Hi all! I am just curious to know... I used to have a '73 Super when I was 18. When I was 19 I sold it and bought a 2002 Golf Gti for all of the modern day luxuries. Having a quiet cabin, air con, safety, power steering etc is awesome, but I miss my old Beetle! It was an awesome car, so much fun and full of character.
I'm curious to know, how many of you have a Beetle as their daily driver, and how many of you have it as a weekend car? I want my old Beetle back! I'm 21 now, and it's been a long time since I have driven or even been a passenger in a classic beetle.
Also, does anybody know when the next Volkswagen show is in in Victoria? I'm looking forward to admiring these cars in the flesh again, rather than magazines and internet.
helbus ·
The 71 super is my car. That's it. I am lucky to work close to home, so don't drive much.
Bizarre ·
My 75L is my daily.
I only live 12kms from work - but it is my company car, so i do a few trips in it.
Probably do 15,000kms per year.
About the only time i dont drive it is when i go to soccer and need to take the beer esky, kit, dog, old man etc etc and i take the Vanagon then
It is good to have a spare in case the old reliabe beetle aint all that reliable 😂
_me_ ·
my '54 is my only car and does at least 48k's a day to and from work...
colonel mustard ·
73 super. driven daily. 🙂
byronmcmanus59 ·
'58 driven daily, only car so have no other option,
head on down the the Day of, 15th November in the burg. biggest vw show in vic.
ByronBug ·
Hi I have had my black 61 as my daily driver for well over 10 years now...she is so reliable....keep them mechanically mantained & they will keep going forever
LUFTMEISTER ·
Do yourself a favour and grab another Beetle. You never forget your first love👍
Daily driver Air cooled Kombi 1972 🙂 Just sold my beetle 🙁 (have more 😉)
Spook ·
80 click run to work & back every day in a 70 beetle
beetleboy88 ·
haha you sound exactly like me Daniel. I bought my beetle when i was 18 and im now 21! Iv'e got a 73 super driven daily. prob does around 25km per day. But since i won best European car at the local car show a couple of weeks ago and after spending over $8000 in rust repairs and a full respray im actually thinking of getting a 2nd car (a ute) and keeping the bug at home and saving her for weekend drives and the like.
hellbugged ·
yes im daily too
cb john ·
the same here..over 10 years..
shaihulud ·
I have a 1970, 1500 Beetle as my daily driver.
It's daggy brown with matt black mudguards and white wheels. Otherwise it's stock.
Even at today's fuel prices I can run it for a week for about $30.
My last fuel consumption test gave me about 9 litres/100k economy in city driving.
I don't bother to try keeping up with the other traffic. I just DAKDAK aong at my own pace, so my driving is quite fuel efficient.
A couple of days ago a kid stepped out from a bus queue, pointed at me in the Beetle and shouted, "That's awesome!"
It's full of character. I love it.
beetleboyjeff ·
My 75L is my daily driver. I do about 20,000 km per year, about 2/3 of it towning a trailer full of tools and/or building materials - have done for over 20 years now. I had 2 different 69's before that, and my first bug was a 59.
DaveCarter ·
Mine WAS my daily driver until it came off the road for a re spray. Now i have a corolla with my beetle just for fun. I miss having it as a daily driver though. Just having people smile at you as you go past. Not something you get to often in a corolla with a loud exhaust and P plates
Bookwus ·
Hiya Dan,
Up here in the States I drive both my Bug and my Bus on an almost daily (I usually alternate between the two) basis. I'm currently doing a remodeling job so the Bus is serving as my main drive right now. Gotta haul building supplies around a bit, you know. I'm putting 35 to 40 miles a day on the Bus right now. Otherwise, I find that I commonly rack up about 50 to 75 miles per week on each vehicle
daniel7y ·
Dave, your very lucky to have two cars! I wish I could do that... I just don't think my family would appreciate me taking two car spots at home lol...
I will definitely be at the day of the VW in Victoria. Looking forward to it. Thanks for the heads up byronmcmanus.
Would be great to see some of your Beetles if you have pictures. I have some pics of my old super if anyone is interested to see I'll post them.
