Decisions, decisions…. Daily Driver

t6blo

t6blo

Ex-owner
VIP Member
T6 Legend
I’ve owned my current van for almost 2 years. Had my previous T6 for 2.5 years before that (with a Mini JCW for a year in between) and a Caddy for a couple of years before that.

It was never intended to be a camper van, just a day van - somewhere to chill out after a walk, have a picnic lunch etc etc.

But at this point I’ve pretty much bought, installed, not used and then removed and sold or am currently selling anything that deviates from a factory Kombi inside.

All of this has just not been used so has been/will be removed:

Table
Swivel bases
Kitchen pod with hob and sink
Leisure battery & DC-DC
Solar panel and MPPT
Inverter and 240v sockets
Ecoflow
Wi-fi hotspot
12v electrics like USB ports
Relocated Kombi bench

It has always been my daily driver and the majority of time that is a commute to work during the week where I am the only occupant or at the weekend when I take the wife to the shops :rolleyes:

But now I am not using it for anything other than daily driving duties, I am questioning whether I would be ‘better’ just reverting to a car.

I also don’t seem to enjoy ‘modifying’ stuff anymore - it never seems to go right and as proven above, is normally a waste of time and money.

Just need to decide whether to….

A. Sell it and buy a car
B. Keep it as the daily driver

As I own the van outright, I would not be looking to put anymore money towards it - so whatever I get for the van would be the budget for a car. So would be about £28k if I trade.

Any suggestions for a daily driver?
 
Keep it as a daily. I was without a van for a week and pinched our lasses car. Thought this is OK it's fast, comfy and loads of spec. By the end of the week I couldn't wait to get the van back even though its the opposite of above. I couldn't be without one now and she says the same.
 
B.different said:
Keep it as a daily. I was without a van for a week and pinched our lasses car. Thought this is OK it's fast, comfy and loads of spec. By the end of the week I couldn't wait to get the van back even though its the opposite of above. I couldn't be without one now and she says the same.
Click to expand...

Agreed, my wife's car is, in theory, much nicer than my 2016 van, but, I've no idea why, I much prefer driving the van and when we're going out together and I'm driving she always wants us to use the van. I think it's because she likes looking over people's fences, but she'd never admit that.
 
B.different said:
Keep it as a daily. I was without a van for a week and pinched our lasses car. Thought this is OK it's fast, comfy and loads of spec. By the end of the week I couldn't wait to get the van back even though its the opposite of above. I couldn't be without one now and she says the same.
Click to expand...

DaveD said:
Agreed, my wife's car is, in theory, much nicer than my 2016 van, but, I've no idea why, I much prefer driving the van and when we're going out together and I'm driving she always wants us to use the van. I think it's because she likes looking over people's fences, but she'd never admit that.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies. I do wonder if I’d regret reverting to a car. I enjoyed the Mini JCW between T6s but I regretted selling the first T6 within days :rolleyes:

It is an awesome daily - even though it’s ’just’ a Kombi.

Just got some eye watering insurance quotes on a couple of cars I had in mind so that also helps put me off lol
 
t6blo said:
I’ve owned my current van for almost 2 years. Had my previous T6 for 2.5 years before that (with a Mini JCW for a year in between) and a Caddy for a couple of years before that.

It was never intended to be a camper van, just a day van - somewhere to chill out after a walk, have a picnic lunch etc etc.

But at this point I’ve pretty much bought, installed, not used and then removed and sold or am currently selling anything that deviates from a factory Kombi inside.

All of this has just not been used so has been/will be removed:

Table
Swivel bases
Kitchen pod with hob and sink
Leisure battery & DC-DC
Solar panel and MPPT
Inverter and 240v sockets
Ecoflow
Wi-fi hotspot
12v electrics like USB ports
Relocated Kombi bench

It has always been my daily driver and the majority of time that is a commute to work during the week where I am the only occupant or at the weekend when I take the wife to the shops :rolleyes:

But now I am not using it for anything other than daily driving duties, I am questioning whether I would be ‘better’ just reverting to a car.

I also don’t seem to enjoy ‘modifying’ stuff anymore - it never seems to go right and as proven above, is normally a waste of time and money.

Just need to decide whether to….

A. Sell it and buy a car
B. Keep it as the daily driver

As I own the van outright, I would not be looking to put anymore money towards it - so whatever I get for the van would be the budget for a car. So would be about £28k if I trade.

Any suggestions for a daily driver?
Click to expand...
Wow, I know you like selling stuff, but the van???????
 
I'm in a similar situation as you @t6blo

Bought my Kombi in 2017 and its use was obvious for family camping each year and mountain biking.

