Daily Driver T2 - Do I need a reality check?!

Discussion in 'Buying a VW Camper' started by Gobsheen, Mar 9, 2015.

  1. Hi,
    I've been asking a few questions on here and getting good help. My worry is that I'm heading down the road of buying a late bay fuelled by the excitement i.e. being lead by my heart rather than my head. Example....I was so excited about getting my hands on a retro carbon-fibre mountain bike at the right price that I overlooked that it was too small for me!

    Whatever I buy has to be a daily runner, all year. It'll do less than 10k miles a year. It'll be out in all weathers. Getting it in my garage isn't going to happen at the moment......but something I'll work on. If it has a pop top, it might never fit in the garage anyway.

    I'm looking at bays in the UK and at US/South Africa imports. I'll buy a solid bay that's mechanically in a good state i.e. one I can drive straight away. I won't be spending a fortune though....definitely not a five figure amount. Most of the reading I've done is pointing me towards a type 4 engine for reliability and a bit more poke as standard (reliability is the priority). I'll service it regularly. I'll seal it well with something like waxoyl and try to keep it clean.
    Right, that's the summary. Now, my concern........I don't want to buy something that I plan to enjoy having and driving, only to watch it falling apart in front of my eyes because it just doesn't want to be a daily driver! I need to lead with my head for a bit before I do something I regret. If it's a bad idea, I'd rather wait until it doesn't need to be a daily driver or I have better storage.

    What's your thoughts? Please leave your heart at the door before answering this time please!
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2015
  2. rickyrooo1

    rickyrooo1 Hanging round like a bad smell

    @chrisgooner drives his daily i'm sure, probably does them good to be honest, it's just the fuel bill that stops me.
     
  3. I'm thinking no but I used to. Too expensive to run at low 20s per gallon on a run and mounting maintenance costs killed that. What sort of commuting distance?
     
  4. That said cheaper on maintenance than my car and no real depreciation...
     
  5. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    Honestly?
    I'd not have one as a daily driver. That's not to say I don't use mine regularly, or for things other than going away in; but I would always want something warm, economical, powerful, comfortable, nice to drive, to leave in pub car parks etc as well.
    You'll need to check you can get a decent classic policy as an only vehicle / 10k miles per year too.
    In summary, loads do; I wouldn't.
     
  6. No reason why you can't use one as a daily driver, they were after all a commercial vehicle used daily.

    Just have to bare in mind you'll have more maintenance to do than with a more modern vehicle.
     
  7. davidoft

    davidoft Sponsor

    Yeah but the maintenance is cheaper :)
     
    1973daisey likes this.
  8. Mines my daily ,nothing wrong with that ,that was the point of them :thumbsup:
     
    scooper, Hulkmeister and minirob like this.
  9. Thing is if you add the cost of buying another vehvcle ,insurance and tax etc ,is the difference in petrol that much?
     
    Hulkmeister and burntout like this.
  10. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    Nothing wrong with it by any means!
    Things have progressed in 40 years though so it's just not for me!
     
  11. If you do it yourself it sure is, some people's idea of maintenance is dropping a car off once a year for an mot and service though.
     
    davidoft likes this.
  12. rickyrooo1

    rickyrooo1 Hanging round like a bad smell

    i honestly think that running my golf and my bay still works out cheaper than just the bay if i'm honest.
     
    Bernard Fishtrousers likes this.
  13. rickyrooo1

    rickyrooo1 Hanging round like a bad smell

    case in point fuelwise my diesel light came on sat 29 feb i put £13 in (all i had on me) and thought i'd see how far i'd get.... it came back on fri 6th march 118 miles later just too-ing and fro-ng to work etc, £13 in my bay would prob get me 40? miles.
     
  14. Thanks guys. Mixed opinions. I know the mpg isn't going to be great. I'm used to 30mpg in my pick-up (wanted to be the Fall Guy) and hoping I'd get 25 from the bay but not so sure now. I might think about LPG. My commute is about 8 miles to the train station each day but I'll use the motorbike some of the time in the better weather.
    No one's mentioned rust problems of a daily driver. I thought that could be a problem.......?
    Honestly, I'm used to a nice warm car with heated seats etc. I can live without much of it but don't want to freeze my ass though! Is that what I can look forward to? Am I right in thinking that if the heat exchangers etc are ok, then it can pump out a fair bit of heat when warmed up?
     
  15. rickyrooo1

    rickyrooo1 Hanging round like a bad smell

    my hx's are boiling mate, genuine ones if leak free are great.
     
  16. Doesn't sound like a stupid idea to me, I don't see that cost is going to be an issue really, comfort might, but that's up to you. Personally the good feeling I get from driving my bay outweighs the lack of comfort. Running an older vehicle regularly allows you to sort out niggles that otherwise might surprise you on a special trip. They rust whether you use them or not. And if the van warms up every day it'll have a chance to dry out. Waxoyl and regular cleaning will help, too. If you have the bike as a spare you're laughing. What's the worst that could happen?
     
  17. Mines a daily. Just give yourself more time and its fine. Allow for, leaving your lights on, slow cold starts, ice on the inside, all that good kinda stuff. You'll be fine
     
  18. I'd be looking at a tin top with a 2l lump if I was going to use one daily!! :thumbsup:
     
    scooper likes this.
  19. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    Can you get commuting cover on a classic policy?
     
  20. Yep. I've got it on my policy from Footman James. It's a cost option but only about £25 I think.
     

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