syncro daily driver ?

[simleybarter]

Greetings Syncro owners.
Suffering as i am from syncro envy, i am once again looking at investing.
I am currently driving a 1.7 Diesel doka as a daily driver and for weekend family excursions.
Having never driven a syncro, I was looking for advice as to weather there is much of a difference between a standard t3 and syncro when it comes to on road performance ( performance !). look, i am not looking at racing around, but would still like to be able to cruse at about 60mph without a roaring gearbox. Also fuel consumption?, i am looking at staying diesel, and the one i have my eye on is 1.6td.
Any advice welcome.
Till the future...
Simon

[hotpod]

mine were both reliable daily drivers up until they werent.

what i mean by that is, they are ace kombis ( the best kombis in my opinion) but can be an expensive pain in the rear when the syncro bits go wrong. most of everything else is the same as yours.
the reason mine are still of the road after a year??? is that i decided in my wisdom that whilst all the important bits were out i would get all the little jobs done which are easier with those bits out of the way. having both bitten off more than i could chew workwise and running out of money after giving it all to aidan ( not undeservedly i might add) they are on hold for a while whilst i regroup.

as far as engine choice goes, there are a lot of differences of opinion as to the best route but a lot of the thinking goes that there are more modern, more powerful, more economical choices nowadays than the original engines.

my thinking for example is that i can restore my thirsty 2.1 petrol at great expense or instead spend the same money and a bit of my time fitting a golf tdi for more power, better economy and a more modern engine and one that i can run on biofuel which i am making. it remains to be see whether or not i am right.

all i can really say is that if you like kombis in general, you will love a good syncro. finding or making a good one is the only tricky bit.

[hotpod]

ooh, and as for on road performance, they are a million times better. especially on wet grass, wet hills, mud, snow, sand and around corners in general.
unless you have a decoupler but we dont want to get you into that conversation just yet.

[Mickyfin]

Our Syncro is a daily driver. Petrol model, and does around 20mpg on average.

Sorry I could not help more.

One point to note however, is with a Syncro, you need to ensure all 4 tyres have the same tread, and, depending on mileage covered, switching rears to front, and back so many thou miles. Correct tyre pressures are important too with a Syncro.

Oh, and one more thing, I hope you have deep pockets, as the spending never ceases.

[hugomonkey]

i get about 26+ mpg out of my doka 1.6 td, standard jx engine with 215 75 15 tyres

[aruntaylor]

Hi all. I plan mine to be a daily driver.

But as for the spending never ceases... Surely once all the 4wd drivetrain/brakes/clutch/cv's/shocks/springs/engine/seats/cooling/rot has been refurbished/replaced everything else will be like a regular T25!

My daily driver (T5 130 kombi) has cost £9000 in service and parts/tyres etc over 125000 miles and lost £6000 in value ( cost £12500 ). It's also averaged 27mpg.

Will my Syncro cost £14000 over that mileage? Hmmm, probably!
It's certainly going to have cost £12500 by the time it's built and ready to be a daily driver.

But I know I'm going to really enjoy driving it as I am enjoying building it ( slowly )

I'd say go for it, fix it when it breaks...

[ninja.turtle007]

I be been using mine a a daily and holiday vehicle for over 18months. I still look forward to driving it each day. Mid twenties out of a caravelle JX. I've spent a bit on stainless tank straps, rebuilding the rear brakes etc but it hasn't let me down.

I have just put an mot on it and it is going to be for sale as soon as I give it a clean and fresh oil and filters. I'm slimming down to one Syncro!

PM if you are looking for a Syncro.

[..lee..]

I know of 3 daily driven syncros that are for sale ATM. 2x tdi and 1x 2.1. There not a cheap vehicle to use as a daily but need not be crippling either you just need to find the right van.

Lee

[syncropete]

Having run syncros on a daily basis for years I have to question the expense of running them. What is the expensive parts. Pair of front discs for a 16" £75. Any modern vehicle that I am interested in (well built german cars) will cost that. We also run a bmw330d and if the auto box lets go it will cost £1500+ for a rebuilt unit and they do fail. Do not compare running costs with a toyota yaris or you will be shocked. In fact i could honestly say that most parts and especially service parts, tyres etc are a lot cheaper than those for anything else I might drive. Stay clear of diesels with yearly rebuild costs as well

[..lee..]

Rear wheel bearing on a syncro less costly than a yaris.

[jebiga41]

They are what I use as daily drivers for years and would prefer them to anything else at this point, cars just don't do it for me anymore

[rollercoaster]

Agreed,

though I just bought a nice Audi estate
(with a 1.9tdi motor that could possibly find its way into a syncro later,)
its good for a long fast drive, that saves me £100 in fuel on the trip compared to the van.

Its all a bit of a gamble,

There is no guarantees on sensibilities, best live a little and do what you feel like doing,
if you got to lose money,
have the most fun you can while you do.

The worst thing about getting my daily driver syncro to a reliable state was the time it spent in the garage.
If I had the time again I would have bought one that was already sorted out properly, they are available.
But thats just me, I want to drive it not fix it.

[rollercoaster]

And yes,
I never thought I would own two,
but I do now, so watch out!
I have noticed thats what happens to people..
must sell one!

[syncropaddy]

Hate to say this but I drove a 1994 2.2 litre W124 Mercedes as a daily driver and in the two and a half years I did, I spent nothing on it other than the five 6,000 mile services and a set of ball joints (genuine MB €38 / pair) and it averaged 38 mpg over 33,000 miles....

It cost a massive £1500 Sterling in early 2008 with 55,000 miles on it (UK E Bay) and by the time I had it back home, taxed (€450), imported (€720), a set of BF Goodrich tyres it cost less than €3000 ..... Total reliability in 33,000 + miles !! Bernie has had it now for 18 months and it costs more in road tax than spare parts and services !!

Even back in the day when the kids were kids we ran a 2WD Caravelle and we didnt get that sort of reliability or economy. They are nice to drive on the open road but tedious in traffic - and thats not old age talking cuz I've owned T25's for over 25 years (without a break) which is longer than pretty well all of you! Certainly the T25 as a family vehicle/holdall/weekender is amazing and with the added appeal of 4WD the Syncro is unbeatable. However if you are worried about costs of running one as a daily driver and you cant do the work yourself, then maybe they aren't for you ......

[poshbuggers]

Had my crewcab for 5 years with only 6 monthly servicing and occasional niggly repairs like battery/starter/alternator to contend with. I spent a few quid straight away to sort out some PO bodges but after that it was great.

Mechanically it was faultless and very reliable. I didn't think it was that expensive to run either (1.9 petrol, light use daily).

Provided the bus/truck is looked after properly it should return the favour if used right.