But the kids are not interested in family camping trips anymore, and I actually use my other work van for dirty biking trips.

I love my T6 and its immaculate with only 30,000 miles on it.

I know I'll regret selling it, especially as I think, much like the old Landrover Defender, when the reality bites that the new T7 is just a Transit, the T5/6's will start to become even more desirable
 
.50 said:
I'm in a similar situation as you @t6blo

Bought my Kombi in 2017 and its use was obvious for family camping each year and mountain biking.

But the kids are not interested in family camping trips anymore, and I actually use my other work van for dirty biking trips.

I love my T6 and its immaculate with only 30,000 miles on it.

I know I'll regret selling it, especially as I think, much like the old Landrover Defender, when the reality bites that the new T7 is just a Transit, the T5/6's will start to become even more desirable
Click to expand...
It's difficult when someone gets a bee in their bonnet. But it is only a little niggle rather than a must do.
I *know* I would regret it and, like yours, it would be hard to replace with another one as nice.
I am not paying nearly a grand for insurance for a 2l petrol BMW that's for sure!
 
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Reactions: .50
I dont camp in mine and like yourself its more of a day van. I just wouldnt be without it, it does everthing I would ever need a car to do and so much more. its plenty fast enough for overtaking, the driving position is fantastic being higher up, captain seats with armrests are comfortable and I can get large items in the back without a second thought.
being SWB like yourself it fits in parking spaces and I find the turning circle better than most cars.
the only thing a car can do the van cant is be more sporty, take corners faster and fit in more height restriced car parks.
you massively regretted selling your last van dont do it!! the van is only really a more boxy car!
 
Keep the van and buy something cheap to run about using less petrol and low insurance. I have fond memories of my Audi 2001 Audi A2. 60mpg regardless how you drive it… no rust it’s all aluminium…
 
I have the van (a Cali Beach) and SWMBO has a Mini JWC……we enjoy both. But, when the boys and dogs are in the back and we are out doing stuff, SWMBO invariably pipes up with “Don’t get me wrong, I love my car but the van is the best!”

#justsaying
 
I'm in a similar position myself. I picked up a Golf GTi on January 30th and haven't even started the van since.
I keep thinking about selling it but I know I would regret it if I did.
 
More tentative research (if only to help justify a T6 as a daily)… insurance prices seem to be off the scale :rolleyes:
I’m 50, low risk, full NCD, no accidents/convictions….

For benchmark, I quoted my van (but standard) and it was just over £500.

2021 BMW 540i - £1300
2021 BMW 520i - £900
2021 Tiguan 1.5i - £800

Plus all of these have increased road tax for another 3 ish years.

It’s not just about the insurance and tax of course, there is the risk of moving from a known quantity to an unknown. And from something I enjoy to just a box on wheels.

For me the biggest issue would be instant regret (as pointed out!) because I enjoy driving my van and I know this is just another example of me being a tit and instead of being happy with what I have, always looking for something else :cool:

I am keeping my van. I guess that is the beauty of the Transporter - to one person it is a campervan, to another a tradesperson van, to someone else a family minibus and to me an awesome daily driver.
 
Be content with what you have and don’t feel that you need to be constantly modifying your van. This forum is obviously a fantastic place, but it’s also very tempting when you see that others are buying things and changing things etc etc every day…. don’t get me wrong, each to their own as they say, but you shouldn’t feel the need to do the same.

Once you’re happy with your van just enjoy it for what it is. As you say they are everything to everybody…. some folk want a full on camper van and some folk need a full on work van…. that’s the unique thing about them…. you can tailor your van to suit your needs and what works for you. My van is ‘just a day van’ that doubles up as a very pampered work van and that works for me.

Don’t you sell it Alan!
 
If you don't need the carrying capability, or the other aspects of a T6, then (and this will go against a lot of the posts), then why on earth would you have a van?

T6's are nice, but let's be honest - they drive worse than a car. They're more expensive than a car for the spec/what you can get for your money, they're noisier than a car inside, etc. etc.

For 28k you could have all sorts of silly power estate car, or small fun hot hatch (GR Yaris) for example.

I bought my Caravelle for £45k and it pained me to see what I could get for the same money as a car (2018 RS4, for example...).

If I didn't want the ability to camp in the van and put bikes in the van, would I have bought a £45k van? No, of course I wouldn't!!

Obviously some own T6's for the 'scene' and don't own them as a van - if you're into that then that's great but that's not me. There are a thousand other cars I'd rather have on my driveway, but my needs dictated I needed a van or van based car, and with the extremely limited choice in that market, the T6 ended up as the only choice.
 
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