Cost of maintenance & Learning Curve Question...

That's what I normally do and then just wash my hands with gasoline. I have yet to find a better hand-cleaner. :-)

being reborn.

I've got 3 also ('82 KZ750, '70 Mercedes, '74 Dodge B300 huge van) my wife keeps griping at me to get rid of. :^)

And I'm contemplating that '63 Ghia. I guess the rest will have to go.

Chris

being reborn.

(i'm sorry it took me so long to get this posted. i have been dealing with an injured pet at home and it's been taking up a lot of space in my brain.)

matt, i am an artist and a student and an early volkswagen is the *only* car i can afford to own right now. if i can do it, you can do it. you'll probably have your heart broken along the way, but i think the rewards of being a volks owner outweigh the occasional heartbreaking.

you can easily learn to maintain an older volkswagen, especially if you are mechanically inclined and sufficiently prepared to deal with the occasional frustrations that being your own mechanic will provide. you may still need to put it in the shop once in a while, but you can easily take care of the routine maintenance yourself. you can take care of

*all* the maintenance yourself if you want to.

other people have been very negative in their responses to you, which i think is just sad for a group of supposed volks enthusiasts. one person mentioned some horrible conditions under which you might need to change the oil in a volks every day - i've had an air-cooled volkswagen as my daily driver for 13 out of the last 15 years and i have NEVER found myself in a situation so dire. i'm not saying it could never happen, but it's never happened to me. and i've never heard of it happening to anyone else, either.

unless you live in the middle of nowhere, parts are generally easy enough to get. you'll need a good set of tools, which won't be cheap, but try looking at them as an investment. if you don't have a garage or other covered space in which to work on the car, that could be a hassle, particularly if you need to do a complete engine rebuild.

bottom line: find yourself a decent volks, buy it, love it, learn to work on it. if it turns out that you hate it, sell it and go back to driving something else. it's a car, not a tattoo: you aren't stuck with it for the rest of your life if it doesn't work out for you.

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That was me. And you've neatly missed the point. Matt didn't come to this Newsgroup for information as such, he came here looking for confirmation that his assumption old VW's are cheap to maintain and easy to fix. Both of those assumptions both are false EXCEPT in particular cases, such as being mechanically inclined, as you pointed out in your response. But Matt's message makes it clear he is NOT mechanically inclined since he does not maintain the vehicle he presently drives (ie, '...taking my 92 Plymouth Voyager to the mechanic on a regular basis.')

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That's me again... and hundreds of other VW drivers here in the western United States, Mexico and Baja California. A lot of places I go don't have paved roads. Some don't have any roads at all. (Seriously. You use landmarks or a compass heading.) The need for a daily oil change occurs when you run into flour fine silt as is found on dry lake beds such as the hundred mile stretch of Laguna Salida or any number of desert roads.

The fact you've never been there and don't know anyone who has isn't the point nor is it germane to Matt's question. The point was the inherent need for a good dose of common sense in anyone expecting reliable service from an orphaned, antique vehicle having zero dealer support.

Matt's message began with the usual misconception that old Volkswagens are cheap & easy. I offered him a whiff of reality. Odds are, he'd be happier with something other than an aircooled VW.

-Bob Hoover

they are.

he displayed a willingness to learn, which he most likely can do.

your assumption that everyone's going to be driving under such extreme conditions is quite amusing.

i totally disagree with you.

have a nice day!

Bob's a great resource for VWs but the "Social Contract" he signed years ago could use updating. ;-)

i find this statement misleading...i can open up my local paper and buy dozens of later model vehicles that will outlast(whithout major work), outperform, and cost way less to operate than the average acvw.......vw's are not "cheap" transportation these days..welcome to reality...the days of "cheap" vw's sitting in yards are over....

never assume anything

and possibly the wallet

i agree with this..some...easy to learn to "maintain", yes, but to correct years of jackleg repairs is another story...it goes beyond "maintenance"....any "cheap" vw's you find are sure to need plenty to get them back to reliable form...."occasional frustrations" is abit of an understatement, when suggesting someone buy a 30 year old vehicle for everyday use....especially when "cheap" is the key word

you are way off...you need to re-read what these "other people' have written...i can come right out and say that i spent several years using an acvw for daily transportation and did all the upkeep myself...but would that be fair to not include the stories of all the late night repairs, struggling to get the thing fixed so i could get to work the next day? no it wouldn't....the poster asked a question, and received answers...you don't agree? fine, but that doesnt' make it any less true...daily driven vw's can be quite the handful, especially someone that is looking to do it "cheap".....i could have bought any number of cars that would have been more reliable, and cheaper to operate on a daily basis than the vw's i drove for years....i *chose* not to...the "fun factor' of a vw can't be beat....BUT that is no reason to send an unsuspecting person out to buy one....often times, those that are uninformed run out and buy one, struggle to keep it running, making jackleg/improper "repairs" to keep it going, then after they have totally screwed it up, either sell it or junk it...then go on to tell everyone how an acvw is a "POS"....not a happy ending in my book...

*I've* never had a heart attack, but i do try to take steps to keep it from happening...

BOTTOM LINE....do homework...as this poster was doing...he was asking the "enthusiasts"(that you question) because he has no experience with them...smart first step i think....for you to lead him into a warzone without warning is wrong on your part....

see a few paragraphs above...i have already described a likely/common situation...

------------------- Chris Perdue

"Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug!"

Remove "PANTS" to e-mail

compared to what.....most people that have NOT had to "fix" one have this assumption...i figure you are one of those....

"your assumption" could be incorrect...(ironic how assumptions work...read on, your words)

YOUR assumption that you may NOT already be subjecting your vw to those conditions occationally is totally off base....you do understand the way the vw's crankcase ventilation works don't you? if you did you would understand Bob's point....

and *I* disagree with you....You should hope to have half as much experience with vw's as Bob Hoover has, someday....he has probably forgotten more than you know right now...

you do the same...but please be realistic....

------------------- Chris Perdue

"Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug!"

Remove "PANTS" to e-mail

Hey Chris, you left a pack of cigarettes here from your visit. :-D

can you ship em up?(didn't say i take *every* step to prevent said heart attack....how's your ticker? still pouring the salt to everything like you did during my visit?...)

------------------- Chris Perdue

"Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug!"

Remove "PANTS" to e-mail

Nope, I already smoked them all. And that wasn't salt. It was cocaine. ;-)

well hell...that explains *ALOT*....hehe.....

------------------- Chris Perdue

"Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug!"

Remove "PANTS" to e-mail

...............I'm planning to outlive both of you.

:-)

I'm too mean to die. ;-)

Live fast, Die young. Leave a beautiful corpse.

Jan ;)

that's nice, dear.

i've been driving vintage volkswagens for fifteen years - coming up on sixteen.

i'm sure matt appreciates the variety of input he's getting, if he's even still reading.

If by "a beautiful corpse" you mean my own, then there's no chance of that. If you don't specifically mean my own, on the other hand... ;-)