Best Personal Vehicle To Let Sit.

Greetings all!

I have a VW TDI that is included in the VW dieselgate scandal. (No need for opinions on what you think of VW or the EPA. I have decided to sell it back to Volkswagen. ) ;-)

I have two options: 1- put the money in the bank from the sale. 2- replace the car.

So the above is the background information. My question for all of you is what vehicle would be best to replace it with? As you all know the new wheels will sit for one or two months at a time while I am out on the road.

After having thought about it I am thankful that I have this opportunity to replace this car. The VW has a plethora of electronics on it, so having it sit long periods of time probably doesn't make it too happy.

For example: Would an older diesel pickup be better then a gasoline pickup to sit?

I know leaving any vehicle sit isn't ideal, but if you have too what would be the best choice?

I speculate that simple and older is probably better than something new.

Your thoughtful responses will be appreciated. In helping me decide on step two.

And NO, I won't sell it to any private party. It goes back to VW. ;-)

Cheers,

DW

My Son feels the opposite of you on his TDI Jetta. You will have to pry it from his cold dead hands. He loves that car.

My Son feels the opposite of you on his TDI Jetta. You will have to pry it from his cold dead hands. He loves that car.

I understand. I love the torque and mpg. But I don't trust VW's fix for it. The buyback program is pretty good for a car with almost 100,000 miles on it.

For what its worth:

I would not replace the car. For the few days each year that you will be needing a car, why not just rent one?

Save yourself the cost of insurance, license fees, maintenance, etc.

At $75 per day, it should cost around $3300 per year to rent a car rather than own one. How does that compare with your cost of owning your vehicle?

Of course you should be able to rent a car for less than $75 per day and that may reduce the yearly cost, but I'd rather work from the high end of the equation to avoid under bidding.

For what its worth:

I would not replace the car. For the few days each year that you will be needing a car, why not just rent one?

Save yourself the cost of insurance, license fees, maintenance, etc.

At $75 per day, it should cost around $3300 per year to rent a car rather than own one. How does that compare with your cost of owning your vehicle?

Of course you should be able to rent a car for less than $75 per day and that may reduce the yearly cost, but I'd rather work from the high end of the equation to avoid under bidding.

Yes, that is a definite possibility, but I wanted everyone's input if I do decide to get a vehicle. thank you.

I have a 2003 Chevy S10 pickup at home. Less than 100k miles. New Autozone Duralast Gold Battery, Amsoil in the crankcase, Sta-bil in the tank. Sits for 4+ weeks at a time. ALWAYS starts right up. Bought and paid for for over 10 years. Insurance is about $400 per year. I've only owned 1 new car in my life. Once was enough. I just pay cash and keep them forever. Car payments and new cars are a colossal waste of money IMHO.

I have a 2003 Chevy S10 pickup at home. Less than 100k miles. New Autozone Duralast Gold Battery, Amsoil in the crankcase, Sta-bil in the tank. Sits for 4+ weeks at a time. ALWAYS starts right up. Bought and paid for for over 10 years. Insurance is about $400 per year. I've only owned 1 new car in my life. Once was enough. I just pay cash and keep them forever. Car payments and new cars are a colossal waste of money IMHO.

I have to agree with you tractor man. That's why if I buy, I would be going the used route.

My home ride is a Dodge Ram 2500 -> diesel <- (Cummins). When I'm OTR , it sits that 3-4 weeks. Sometimes for double that if I get picked up at a close-by Pilot. Never been a problem starting, summer or Mid-South winter.

I am my car's primary mechanic. It's gas, and OBD-I. Most of the important things on it are purely mechanical in nature.

Rule of thumb I use is I try to start my car at least once a month even when it's not in use, idle it for a while, let it warm up, move it around in the driveway even if it's not street legal at the time for whatever reason (my insurance lapsed for a few months, for example). Back it in if it was parked straight, or vice versa, etc. (That last bit's just a trick to let the landlords know that yes, the car is operational.)

The whole idea is to get the fluids cycling and move the axles around a bit. Beyond that, cars really don't care unless they have something wrong with them. And I've let it go two months before without any problems, though it doesn't make me happy.

I think once I get into trucking properly I'll either start using storage treatment on my gas or I'll keep the tank low and drain it every six months or so and put fresh in. Gas slowly turns into varnish as it ages, and the results are not pretty. Probably give it an oil change every six months as well even with all that sitting, because oil also degrades even when not in use, and my car is my baby. I take good care of it. I'm its second owner, it still has most of its original factory parts, and I slapped the 200,000 mile marker on the butt a while back with no signs of any troubles on the horizon.

I can't make recommendations on what car to get though, as I've only ever owned this one car and it's definitely a niche vehicle.

I add my two cents I don't think it really matter what typ of car it is that sitting as long as maintaining some up keep with. But what is be more worried about with long sitting vehicle is varmit i.e. Rats mice cats etc making a home in the dormit vehicle.