Anyone use their van as their primary commuter?

[zuren]

I was hoping to get some thoughts from the group here. Currently we have 3 vehicles in our household:

2004 VW Passat AWD wagon

• 150,000 mi.
• my daily commuter
• purchased in 2005 as my sole vehicle
• current value is ~$1700
• body and interior in great condition
• paid off since 2007
• Avg. MPG = 24 (my real world data logging)

2005 Chevy Express 4x4

• 150,000 mi.
• the fun adventure and utility vehicle
• purchased in 2010 when I decided I wanted a campervan
• driven infrequently
• current value not relevant
• purchased with cash
• Avg. MPG = 16 (my real world data logging)

2007 Honda CR-V AWD

• under 100,000 mi.
• wife's car
• acquired when I acquired the wife
• paid off
• other details not relevant

My VW is getting to the point of needing a bit of cash thrown at it, to the tune of $2000+...so more than the car is currently worth. It's just a culmination of little to moderately expensive things (suspension, brakes, etc.) that I've put off for too long or have just cropped up. Engine, tranny, interior, and paint have all been well maintained. I bought the VW during a different chapter of life when it was my only vehicle and I was driving a lot of miles, so fuel economy and hauling a bit of gear was the priority. Since then I have realized that I have acquired vehicles with largely redundant capabilities and it leaves me debating 1 of 3 scenarios:

1. Fix the VW and continue with life until it fully dies
2. Park the VW, remove insurance, and fix it a little over time, drive it a bit and make a decision later
3. Sell the VW as-is, use the money from the sale and insurance savings to do some upgrades/maintenance on the van, pay for a trip or 2/year, and make it my main commuter/family adventure vehicle.

My wife's car and the VW are largely duplicates in capability, and since her car has the better car seat for our 2 year old, that is the car we typically take for running around as a family. It really makes me question keeping the VW. The van can do everything the Honda and Passat can do plus everything they can't - be a camper, pull a trailer, go offroad, yank people out of ditches, haul a bunch of junk, etc. The only thing going against the van is fuel economy but even with that, my rough calculations based on 135 miles per week, I show that running only the van would only cost $220 more PER YEAR vs. the Passat. The Passat uses premium fuel and does not get the best mixed fuel economy, so that closes the gap. I am looking for a new job but my goal is to work from home. If my commute increases, my numbers and considerations change a bit. If I work from home, selling the VW becomes a no-brainer. For the time being, that $220 added expense isn't much considering I would be saving ~$850/yr. plus the 1 time sale profit by ditching the VW. The net savings of $600ish per year is not insignificant in our largely single income household.

So my question is how many here use their van as their main commuter as well as family tripster/adventure rig? How has that worked?

If I had an ideal setup, I think I would like:

- a van or truck as the 4x4 adventure/utility rig
- midsize AWD crossover for the wife/family
- compact, FWD, 4dr hatchback with good MPGs for commuting and local family trips

.....but it will be a while before I can afford a perfect setup.

Thanks!

 

[JPutnam]

Sounds to me like you need to sell that vw. I use my 7.3l e350 as my main commuter and.. well basically everything. It doesn't get the greatest gas mileage but the lie you said, it ends up being barely noticeable in the end. You will spend more on insurance for another commuter car than you would in gas for the van. You already listed all the positives of driving the van.

 

[ambulancemonkee]

If you intend to have the van long term, I'd avoid using it for commuting. 135 miles a week is a little over 6700 miles a year. Depending on how long you do that, you're going to run up quite a few vacations worth of mileage on the van commuting. While the fuel costs may not be significantly more, tires, brakes and suspension components likely are. I also see that you're in Michigan, which could mean more exposure to road salt and more heating/cooling cycles on the vehicle which may accelerate the body rot we experience here in the north. I'd say park the VW and either fix it incrementally or look toward replacing it. I wouldn't suggest commuting in the van as a long term solution.

 

[Bbasso]

My van is my all in one, DD, home, work, play, travel, toy hauler etc...

 

[Choff]

Drive our 05 GMC AWD Conversion van to work (5miles)and play daily for 9 years, bought with 43,000 miles and now have 172,000 and running strong, I take care of it !!!!
The best driving vehicle in the winters I have ever had, hands down. !!! and no rust, washing helps.
We use it for everything, camping, hauling everything, and road trips -travel south a lot.