Gringo_54_oval ·
daniel7y listen to your iside and get a bug!i have an echo (boring)i have slammed hiace for my painting (alright)and i have my bug(freeeking awsome)
i have so much pleasure driving my bug compared with the other plastic cars.
trust me get a bug
Alex😂
hellbugged ·
Gringo_54_oval wrote:daniel7y listen to your iside and get a bug!i have an echo (boring)i have slammed hiace for my painting (alright)and i have my bug(freeeking awsome)
i have so much pleasure driving my bug compared with the other plastic cars.
trust me get a bug
Alex😂
yeah they fun........i gave you a wave from my daily driver when you went past heading north for Warwick ( you trailer sailer 🤘)......think it was the Thursday
Smiley ·
I had one.
Refer to other thread. 🙁
Smiley
Goitsy ·
74L as a weekender or whenever I can. So much fun😁
Anthiron ·
i drive my 60 baja as a daily. it would be nice to have another daily but you cant have everything.
Joel ·
mine was a daily driver for the first few years when i bought it as it was my only car that was registered but its been a weekend/show toy for about the last 5 years as i have a couple of mainstreamers for dailys.
now the bugs back on the road im planning on using it alot more regularly
Gringo_54_oval ·
hellbugged wrote:
Gringo_54_oval wrote:daniel7y listen to your iside and get a bug!i have an echo (boring)i have slammed hiace for my painting (alright)and i have my bug(freeeking awsome)
i have so much pleasure driving my bug compared with the other plastic cars.
trust me get a bug
Alex😂
yeah they fun........i gave you a wave from my daily driver when you went past heading north for Warwick ( you trailer sailer 🤘)......think it was the Thursday
hahaha no no no i think you got me mixed up with the guy that has charcoal beetle with the same wheels as mine.mines FATTER,LOWER & LOUDER!
mine is the oval with the shaved off gutters and mine never goes on a trailer.😂
daniel7y ·
Gringo_54_oval wrote:daniel7y listen to your iside and get a bug!i have an echo (boring)i have slammed hiace for my painting (alright)and i have my bug(freeeking awsome)
i have so much pleasure driving my bug compared with the other plastic cars.
trust me get a bug
Alex😂
Yeah I am so tempted to go out and buy one. Money isn't the issue, the only thing stopping me is the fact that I'm still living at home and my folks have made it very clear they don't want another Beetle up the driveway again.
Can't wait for day of the VW next month! Who is going?
donn ·
it's been a long time since I have driven or even been a passenger in a classic beetle.
At 21 it's not possible to have been "a long time" for anything😠
djnee ·
daniel7y wrote:Money isn't the issue, the only thing stopping me is the fact that I'm still living at home and my folks have made it very clear they don't want another Beetle up the driveway again.
What are their reasons for saying that Daniel?
Although ours doesn't do a huge amount of km compared to a lot of you, i'd say it's a daily driver though, as my wife uses the Mazda 3 for work and i have the Beetle (stay at home dad) for school runs / shopping etc.
I love driving it, and the kids love riding in it as its great fun!
bajachris88 ·
I feel for ya Daniel. Same age and living at home... the folks are certainly a hurdle.
I had to knock down the fence and fill the garage with my vee dub while they were away for 5 hrs just so i could give it some undercover while i worked on it.... Although they put it out in the rainy weather of the drive way a few times, we talking a rolling pan with no body (body in backyard).... the whole tunnel got filled with water and rusty stains, made a serious mess....
Its now back in the dry garage thank goodness..
They were pissed about me taking the garage hahaha...
but too lazy to knock the fence back down.
THey want my dub gone...
ain't gonna happen, unless they kill me haha.
Moral of the story.... well, keep pushin bro!
As the saying goes... 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease'....
djnee ·
Wow, i'm surprised that peoples folks are so against them. Didn't realise that happened actually as my mum was well into them when i got one as my first car.
When we got our first Beetle over here the old guy we bought it from said that he got a Beetle for each of his 3 daughters when they passed their driving tests. And the reasons made so much sense to me.
He said that with a Beetle he would always hear it pull up in the driveway so he could then rest knowing they were safely home. Plus he said that driving a Beetle made them safer drivers due to the fact that they always learnt to keep a good distance between the car in front due to non-power assisted brakes and the general "luxuries" of modern cars.
