Should I buy a Forester???
The “pink slip” inspection that we are used to in NSW is only done when changing rego or selling a car in QLD. So roadworthy issues will be addressed - just make sure that it has been passed before handing over money.
Excellent - thanks!
Koper the wagen is mine.
:Spaz i think he meant Trent’s Mitsubishi Wagon
You didn’t see the edit note did you Oz? 
The “pink slip” inspection that we are used to in NSW is only done when changing rego or selling a car in QLD. So roadworthy issues will be addressed - just make sure that it has been passed before handing over money.
Excellent - thanks!
I have to contribute something useful to this thread since I keep hijacking it obsessing about my car. I just haven’t driven it for almost 2 years (or even had it at home) and it’s getting close to coming back home.
So I am thinking the Camping at the snow aspect will be traded for camping on Fraser island?
Also Dan I don’t think you have explained why the job in Hervey Bay???
Koper the wagen is mine.
:Spaz i think he meant Trent’s Mitsubishi Wagon
You didn’t see the edit note did you Oz?
Oz please make that stop, it’s disturbing.
Spaz can I ask why you have spent so much money on an old VW? I understand ppl with heaps of spare cash and time doing up old cars but wouldn’t you have been better served buying something more newer and more reliable with that money?
Dan if Fraser Island is on the cards mate I would rethink the Forester, they really don’t have the clearance fo that sort of thing. We took a mates 2010 XT on the beach at Sandbar and it’s ok as long as it’s not super soft or rutted but you have to be very very careful with where you park or stop, getting going again can be a drama. We go to the end of the beach ok but my mate didn’t think and he just stopped on the soft sand in the flats. The car dug itself in when we went to set off again.
You can lift the Foz a bit and fit slightly bigger rubber but obviously compromises on road handling, if you were going to look at Fraser on a regular basis I would want something more suited to the task.
You’ve never owned an old VW have you NBG.
There is not a more reliable, inexpensive car to run or easier car to work on.
With 20billion beetles produced from 1920’s to 2003 parts are everywhere (beetle mechanical parts can be fitted to all VW’s up to the mid 70’s).
Production numbers don’t include Kombi, type3, type4 or karmann ghia (all same layout).
Stock they had;
Fuel; 35L = 450km (1 tank)
Better performance and handling than a Datsun 1200 (same vintage)
Type3 has the best chassis, suspension, breaks of any VW (same chassis as a Karman Ghia).
65hp, twin carb 1600 (remember this is all stock).
If I bought a new car, by the time it is out of warranty it is worth $5K-$15K and that’s depreciation on $50K to the extreme!
Not much smart about that.
Got MY68VW for a case of beer,
9months later I had done a ground up rebuild and it was worth $3,500 (according to NRMA).
I spent only $1500 rego/insurance/repairs/parts/paint/tools/blue slip. (do all labour myself).
2 years later insured for $6000 with no increase in premiums, put $1000 into parts for a custom interior inc. 7 speaker system+DVD/TV/monitor.
The engine blew, picked an old engine for $250 and that included the car it sat in so I stripped it down, have boxes full of parts and sold the bare chassis for $300.
The only cost over the next 5 years was another engine, and WRX seats.
I can do an engine swap in under 4hrs, on my own, with a 15mm spanner, a pair of pliers, a screw driver and a milk crate (without a jack or pulley).
In 2009 after blowing another engine (I was driving 40yo engines it to the snow each weekend in winter) decided to put some serious cash into it since I was moving permanently to Thredbo and would no longer have a garage.
6months and $15K invested;
120hp
8.4L/100km(freeway), 11.5L/100km(city)
4 wheel disc breaks.
I can’t sit on it’s cruising speed of 135kmh legally (that’s it’s “happy” speed).
The limiter keeps it below 177kmh (I know this because -in not so proud moment of my life- drove at the limit for 4 mins which sucked all 6L of oil from the deep sump, put the engine at +200? and bounced a spark plug lead off. The engine wanted a rest for 30mins before restarting, I then drove another 100,000km before getting a service.
