in every nook an cranny.

6. Wire up a 2nd 6 volt battery under the drivers-side rear seat to assist on very cold morning start ups if you keep the car outside. Depends how cold it gets where you are.

7. Get a 2nd set of wheels and hub caps, have them media blasted and powder coated/POR-15 etc, to use as your winter tires. You could do them in all black or all grey (including hubcap) which would make it look a bit like an early 'standard'.

8. Be prepared to wash the underside of the car with hot freshwater on a weekly basis during the winter. Luckily, I can run a garden hose out of my basement sink (I have a walkout type basement) and spray the entire underside of the car with hot water. I do this even with my Jetta. It helps a ton ~ you'll be amazed at the amount of grit and salt that ends up on the driveway. I have drive the '98 Jetta on salty roads for about 10 years and don't have any signs of body rust - yet. Be careful that you do this in an area that is out of the way because it creates an instant ice slick on cold nights. Make sure the wife knows where this area is.


All of this is on top of the regular Air cooled maintenance.

I would like to add one final thought: I consider my '64 expendable in this regard. If it rusts away, I will buy another one for a few thousand dollars and do it all over again. You can only ever really bide time against rust. It will always ultimately win. I feel life is meant to be enjoyed. '58 and newer cars are plentiful, relatively speaking. I wouldn't do this with a split or an oval.


It can be done but will require much more effort as everyone has stated above. Why do it?

Because you can.
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1964 Type 1

[drscope]

[anthracitedub]

I heard that back in the day, people would buy these cars and drive them year round at variable speeds in multiple climates and conditions. Often this was their only mode of transportation.😊

[pav266]

Absolutely true, they were cheap basic transportation. Any garage could work on them and the maintenance costs were low.

Today, unless you do your own maintenance, the cost will be very high. Very few general garages know how to work on them anymore.

I bought my first '63 from my dad and used it as a daily driver for years. I did all my own maintenance and drove it hard. It was 100% reliable.

Regardless, the rust issue is still key. Any car built in the last 25 years has much much better rust protection. Very few bugs that were originally daily drivers in the rust belt survived.
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Paul

1963 1200 Anthracite
1969 Citroen DS21 Pallas BVH
1974 Citroen SM 2.7L 5 speed injection electronique