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

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

  1. Most policies will be social and domestic use... would have to be something a bit fancy for it not to be used for commuting, as basically they'd not pay out if you were driving your van between Monday and Friday o_O
     
  2. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    Eh?
    Either you're covered for commuting or you're not. It's got nothing to do with day of the week.
     
  3. 4 years daily driver, 650miles per week, costs nothing but petrol (extreme mileage Case I know but) service myself , cost peanuts but you need to keep an eye on the rust, treat it straight away. Mines off the road now because of cracked head, now rebuilt but needs a little welding(but old house to renovate only reason its off the road for longer than I expected) if you keep them outside and used they last longer and run sweeter. They were designed as a commercial vehicle not a classic van! Use them please. ;-)
    Good luck
     
    Iain McAvoy likes this.
  4. It has everything to do with how anal insurance companies are these days... If they can get out of paying a claim, they will!!
     
    Bernard Fishtrousers likes this.
  5. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    That's why I asked if they covered commuting..
     
  6. Mine's not my daily (that's a classic Mini which has many of the same problems except easier to park and uses 1/2 the amount of fuel). However, whenever my Mini's of the road, the van comes into play.

    It's cheap to insure and free to tax... It's reliable - touch wood - and practical. Plus you are so high up, above even those fools in their SUVs. And everyone stares, points and smiles. What could be better? :)
     
    burntout likes this.
  7. The couple of online quotes I got included commuting. They were a good indication but I'll put more effort into it as a purchase becomes more of a reality.
    Paul suggests getting a tin top. I'm curious why. A pop top would be nice for camping especially if it has some high bunks. Not essential though. I had assumed a good pop top would be as good as a tin top, for weather proof abilities, road noise etc. I know the tin top has less drag. Am I missing other considerations?
    A Mini as the back-up sounds great but maybe a step too far for now!
     
  8. Less drag, and water tight :)
     
  9. Its not a camper without a poptop :thumbsup:
     
    LewBLew likes this.
  10. Mine was my daily for 12 or 14 years, it stopped when I had to spend a princely sum of money buying a new sliding door
    and it ran out of fuel at 196 miles/tankful = 13.6 mpg. I bought a 1600 Scirocco and four brand new winter tyres for less than
    the cost of the door and it will do exactly 1 millionty miles to the galleon on a run - WINNAH!
     
    zed and rickyrooo1 like this.
  11. Used mine daily for six months over winter as my only car, getting to work, shopping, pottering about etc...
    Wouldn't do it now as my job entails parking in various places around the country and I don't fully rest knowing it's left alone.

    My heat exchangers kicked out loads of heat, could drive in winter in a t shirt.
    Petrol costs weren't prohibitively expensive and were outweighed by cheaper car insurance and no road tax.
     
  12. My Crew Cab is my daily and I wouldn't want it any other way! Your guaranteed to put a smile on at least one persons face every time you go out, as said above, for me the possible extra fuel cost (we have put a golf gti engine in it - so my opinion may not count :oops:) is more than saved by much cheaper insurance, and if you get the right age - road tax. And I don't believe any higher maintenance than any other vehicle - at least when it goes wrong I can do it and not need a computer to diagnose it for me (Well apart from sometimes when I consult the Latebay oracle :D )
     
  13. If you are going to park it all day in a station commuter car park - make sure you have good security locks on it!
     
  14. or a cooker n a sink :D
     
    Lord Congi likes this.
  15. MorkC68

    MorkC68 Administrator

    There are ways round the insurance company covering you for commuting ;) We wasn't covered for taking Major from home to work and back home, blowing the cobwebs away & all that. So, we rented a small unit on the same business park as work, got the vans covered for being stored at the rented unit and also at home (we explained the plan to the insurance & it made sense to them) & as a result, I can commute from home/carport storage to rented garage at work which is more secure :D
     
  16. Nice idea, would be prohibitively expensive for me though.
     
    MorkC68 likes this.
  17. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    It'd be cheaper to just pay out for commuting cover.
     
    volkswombat likes this.
  18. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    My car per 10,000 miles £750 fuel £50 service £135 tax, £150 insurance no breakdown cover = £1085
    My van per 10,000 miles £2000 fuel, 3x £30 service, £0 tax, £120 insurance inc breakdown cover = £2210

    I can hear the radio in the car and it doesn't blow about. :)
     
  19. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    car for 7000 of the miles = £525 fuel + the rest = £860
    van for 3000 = £600 fuel + the rest = £810
    Total = £1670 so it's cheaper to run both and commute in a car. If I sold my cheap car within 2-3 years I'd have spent it on extra petrol for the van, then loose £500 a year thereafter. :)
     
    volkswombat and LewBLew like this.
  20. I use my beetle as a daily (300miles/week) and it's generally fine. Yes, the heater is poor- Aftermarket heat exchangers are like that. But reliability wise it's been pretty much top notch, expecially if you know what you're doing. It's only once not got me where I need to go in about 5 years. But KEEP ON TOP OF RUST!!! It's so much easier to put a blob of paint on a stonechip or waxoil every year than do welded repairs, and I do my own. Keep it clean and mechanically tip-top and it'll put a smile on your face every day. Fill it with pepperami wrappers and ignore "non-crucial" faults and it'll start to annoy you.

    Btw- Been running LPG for just under 2 years now, no complaints (apart from driving into a ditch at glastonbury and pulling a feed pipe atwain). Stephen Shaw at Gasure (Chester) does a great job in a day, and you get to have a look around Chester, which is a lovely city.

    Edit- swore lots. Still getting used to the filter.
     

Share This Page