The service revealed a broken rocker spring, because it’s dual spring this didn’t cause further damage.
In 2011, while driving to the snow all that torque proved to much for the stock box (an expense I couldn’t afford when the engine was done and knew it wouldn’t hold up), $2000 later I have a 1000hp box.
I refuse to put in Dual Turbo because 150-180hp at the wheels on a 900kg car when I have a daughter is ignoring the need for her father to be alive.
Stock 70’s Type3 are now getting $7K, I’ve seen similar to mine fetch $15K (more classic body style).
Mine likely has the best engineered road set up in Aust. (I’ve seen nothing as good worldwide and neither has my mechanic (huge name in the VW scene).
Aesthetically MY68VW is not currently a “show car”.
The panels are perfect and with the paint is finished I’ll laugh at $15K.
So for my investment of $19,500 I have a car that performs like a 300hp holden, handles like a Porsche 911, has the economy of a Hyundai excel and is increasing in value each year (even if I leave it to rust).
Add that it was built in Australia with local metal, engineered in Germany and is mechanically stable with a proven drivetrain that isn’t overdone (It hasn’t been done in a type3 before but is standard for Kombi and often put in beetles).
And when I say “overdone” this engine/gearbox combo currently holds the fastest road-registered 4cyl record in Australia producing 1600lb torque supercharged (no typo 1600lb!!) doing the 1/4 in 8.2s (1/8 in 6s). I actually have a very mild set up.
And it’s oh so cool.
That’s why.
Spaz I’m going to agree to disagree, a 40 yr old car no matter what you have done to it does not have the handling dynamics nor the reliability or safety of a newer car. Sounds like you have made it go fast in a straight line but I would take a stock 2000 WRX any day of the week over a 40 yr old VW for any test you could care to mention. I never said to buy new, in your situation it makes no sense depreciation wise. From what I can tell you’ve had the car for 12 years right? Theres a litany of engines, gearboxes and the like failing in that car history above. I have never owned a car for that long but I have owned cars for the last 15 years and have a very plain history with failures, not an apples for apples comparison though.
My father had a 1999 toyota corolla hatchback for ten years up until last year. I think he paid about $16-17K for it at 2 years old. Apart from regular servicing and fairly anal maintenance habits didn’t have a single failure in that period, he traded it for $3500 on a brand new corolla. That’s $1200 a year depreciation for each year of ownership and no new engines or gearboxes with around 15,000km a year travelled. It’s not an exciting or even interesting vehicle to drive but for reliability from A to B at a cut price it’s hard to beat, with the added convenience and safety of aircon, powersteering and airbags.
Interestingly for you our family car for a family of 5 was from memory a 1968 1500 VW Beetle. I’m not 100% on if the model and year are correct, I do remember Dad had very particular feelings that the 1500 was better than the 1600 or 1300 or maybe it was the other way around, I will have to ask him. Perhaps you can confirm as I do not know much about the genesis and lifespan of the beetle apart from it being Hitlers gift to the people. That was in the family until I was 12 and Mum rolled it due to break failure in a torrential downpour with myself and my two sisters in the car. Thankfully no one was hurt, my other memory of that car apart from being totally inadequately sized for a family of 5 was of the engine catching fire on a hot summers day in Newport, the benefit of air cooled engines I spose.
Dad finally got over his beetle affair then and bought his first corolla, a 1979 jobbie with that weird plasticky roof. Prior to that he’s had a few of them, Mum was off them already as one had previously caught fire on them before. I’m not without experience with VW’s before but my experience has told me to steer clear of old air cooled engines.
