So with the last Heretics meet behind us, the night is closing in rapidly and the weather doing what its done all summer (being rubbish), is it time to retire your car to the garage or carry on regardless.
For many, especially in the watercooled scene it’s a case of keep on doing the same, perhaps an extra coat of polish and if you are lucky enough to have some special rims, a switch of rollers to save the splits from the salt. We may be precious of our modern classics, but they managed to get to 2011 without being handled with care (with the exception of some real low mileage mint examples) so do we really need to start treating them like that now?
Cars are meant to be driven, and we have chosen to drive Volkswagens, as they are built to last – the old ones at least! So with a bit of maintenance work and winter prep they should survive winter just fine – if you can bear to submit your car to it. The alternative is another car, enter the daily driver…
Style sacrifice? We chose to drive old VW’s as they are cool cars, so should you have to make excuses for the winter daily driver while your pride and joy is tucked up in the warm. I’m not suggesting that we all need “my other car is” stickers, but there is nothing more frustrating than piloting you bog standard, nothing special, borderline hateful daily driver, seeing a nice dub pull up next to you and knowing even if you wave or nod, they’ll be like huh, whats he driving!
Is there an answer? Not really, you either throw caution to the wind by choice, or circumstance and keep on driving – not everyone is in a position to run more than one car; I know from experience it’s not a cheap game! Or you take on the second car challenge, which in itself has many an opportunity to bankrupt you, and not just through tax, insurance etc.
Buying that second car, of course you’d have to buy a Dub, which puts you instantly at the top of a slippery slope… should you just tidy it up a bit, perhaps it could do with a big service..which may lead to a couple of small mods..then you’ll see one on the internet that has been “done up” and that’s it. The seed has been sewn, and you’ll be fighting your conscience from here until forever about making it impractical, but cool. Slammed on coilovers, would look great but your trip to work will have to miss all the pot holes and speed bumps known to man.
Are you mentally strong enough to drive a standard car?! If the answer is no – keep driving through the winter, and keep an eye out for a standard 6n polo driver waving at the traffic lights!
Andy
Photos kindly “borrowed” from Adam Kennedy and Dave Cox on Flickr.. please click-through to see more of their work.