The Red Rocket

(Pictures from original owner / via Craigslist ad for this car)

In Summer 2013 I bought a 2000 Volkswagen Golf 1.8T. I was very pleased to find one on Craigslist for a reasonable price. It had a replaced suspension and all service records.

In the year 2000 I was a senior in high school. My dad had a 1999 GTI 2.0, which I drove a lot and really really liked. So, looking for an affordable new daily driver, this Golf really appealed to me.

Volkswagen only made 4 door Golfs with the turbo engines for a very short time. I think it was one year only. One site I found on the internet said they only made 7000 of these for the US market.

This car is super zippy and understated. When I bought it, it had only 105,000 miles, which I think is very low for a now 15 year old car.

As of Jan 1, 2015, I have 116,000 miles on the car. Still going well.

PROS:

Quick!

Great storage space!

Nice style – one of the best looking cars VW has ever made

Suspension is a nice compromise – not too firm but not too soft where it makes me queasy
You can fit a Series III Lambretta in the back, when you find one broken down on the side of the road and you have to rescue the scooter and rider, which actually happened over the summer.

Seats are really nice

Sunroof works and doesn't yet leak
Fits in questionable parking spaces in the city!  Only Smart Cars are smaller.

iPod hookup in glovebox

1.8 Turbo has a lot of power!

CONS:

Little things break (glovebox, arm rest, plastic bits)

Parts and maintenance is more expensive than VW Bus 

Brakes could be better

No fog lights or heated seats

Alternatives Considered:

Jetta Wagon – I was really close to buying one of these.  I like how they remind me of the old Type III Squareback, but I couldn't find one I liked.

Passat Wagon – used market is good! But it's too big for my tastes.

BMW 3 Series Wagon – More expensive, complicated, more “serious”

VW Bus Update

 

I thought it might be funny to update this blog, years later, with various thoughts on my vehicle collection. Some things have changed, I've bought a few new rides, retired a few. My perspective has changed a bit, and I've covered thousands of miles.

Once, I think it was Brad, who joked about starting a music review site and reviewing albums such as the Postal Service. “This album has been out for ten years, and I'm finally ready to tell you that it has some catchy numbers on it, and really it's a nice listen.”

The Fun Bus – my 1971 Bus – is now in storage at my parents' barn. I drove it from Portland, Oregon to Alfred, New York (about 2900 miles or so) in the summer of 2010. I loaded it down with everything I owned. I camped in it in Colorado. It didn't break down, but I did need to buy new tires along the way (the preowned tires I bought from a hippy for $50 in North Portland in 2007 weren't as reliable as I thought).

I still drove it once I moved to Alfred. It was a band van. I enjoyed driving it in the snow. The engine died in winter of 2011 and I bought another engine and had it installed. I drove it around more around 2012, and started driving a hand me down Ford Ranger pickup (aka the Ford Anger) as a daily driver instead.

I've considered selling the Fun Bus, but instead I went and bought a VW Golf.

I just saw an ad for the new Alfa Romeo 4C sports car. In no subtle terms, the ad says that if you buy an Alfa, beautiful women will jump into bed with you. Buying the VW Bus has been similar to this, although instead of attracting women it attracts weirdness, adventures, and breakdowns.

The VW Bus is a case of DO meet your heroes. I had always wanted one back when I was in middle school and high school. Driving one for years was as fun as I thought. Too bad prices on them are through the roof now.

PROS:

Interior space is amazing – I literally fit everything I own in this van.

Incredibly fun to drive

Actually reliable, durable, and cheap in the long term

Absolutely everyone thinks the VW is really cool and wants to talk to you about it.

Roof rack fits almost anything up there.

People ask me to sell it to them a lot – resell value is actually going up

Fweem engine sound is really cool

Handling is great, even off road.

CONS:

Lots of rust holes

No safety features whatsoever

Slower than 150cc Vespa.

Door locks only kind of work

I hate the horsehair seats. What was VW thinking?

Moonroof kind of leaks every once in a while

Eye for OG PAINT

Today I got the bright idea in my head that my VW is looking a little too drab and dirty. I love my Volkswagen for its "original ganster" hoodride type patina. But, there's no need for it too look completely shabby and neglected. Thus, I marched off to Autozone and picked up a can of Rustoleum Clear coat. I cleaned the bus with just some rags and water, getting all the imperfections and oxidation off. I just painted the passenger door, because here it started to rain and I ran out of daylight. Here's the result. Notice the contrast between the door and the front end that didn't recieve cleaning or paint.



Here's the hoodride looking a little bit more dignified. Note the muddy tires, from a little urban mudbogging I did this past week (driving the VW off road is great!). Click on the picture to see it in bigger detail.

Here's a picture of the VW from a few months ago when I was getting the back tire patched. Notice the blotchyness of the front door.


I'm perpetually unsure of what to do with the front of the bus. I popped out huge dents up there and scraped off lots of bondo. I prefer just looking at the bus from the sides, because the front end does look terrible. One of my friends comments that it looks like it's been through a warzone.

Maybe I'll tackle that sometime soon. In the meantime, enjoy this requisite dreamy TtV shot I took of the VW not so long ago.