NationStates Jolt Archive

Well its been over 5 years (probably closer to 10!) since Ive owned a car or truck for my personal transportation. Always motorcycles. But Im not getting any younger and winter is coming on and Ive almost decided for sure to buy a cage to steer around. Its down to two choices really, both old, both have parts availability and both with known reliabilities.

VW microbus

Volvo P1800 wagon

Which one should I get?

VW microbus (is there really any point in asking :D )

…paint it like the mystery machine!

The VW microbus is awesome! It has tons of personality.

Go with the Volvo. better all around car. And more reliable. Bug vans always seem to need a bit of tinkering to keep the engine going.

Though, if you happen to be a large person, like me, the wagon could be a problem trying to get into. At 6-foot, 255 I can just barely squeeze into the passenger seat of that model of Volvo. Trying to drive the thing is never gonna happen.

A little bit more information might be in order here.

Ive owned micro busses before and love them. The motors last 40k to 60k miles. They are slow but reliable within that 40k window. Easy to fix (save a clutch cable replacement) and there are a plethora of cheap aftermarket parts available, even locally.

Ive never owned a P1800 before, but always thought they looked cooler than cool. I never really considered owning one though because of troubles Ive had obtaining spare parts for Swedish products in the past along with not having any idea about the car's reliability and durability.Thanks to the miracle of the internet Ive found that a P1800 owns the outrght durability record for autos at about 2.5 million miles now with 1 engine rebuild and few failures. There is also a strong following for these cars with cheap parts readily available. I would get the wagon version rather than the 2 seat sports car version for utility and so my dog might go everywhere with me (as should be the right of any dog I own).

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/GermanNightmare/VW.jpg

Volvo is better, more solid build, and it didn't appear in back to the future.

Well... pretty much any vehicle that emits CO2 warms the globe....

Well its been over 5 years (probably closer to 10!) since Ive owned a car or truck for my personal transportation. Always motorcycles. But Im not getting any younger and winter is coming on and Ive almost decided for sure to buy a cage to steer around. Its down to two choices really, both old, both have parts availability and both with known reliabilities.

VW microbus

Volvo P1800 wagon

Which one should I get?

The VeeDub all the way.

Well... pretty much any vehicle that emits CO2 warms the globe....true, but these two will emit more than my bikes

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/GermanNightmare/VW.jpg

Yes.

I can see you driving that around. :D

VW!

Volvo is better, more solid build, and it didn't appear in back to the future.

What's wrong with Back to the Future?

I like the VW so much I have two, so my answer is obvious.

This would be soooo me in a Volvo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EQUDHfyOAU

A little bit more information might be in order here.

Ive owned micro busses before and love them. The motors last 40k to 60k miles. They are slow but reliable within that 40k window. Easy to fix (save a clutch cable replacement) and there are a plethora of cheap aftermarket parts available, even locally.

The engine is only good for 60,000 miles? Fuck that's practically new! By comparison my truck has 70,000 on it and purrs like a kitten, a semi-truck will easily put a million miles on.

The engine is only good for 60,000 miles? Fuck that's practically new! By comparison my truck has 70,000 on it and purrs like a kitten, a semi-truck will easily put a million miles on.

Theres a reason most motors are liquid cooled dont use magnesium blocks and carry more than 3 quarts of oil.

On the plus side these can be expected to go that far without problems and change out in half a day. If I budget $750-1000 for a rebuilt motor or $1600 for a new one at these intervals I wont be disappointed or dissatisfied. I wouldnt be too thrilled paying the fuel bills to drive around in a Peterbilt. A person's attitude about their car needs to match the reality of their car or the person should change cars.

Theres a reason most motors are liquid cooled dont use magnesium blocks and carry more than 3 quarts of oil.

On the plus side these can be expected to go that far without problems and change out in half a day. If I budget $750-1000 for a rebuilt motor or $1600 for a new one at these intervals I wont be disappointed or dissatisfied. I wouldnt be too thrilled paying the fuel bills to drive around in a Peterbilt. A person's attitude about their car needs to match the reality of their car or the person should change cars.

True, a big truck usually gets around 5mpg, though 8 or more is possible if you drive slower and never idle. Still the fact that the engines last so long makes one wonder why the hell passenger vehicles go to shit around 150k.

True, a big truck usually gets around 5mpg, though 8 or more is possible if you drive slower and never idle. Still the fact that the engines last so long makes one wonder why the hell passenger vehicles go to shit around 150k.

It is difficult to build a block with adequate horsepower that is rigid enough and with enough oil capacity to go forever without excessive wear while still keeping it light enough and small enough dimensionally to net decent fuel mileage. It can be done for a price, but most people dont even want to keep a car forever so wont pay that price.

Volvo is better, more solid build, and it didn't appear in back to the future.
Hey now - what's wrong with Back To The Future?!?
Yes.

I can see you driving that around. :D

VW!
I usually do drive my family's car which is a VW Polo. My Dad's company is a Passat, which I also had the pleasure to drive once or twice.

If I had a car, it probably would be one along the lines of a T4. I love those.