Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:31:02 -0600
Reply-To: Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Subject: Was: buy a daily driver or--now, how to get the spouse to buy in
In-Reply-To: <BAY101-F7E981647F6763720B565CACA70@phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
>
> it would also be easier to pitch to
> my wife, since i'd be spending money on "my car" and not "daddy's
> extravagance"
Welllll, I'm not going THERE! I'd like a Jetta or something to drive
around, too, but there is a certain simplicity to life when
everything you have to fix, automotive-wise, works the same way and
uses the same tools, newsgroup, manual, etc. Interchangeable parts
are worth something in themselves. As long as I give some sort of
attention to my wife's Acura and my daughter's car from time to time,
she doesn't mind me hobbying around with the Vanagons, as she
benefits from them almost as much as I do and in fact drives the
carat when she needs to haul kids or her projects.
Besides, I went into it the smart way. The last car I fooled with a
lot was a ground-up restoration of a 59 MGA back in the early 90s.
Somewhere in every part of the house was something being done for
that car... a wiring harness stretched out here, painted suspension
parts bagged up there. The garage has a shiny black frame on one side
and a sanded-to-the-metal body on the other for three years until I
was able to drive it.
Before that, it was rebuilding a 1977 Porsche 911. Before that it was
HER XJ6.
Compared to those expensive and time-consuming experiences, the
Vanagons almost don't exist. It's all relative to the relatives.
Jim
>
>
> aaron
> '87 syncro westy ej22
> '00 jeep grand cherokee
> ?? '98 golf gl ??
>
>> From: Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
>> Reply-To: Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: Re: buy a daily driver or press the syncro into service?
>> Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2007 10:51:31 -0600
>>
>> Sounds like you've made your decision and are awaiting conformation,
>> so here goes: If you want the syncro to last (practically) forever,
>> then get a third car as a daily driver. If you choose wisely, you can
>> always sell the third car for what you've got in it with a little
>> luck, and in the end may be financially and trouble ahead in that
>> maintaining the syncro the way you want it will probably cost much
>> more than doing so on a more ordinary car.
>>
>> I think about that with my westy and regular vanagon. Which do I
>> drive? The easy answer is whichever one will be cheaper and easier to
>> repair in the future (if the westy stays garaged, the longer the
>> poptop seals and so forth are going to last). The tough answer
>> involves the imponderables like which engine, the diesel or the
>> waterboxer, is going to give up first. It would be an easier decision
>> for me if one of the cars wasn't a vanagon. That's what makes it so
>> easy to advise you!
>>
>> Jim
>>
>>
>> On Jan 29, 2007, at 9:50 AM, Aaron Pearson wrote:
>>
>>> my wife and young son and i have done fine until now with one daily
>>> driver
>>> and one vanagon. I only used the van occiasinally around town
>>> and for
>>> trips. now, our commute schedule changed, and we both need to
>>> drive ~10
>>> miles every day. i'm fond of the van and i don't want to sell it,
>>> but i
>>> also don't like the idea of the added wear and tear of driving it
>>> everyday.
>>> i want it to last forever. plus, a few times a year it needs
>>> repairs/upgrades that keep it out of service for a few days.
>>>
>>> so... should i buy a 3rd car (an older golf or something) for
>>> commuting, or
>>> keep that money for additional van repairs and the occasional
>>> rental? the
>>> 3rd car would have the bonus of better fuel economy, but only for a
>>> few
>>> thousand miles per year.
>>>
>>> i can't decide.
>>>
>>> aaron
>>> '87 syncro westy ej22
>>>
>>> _________________________________________________________________
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>
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