I know i tend to drive a lot safer when in the Beetle compared to our more modern car.
When my kids start driving i'd much prefer them to drive an underpowered VW than some of these "hoon" cars i see a lot of P platers in here.
DaveCarter ·
My mum hates me driving a beetle, especially when it was my daily driver. Just before i got my Ps my cousin was in a head on crash in his lexus and had his life saved by air bags. Horrible timing. Now every couple of months she brings up how i should be driving a newer car. She is kind of happy now that my beetle is my weekend car and i drive my corolla daily..... but my corolla doesn't have airbags either. Go figure
LukeV85 ·
my 62 is my weekend car, i had a bora until it was written off in july. since then the bug has come into alot more use. For monday to friday i have a company car. I love to feel of an old bug, the smell of a well worn interior and side vent windows as ur air con is the best. Plus treat them right they never break down!
daniel7y ·
When I got my first Beetle my parents reluctantly supported me. Unfortunately at the time I didn't really know enough about them and made a rushed decision when I bought my Super. We got it pretty cheap, but the car was a mess. It needed a lot more work than we realised, and my Dad was getting fed up with the time and money spent on the car. Mechanically it wasn't quite right, the big issue being that it blew out black smoke. We took it to a regular (not air cooled VW) mechanic who couldn't find anything wrong with it. Eventually I decided to sell it and get a modern car, and now looking back I realise all of the mistakes I made.
If I had known what I know now I could have fixed up that Beetle. First off take it to a VW mechanic, that'd be a start! Also remove the ridiculously noisy exhaust it had.
So now with this previous experience my parents view all Beetles as a waste of time and money, or as they refer to them as 'shit heaps'. They also think its unreasonable to have a second car. Hopefully moving out next year so I'll have somewhere to park my two cars!!
Smiley ·
That sucks about your parents Daniel. I'm 19 and have 9 cars, only 2 of them are registered though. Mum isn't particularly happy with there being so many lying around but my old man loves them too!! Mind you we do have 5 acres in town which is quite handy.
Smiley
Joel ·
djnee wrote:When my kids start driving i'd much prefer them to drive an underpowered VW than some of these "hoon" cars i see a lot of P platers in here.
smart move.
the workshop i used to work at was across the road from police rostered tow holding yard and you would not beleive the amount of mangled high powered cars that came in with remnants of P plates on them that young people had wiped them selves out in
they brought out theses laws but there not policing them real well, how many skylines and WRXs do u see with P plates on them
keep working on your folks, they'll come around
hell, 8 years after i moved out there was still 2 VWs in the shed and god knows how many in peices scattered around the place and it was a struggle to get one in the first place
71-BEETLE-SEDAN ·
Dad doesnt like me drivin it at night or long distances like over an hour caus emight crash but ive showed him the picks of joels first car and he blue baja that i saw on here and he seems to be less worried bout it. Mum doesnt worry bout it but she doesnt want any more of em cause got two now. But im getting a shed up the back so can do a subi conversion and to do up the 64 so i guess she is comin round too.
helbus ·
Just imagine if we all drove beetles? So much less stress.
daniel7y ·
smileyman3000 wrote:That sucks about your parents Daniel. I'm 19 and have 9 cars, only 2 of them are registered though. Mum isn't particularly happy with there being so many lying around but my old man loves them too!! Mind you we do have 5 acres in town which is quite handy.
Smiley
9 cars!! I'm just a little bit jealous lol... If we had that much space I don't think it would be as much of an issue.
Looks like a very clean and nice super. Maybe I'll just come home with a surprise... lol
Bizarre ·
That L would make a great daily 👍
Smiley ·
It was 11 at one point early this year, and that's just what I own. Mum has an SS, dad has a Baja and a VN Commodore ute and a VN Sedan. and my brother has a VS Commodore Ute. and my sister has a Daewoo. So it gets a little crowded at times.
Smiley
sander288 ·
I drive my 67 1300 Deluxe daily, and around the state, I lived in Coffs Harbour and drove to armidale 8 times or so a year for Uni, and before that I worked in Brisbane during the holidays so my old bug has gotten up some miles as a daily, but I think it's time to put it on historic plates for a few years to drop rego costs and give it a break for little while whilst I save to do it up... It was the car I learnt on actually so i've had it for 8 years....
