wear of daily driver

[debbiej]

The car my husband drives for work is an 84 Volvo and it is needing major work that we don't want to put into it. That leaves our "new" car and the westy to drive. I worry that the around town driving I do will take it's toll on the westy. It is my favorite car and I don't want to wear it out. Usually I would drive it one day a week, but if we don't fix the Volvo or get another "beater, the westy will be my daily driver. Do many of you drive your westies daily?

[j_dirge]

I drive my Westy daily.. but not for long mileage commutes.
I'd buy something else if I needed to drive more than 50 miles a day.

I don't worry about wear and tear because I keep it maintained.
Most everything in one of these vehciles is replaceable.. and the big items are rebuiildable.

One big advantage of rolling it out daily is that repair issues make themselves known here.. close to home.. where I can repair them effectively before a big trip.

More importantly.
Its good for the soul. Everytime I clmib into my rig, I feel freedom.. as if I am heading off to Baja or the Sierra..
Funny.. Its a feeling lost in most other cars, where I feel trapped and smothered in traffic.

Drive it.. Enjoy it.. Thats what cars are made for...

A Concours de Elegance Vanagon? Thats for the museum people...
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-89 GL Westy, SVX.. finally.

-57 pan f/g buggy with a 67 pancake Type 3 "S"
"Jimi Hendrix owned one. Richard Nixon did not"
-Grand Tour, Season 1, episodes 4 and 5

[campism]

These things don't reach 200,000 miles without being driven, but I personally drove a Civic to work for the fuel economy and recently began commuting by motorcycle for even better gas mileage (and fun, of course). We save our '87 Westy for trips and occasional around-town jaunts. The motorcycle goes almost three times as far per gallon as the Westy.

[Wildthings]

We have put somewhere around 600K miles on three Vanagons over the last 20+ years. Yes they slowly wear out, put a bit of money and work puts them right again.

[PDXWesty]

Drive your van and take the money you would have spent on any other car or repairs and put it towards maintenance on the van. Any other car will lose value, but the van will maintain value.
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89 Westy 2.1 Auto

[srmpf]

[Destructo]

I would only consider using my Westy for a daily driver.
It's my favorite vehicle
It's fun to drive
It's my cafeteria while I'm at work
I get more conversations started with this van than any other car I've driven
I could go on and on.
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1985 Wolfsburg Edition Westfalia Camper Bostig conversion

Dude, where's your van?

[SojournersWesty]

I'd look at what you daily drive is? A few easy miles or an hour of stop and go traffic....that you have to do twice a day. I finally parked mine due to the latter wearing mine out (tires, tranny, clutches), only to drive on weekends or a quick recharge of the soul. I see your in Las Cruses and there is an Intersection of interstate there...so if your sitting in 8 & 5 O'clock traffic inching your way in and out of work I'd say get something else and let it suffer the abuse of the commute. But an easy stretch of back road would be a different story.

Also mine is air cooled and sitting in the heat of the southeast when you can't get rolling to cool off was also a factor.
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<-----1982 Vanagon Westfalia Air Cooled----->

[Sam Bateman]

I don't drive mine daily but it's not because I don't think it can handle the strain. But rather, as several folks have already commented on, increasingly the fuel economy of a daily commuter is the overiding concern for me.
Normally I drive my Passat TDI which gets 47 - 50 mpg in the Winter and ride my moto which gets 60+ in the fairer weather.

I can tell you that I owned my '87 tin top from new and drove it everywhere I went for many years. Not too many walk-homes.

Sam Bateman
Arvonia, Va

[eeebee]

You have to pay to drive. Maintanance or depreciation , your choice. I LIKE to drive my van and i drive it to work at least a couple days a week.
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Eric

1987 Vanagon Wolfsburg Special Edition
GoWesty 2.3

Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time.

[morymob]

That would be the least of my worries, i drove a '84 GL 14 yrs and had over 330K, still ran well and was our main 'travel ' vehicle. Just keep up maint.It was the most trouble free of 'any' owned,brand x's.

[Terry Kay]

The miles driven to the time working on the vehicle's ratio is high--

You'll find you'll be spending a lot more time under it, than in it as the miles rack up.
More $$$ too.
You'll find it's on the same expediture plan as the Volvo.

Go to Plan B.

Fix the Volvo, or buy another beater.
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T.K.

[morymob]

Guess the gods are smiling on me. After the initial thorough check-out all(5) i have owned,current westy 3yrs, have had a very low number of minor things(combined)go wrong, luck? don't think so. The boss's CRV has had more shop repair money in 3 yrs than the wbx's,i do all of their needs,so im'm gonna keep on keeping on or something like that.

[Ginkgoglass]

I can't stop driving mine.

Lana

[Terry Kay]

Keep on driving them Vanagons--

Rack up big miles you can brag about.

You'll wear it out.

Miles = time + money.
If the parts were all available at the corner parts palace and short bucks as a Chevy, I'd say drive the hell outa it.
But seeing as the Vanagon is on the other side of this equasion, I say use it for pleasure , not as a a dailey driver.
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T.K.

[Wildthings]

[Howesight]

If you don't live in the parts of the world where cars rust due to snow/salt/humidity/salt air, then drive, drive, drive your Vanagon or Westy. Long periods of disuse without maintenance are not good for any vehicle, in my experience. And everything that does wear is rebuildable or replaceable.
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'86 Syncro Westy SVX

[debbiej]

Appreciate all the responses. Some days it is a lot of stop & go, and hot weather. Other days, just a single trip in the cool of the day. I do love driving it, but surely highway miles are best.
I hope we can get another beater car soon, Meanwhile, I'll enjoy driving my favorite vehicle.

[Ahwahnee]

[GMByers]

Debbie,
Drive and enjoy your Westy. Ask yourself, who are you saving it for; the next owner? Yes, if you drive it, it will wear out faster, and at some point you will arrive at a crossroad (like the Volvo) - do you continue to repair it, or do you get rd of it.

I am personally contemplating thinning out my stash of VWs. I've come to the conclusion that I have too many to drive and enjoy. After all, in the end, they are all simply material objects.
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And then there were two...downsized to 83 Doka &
74 Thing.