 

[Corneilius]

I DD my Ujoint van. Twelve mile commute, I have other cars but pick this one every morning. Drive whatever makes you happy, life is too short to drive a boring DD. That said I REALLY appreciate having a reliable, quiet car to hop into sometimes.

 

[wjeeper]

Drive whatever makes you happy, life is too short to drive a boring DD.

Couldn't have said it any better! I DD'd a POS Wrangler for close to 15 years, no A/C, no radio, no heat and I had the biggest smile every time I drove it!

I personally like plan #3

 

[dleeallen]

I DD my AWD Chevy. It's not built out yet - just a passenger van still - but I love it. My commute is mostly city (avg speed is just usually 22mph) so mpg is around 13 which sucks. But like you said, the poor mpgs is still cheaper than owning/maintaining/insuring/etc.. another car. #3 sounds like the smartest money. Ditch the VW rather than put $2k into it plus whatever else comes up. Don't discount how much it costs you in additional maintenance/repairs to have a car sit too. Unless it's in a nice cozy garage you can have brake rust issues, battery, bad gas, etc.. Sitting doesn't generally help cars.

 

[southpier]

My van is my all in one, DD, home, work, play, travel, toy hauler etc...

ditto. but i'm retired and a tank of gas lasts me 3 to 4 weeks. seriously.

 

[macexpress]

My wife daily drives mine. I haven't built the interior yet but have some of the materials ordered to start on it soon. I'm just keeping the interior versatile so it can switch from a people hauler to weekend camper without too much hassle.

In your situation or seems like you'd be money ahead to eliminate an older vehicle and use that extra money towards more trips with the family.

If you decide down the road you don't like dd the van you could always purchase another commuter then.

 

[Bbasso]

ditto. but i'm retired and a tank of gas lasts me 3 to 4 weeks. seriously.

Wow, what motor and weight is your rig?
I ask because 3-4 weeks is impressive.

 

[rockbender]

My wife also DD's our Express AWD camper conversion. She doesn't mind the extra size and loves having the amenities - always a fridge for lunch, place to change for a run, towels and washcloths on board when the kids inevitably spill or get wet. Commuting miles are probably around 100/week. The difference in fuel savings between the van (@ 13-14 mpg in town) and her previous Volvo wagon wasn't enough to justify insuring the extra vehicle to keep as a commuter. She also bikes quite a bit in the summer which cuts down on commuting miles.

We previously had an older diesel 4x4 sportsmobile-type setup that wasn't conducive to being a DD. When we were looking to upgrade vans, we purposely chose the Express so we could simplify from having two vehicles to one (which frees up garage/driveway space).

 

[ClubWagon]

I would go with opt 3. I wouldn't worry about racking up miles on the van. Like others have said drive what makes you happy. 😎 I drive my 96 E350 EB van back and forth to work 20 miles a day 5 days a week. Plus use I it for hauling everything from my kids to lumber, camping and whatever else I need to throw at it. It's the van I do all my mods and upgrades to so why not get use out of them instead of look at them sit in the driveway. So I drive it every chance I get. Our other vehicle is an 06 Express 3500 that is our primary family vehicle. So either way I slice it I'm driving a van everywhere. We have toyed with the idea of getting a small run around/errand type vehicle but for us it really is not worth all the extra costs vs any type of gas/convienece savings.

 

[Oldcarnut]

My aunt n uncle retired retired a couple years ago and were going to replace their old DD with a new one but decided to get a sprinter based RV instead for a little more money. They have loved it now for over a year and use it as their DD and light traveling rig too.
And yes, life is too short for a boring DD.

 

[dcguillory]

I use my van for everything because it can do pretty much anything. Whatever you do costs money. Even letting sit costs money just less. I haul horses, hay, trash, and my 10 person family. The size has never really bothered me for DDing just needs to be taken into account especially in metro areas where parking can be pretty tough on oversized vehicles. Even if all my kids ever move out there will be grandchildren to consider. I will always have a full size van in the stable cuz they do so many things well, including look awesome if you take the time to make em into something besides the plain white plumbers van.