When I was looking for my first car I was deadset on an EH Holden, Dad talked me out of it by telling me there’s nothing better than a car that starts every morning and gets you where you want to go, I ended up with a VL Wagon instead. The first didn’t last long, some guy ran a red light and t-boned me and wrote it off. I got another auto one and I still miss that car to this day. I only had one drama in 3.5 years and 100,000kms of motoring apart from the odometer dying and that was a $200 fix for a new crank angle sensor. I serviced it myself and changed the brakes and filters the whole time, it only died after some shitbags stole it when I was in Ocean Grove and crashed it.
Personally I don’t put much faith in what people think their cars are worth no matter how much money has been poured into them, it’s only worth what someone will pay for it. Until the cash is handed over it’s an arbitrary number based too often on emotional attachment with no regard for actual market value. This is sometimes massively exacerbated when it comes to older niche cars, the days of collectibles fetching stupid money are over and it can take a long time to move them as it requires a certain type and invariably rare buyer. The only certain is how much you have put into the car, as for market worth, who knows, with cars that old there are so many variables that affect value and different buyers who want different things. Two cars of the exact same make model and year can sell for very, very different prices.
it doesn’t sound like yours will ever be sold so it’s probably a moot point anyway, I just think that there was a very different way of achieving a better result for a lot less outlay but everyone’s priorities are different.
Actually Spaz, one other thing, I bought my last SSV $46K brand new. I sold it post warranty after 3.5 years for $28K, thats after pocketing over $10K a year in tax return after writing off expenses on the car, that includes, depreciation, interest on finance, and running costs like tyres, petrol, servicing and in my case it “needed” new wheels, exhaust, air intake and tuning. Cost me about $24K a year including repayments to run so over three years for the sake of my arithmetic thats $72K minus $12K+$11K+$10K (tax returns on car) = $39k or $13K a year or $1085 a month or $250 a week everything including depreciation included. The proviso of course being that you need a car for work for tax purposes.
Even on a $5000 car paying it off over 3 years your repayments will be about $50 a week, petrol for similar kms to what I do will be another $50, servicing $20, tyres $10, insurance $15, rego $15 or $160 a week, not even bothering with depreciation. For an extra $90 a week I know what I would rather be driving.
I take it you value your time, it took nine months or god knows how many hours to get it into a state where it could be insured for $3500, why not factor labour costs into what the car has cost you as well?
too much reading, can you summarise your arguments into 25 words or less, please 
*edit, added some manners
too much reading, can you summarise your arguments into 25 words or less
You didn’t say please Mr Radical Pants! Always remember your manners
fixed it
hahaha
TL:DR
I love lamp
Actually Spaz, one other thing, I bought my last SSV $46K brand new. I sold it post warranty after 3.5 years for $28K, thats after pocketing over $10K a year in tax return after writing off expenses on the car, that includes, depreciation, interest on finance, and running costs like tyres, petrol, servicing and in my case it “needed” new wheels, exhaust, air intake and tuning. Cost me about $24K a year including repayments to run so over three years for the sake of my arithmetic thats $72K minus $12K+$11K+$10K (tax returns on car) = $39k or $13K a year or $1085 a month or $250 a week everything including depreciation included. The proviso of course being that you need a car for work for tax purposes.
Even on a $5000 car paying it off over 3 years your repayments will be about $50 a week, petrol for similar kms to what I do will be another $50, servicing $20, tyres $10, insurance $15, rego $15 or $160 a week, not even bothering with depreciation. For an extra $90 a week I know what I would rather be driving.
I take it you value your time, it took nine months or god knows how many hours to get it into a state where it could be insured for $3500, why not factor labour costs into what the car has cost you as well?
Good run down of car costs… I’m going to miss my work car :(
And Oz and NBG, I will use it for camping, but not Fraser Island… I deliberated and researched about cars and Fraser, but in the end decided to stay clear of it. People have taken Ravs, Xtrails, Grand Vitaras etc on the island and made it out to tell the tale 
but those cars are ultimately not designed for that terrain (mainly a lack of clearance). We’ll find other ways to go to the island.