High Mileage

[TDIBill]

529,000 on my 97 Passat. Who's got me beat and by how much?

 

[oilhammer]

I am close at 521k.... and my car is three years newer.

I will probably pass you up soon.

 

[belome]

I will probably pass you up soon.

I finally have my life back... I went from filling my Jetta twice a week to once every couple of months.

It really does feel good getting those hours of my life back.

 

[oilhammer]

I enjoy driving. I even take the long route home (twisty roads) most every day, just to give me an excuse to use the GTI brakes and suspension I graced upon my lowly diesel Golf.

So think about a "hobby" you may have with those hours you got back. That is what I get to do every day. And all day, since I get paid to have fun wrenching on cars. It is win-win for me.

 

[AndyBees]

Yeah, Belome, since I retired 9 years ago, the mileage being put on my Jetta dropped from approximately 36k per year to 10k which are mostly by someone besides me... it had something over 360k last time I looked.

But, I sure do enjoy the 84 Vanagon TDI ... I've rolled up close to 72k miles on it since August of 2012, for a total of 201k ...

Like Oilhammer, I like to take the long route home ..........

 

[oilhammer]

I doubt I will ever get to "retire" in the traditional sense, but perhaps some day when I slow down much of the miles will be travelling about the country instead of to and from my job.

Maybe sell my house and live in the Sprinter.

 

[jokila]

I doubt I will ever get to "retire" in the traditional sense, but perhaps some day when I slow down much of the miles will be travelling about the country instead of to and from my job.
Maybe sell my house and live in the Sprinter.

...down by the river.

 

[belome]

So think about a "hobby" you may have with those hours you got back.

I get that. I would take the backway home too. Sometimes stopping off for fun.

The hard part though, is that many of us have families waiting at home that need us too. Glad I made the plunge and moved closer, those 10+ hours a week made a huge difference in the amount of time I have with the little ones.

 

[oilhammer]

Unfortunately, there is no way I could afford what I have now but be close to work. Not even close. Neighborless house in the country with a giant yard.

And I could not earn what I do anywhere working close to home either. So I live comfortably 50 miles away. It is mostly highway going the shortest fastest route, so that is not so bad. When I did live in the "city", it took me just as long to get home but instead was all stop and go and traffic jams. I shudder when I think of those days.

 

[TDI smile]

I doubt I will ever get to "retire" in the traditional sense, but perhaps some day when I slow down much of the miles will be travelling about the country instead of to and from my job.

Maybe sell my house and live in the Sprinter.

and ONE (1) winter in Alaska....!

 

[TDI smile]

Unfortunately, there is no way I could afford what I have now but be close to work. Not even close. Neighborless house in the country with a giant yard.

And I could not earn what I do anywhere working close to home either. So I live comfortably 50 miles away. It is mostly highway going the shortest fastest route, so that is not so bad. When I did live in the "city", it took me just as long to get home but instead was all stop and go and traffic jams. I shudder when I think of those days.

You could help stranded RV's and wrench a bit to help them out!!!

 

[AndyBees]

Well, I lived 42 miles from my place of work. However, I had to do a considerable amount of driving on the job, especially the last 20 years of the career. I landed a job right out of college. We re-located to the rural very similar to what Oilhammer described which was about the same time I took the job. Then, in less than four months later I took a different job 14 miles farther away, hence the 42 miles.... stayed with it almost 34 years........ wore out a bunch of VWs.

A former co-worker commutes 142 miles round trip daily (his wife has about a 4 mile commute ,,, go figure). He retired an 84 Corolla with 442k miles on it. Then, at 206k miles lost the OE TB on an 04 Optima KiA (replaced engine with a junk yard find), and is now driving a 2005 Hyundai. There were other vehicles he used as back-ups. I never could convince him to buy a TDI....

 

[fouillard13]

taking the long way? spending 2 hours of your life (most of the time for free) on the road, every. single. damn. day?!?! you guys must be old!!!!!

this 26 year old took a job an hour away one time. $45 an hour. wake up at 3:30 am. leave at 4:30am. get to work by 5:30. start at 6. work till 5, drive home. get home around 630. have supper. right back to bed. life sucked. so 4:30am to 6:30 pm.. 14 hour days. I got paid for 10. approx $550 a day. still wasnt worth it. I lasted 3 weeks, quit and went somewhere else. couldnt get outta there quick enough. you guys ever drive northern alberta highways, in January, at 3:30 am every day of the week? not cool. you guys are crazy!!! driving an hour to get to work is insane. I know guys that drive 1.5 hours one way and do 12 hour days.. it ruins their families, relationships, etc.. just move closer to work FFS!! your life/time off shouldnt be spent on the highways. driving is THE most dangerous thing we do in our day. you guys must be superrrrrr bored, no hobbies?? (no offence) im too busy and impatient to be driving an hour every time I need milk, a part, or to go to work.

 

[oilhammer]

Well I would not be so harsh to judge. I have been happily married for 20 years, thanks. And what I find "insane" is going to a job that you hate, which a LOT of people do, regardless of how close it is.

I am happy, that is all that should matter to me. I bought my last house first. I don't live in debt. I have lots of free time that I am not tied down to, and despite what challenges life has thrown me I am not too stressed out.

And my hobby IS my job. I GET PAID to HAVE FUN! I always tell people, I do not work, I have fun with a paycheck. My days off are often spent wrenching on one of my own cars or one of my (several) old tractors.

 

[belome]

I hear everything your saying. I've turned to down plenty of jobs that would pay more over the years... simply because they were in the "big yellow blob on the map called Detroit" that I refused to work in.

Luckily, I found a house in the country a few miles from work. For me it was a no brainer. This forum is filled with people like the old me that looked into VW's for the low long term high mile cost of ownership. My TDI served me well for the 250k miles I put on it doing the long drive thing.

 

[AndyBees]

We just celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary!

When my wife and I met, I was driving a Cherry Red 62 Chevy two door hard-top with a 327 and 4-speed (bucket seats) ... by the time we got through college, we were driving a 60 VW Beetle roll top (I guess that's the name)..... We've been driving VWs every since. And, she's stuck with me during all those times I was out on the road. Retirement has been pay-back... she loves photography. So, I have to take her somewhere to do shoots almost every weekend! She'll snap well over 10k photos on this up-coming trip! Thank modern technology for the digital camera ... otherwise, I'd have to take a job to pay for the film processing costs...

Heck, back in the day, I use to hang-out a couple of evenings per week at my uncle's garage working on a mud-buggies with bad-arse engines! Then, go out on weekends and destroy the transmission or engine or both! And, my wife did tag along when the ladies were with their men..

I've driven the roads in Northern Alberta, but not in winter ... hope to be back in that neck of the woods in a couple of weeks!

 

[ezshift5]

I sure agree with most of what's being said here............................

and ONE (1) winter in Alaska....!

gets special merit IMVHO..........


ez (Orders to Anchorage, AK: I voted with my feet)

 

[TDIBill]

Oilhammer, How many miles a day do u average? My commute is 130-135 mi/day....

 

[BobnOH]

He posted this recently, he's 50 miles from work.

 

[oilhammer]

I average about 100 miles a day to and from work. Much of it high speed, especially in the morning where it is 95% Interstate.

Just got back from a trip to Chicago, as well as taking my son to and from the farm property to my Dad's which is the opposite direction. Golf covered 960 miles flawlessly. Man, the roads in Illinois are HORRIBLE unless you are on a tollway.