Amazing original condition, nice colour and like new black interior. I should stop looking now it's only teasing myself!!
I've turned this thread into a place for me to complain haha sorry... I just want to ask something else: Who has their Beetles garaged? Those of you who don't, is rust a concern?
sander288 ·
It used to be garaged when I was still living at home, but now it's in a carport, I used to work near the ocean and had to park it by the sea and rust was a concern then, but leaving it on the street i'm not too concerned but I probably should be... problem is if it's on the street covers get nicked etc.. but on your driveway is ok
DU88EN ·
i'm 17 and at first my parents were sektchy about me driving a beetle (they are also about the only 40something year olds IVE met who never owned 1) so it was just something i wanted
when i drove hoome in it the day i bought it mum went from hating it to loving it and as long as i'm paying for repairs and roll down the street with my engine off after midnight they don't mind!
just go for it you WONT regret it! i can't drive a normal car these days becuse nobody looks, nobody hears, and kids don't punch each other when i drive past!!!
Smiley ·
Hey Dan, I'll drop 4 off them off at your place and see how crazy your parents go. 😂
Smiley
daniel7y ·
Hahaha sounds like a good plan Smiley. If I did get one it couldn't be garaged. Thats why I'm asking about rust... Just curious...
helbus ·
If it is made of iron I assure you it will rust.
coletrickle ·
I'm driving my bug every day today i did 110 miles in fruitloop,i think if you are driving a new car with air con you are an environmental vandal😂 Recycle and reuse and use yor bug,what would ferdinand say if you told him you only use your beetle on weekends he would have you locked up in the nut house!
takis ·
I have a 69 beetle and its a daily driver, it commutes about 40 km a day..My greatest fears are heavy rain.
It hasnt let me down by the side of the road yet..
Mountains Greg ·
I was driving my 1200 65 Bug daily about 30km round trip to and from work and towed my box trailer with buliding supplies etc on the odd occasion up until April last year. I then fell in love with a Mk4 Golf.
I still think the bug is alot of fun and I will never part wit it, but I was finding it difficult to keep up with constant servicing. I now treat it with the respect it deserves and it see's the road on my days off. After all even a 65 bug is getting old nowadays!
I believe the best daily driver bug would be anything post 1967 i.e. 1500 or 1600 + with the standard front disc brakes. Unless of course you have modified your early bugs brakes etc. I have had a few scary close calls in my 65 over the years. There is just too many modern cars which can stop alot faster and stupid/impatient drivers on the road now. Maybe if I can ever get my 73 Squareback on the road again I will probably use it alot more then the Golf.
TalkieToaster ·
I drive my Clementine Orange 71 Super every day!
After I finish uni I plan to take it off the road to restore it into a shiny weekend car. 🙂
scotlander ·
I'm looking forward to using my '70 1500 single port as an everyday car, it's been through a 2 year strip down and is now being finished off.
New paint, new interior.
All I have to do now is the headlining and windows, then i can take her to a mechanic to have a health check and a new exhaust fitted then I can roadworthy again and use.
I am turning my back on company wheels for good, i'd rather drive a classic every day than blend in with the herd.plus i had too many speeding fines - living in Victoria is no fun for petrolheads.
can't wait to hear the beetle start again............
dAVo ·
I have a 66 as my daily. Have had it since March and have clocked up over 20,000kms. It's about an 80km round trip to work and lots of long distance weekend driving. And I bought this after selling my 2007 Nissan Tiida which I bought brand new. Major culture shock there but I don't regret it one bit.
Although I do also have a motorbike which i can use in emergencies but one hasn't come up yet.
Rural Baja ·
I'm going for my provisional drivers licence next wednesday and until i pick up the barina which ill be doing the test in, ive been driving the standard around town.
For a car thats 45 years old, its not too bad but like Greg said, with the other drivers on the road it makes it quite risky. I know that had i not slipped the 1641 in her, there would have been a few more frustrated drivers on the road.
When i do get my license, my daily will be a Falcon Ute, with the beetle reserved for the weekends. That way i have the best of both worlds, safety on long trips, and style around the town.