I have owned one German car, and here it is...

[AkioOhtori]

I know there are a lot of German car fans on Oppo, and with good reason. They're... well they're supposed to be a lot of things and my understanding is some of them are most of those.

Err anyway, if you look at my current lineup of four beaters and the Volvo, you'll notice a very European but not German vibe. In fact, if you look at my car history you'll see three Swedes, two Americans, two Brits, three Japanese, and one Italian.

And one German car.

Yup! I owned a German car once. I even liked it... sort of.

It was also the quintessential starter German car... sort of.

Yup. That is right. I owned a Dune Buggy.

Back in 2014 I'd just sold my first project car, my albatross of a 1970 International Scout, and was pretty sure I'd never buy another project car. The Scout had gone so poorly on so many levels I figured I just wasn't cut out for this shit. But, such is life, time dulled the pain of owning and selling the Scout and I was ready to love again.

While we were on a camping trip there was a dude piloting a little RC 4x4 thing and I thought that was super neato. Having some knowledge of those, I remember they were pretty expensive and only fun in 7 minute increments, so my mind drifted to gas powered toys. I didn't want anything... normal, and quickly honed in on the Manx style dune buggy. Stylish, inexpensive, and, most importantly, road legal... it sort of seemed like a win win.

As with most car adventures in my life, I scoured the internet for every available buggy on the market. Eventually I found "the one". It was close by, a little rough, and a little too expensive, but it had been for sale for several months with the price steadily decreasing so I figured it was worth a punt. It was a 1963 chassis, to date the "oldest" car I've owned, with a 1973 ported 1600cc engine, 4-speed manual transmission, nice looking wheels, and custom "roll cage" and engine cage. I contacted the seller and arranged to meet him halfway between us in Joplin, MO. I hopped in the car with a friend of mine, pocket full of cash, and headed up there fully prepared to drive this thing the 2-hours back to my place.

When we got there I looked the thing over and it was pretty much as described. The gel coat looked like shit and the windshield was cracked, but otherwise it was in pretty decent shape. No rust on the floorpan and the engine ran sweet.

The test drive... did not go well.

The thing had a short shifter on it and the four gears were millimeters apart. Every time I went for 1st I'd get either nothing or 3rd. It was infuriating and embarrassing. I ended up having the seller do the test drive for me and it was ridiculous. But, that said, we did get a lot of looks haha.

After having a local VW mechanic take a look at it and giving it a clean bill of health, we got to negotiating. As is my usual, I lowballed the shit out of him but as it turns out he was firm on the price of $4,500. After going back and forth a bit I finally agreed to pay asking if he would deliver it to my house in Tulsa. He reluctantly agreed, and just like that I had my 2nd project car. (Fun fact! This remained the most expensive project car I've ever purchased until I bought the S-Type R for $4,700 in 2019. Of the two...)

I owned the Buggy for almost two years exactly and in that time did just a whole bunch of work to it. First off, I tried my hand at plastidipping for the first time and it went super well. Suddenly this ugly duckling was starting to look alright!

I swapped out the terribad Hurst-style shift knob for an 8-ball, which helped immensely. While driving I noticed it liked to hop around when I hit bumps and I spend a lot of time and money trying to fix that, replacing kingpins, bearings, tires, and steering components. Finally I just accepted it was a consequence of the style of vehicle is is and moved on. The engine ran fine initially, but after adjusting the points I realized the whole thing was a house of cards. I finally ended up replacing the carb and upgrading to solid state ignition before I got it running right again. I also quickly replaced the glass pack exhaust with an actual muffler, which quieted it down and made it somewhat less embarrassing/annoying to drive.

But it was mostly good times. Despite being basically impossible to drive, it was also a lot of fun. I'd occasionally drive it the 35 minutes to work, just for the hell of it, but for the most part it was relegated to beer and food runs. Pulling up to a valet with four people in a bright blue dune buggy is an experience I hope never to forget.

Do you want me to park your.... whatever this is?

By the end of 2015, however, I was pretty over it. The jittery steering meant there was no such thing as a relaxing drive in this monster and the lack of power from the 1973 1600cc engine meant it was more or less a liability on the highway. After completing our cheap car challenge and deciding to keep the Alfa, the Buggy's fate was sealed. After failing to sell it locally, I ended up listing it on eBay. After a little back and forth a gentleman from California bought it, wired me the cash, and had it picked up. Apparently the truck driver dropped it in some random parking lot about 2 hours from his house, so his first experience driving it was 2 hours, in the dark, up a twisty mountain road. I imagine he was not relaxed, but he made it and I never heard from him again. (Which is how I like it.)

Will I ever own another German?

Maybe?

I didn't hate the buggy, it just... wasn't the right car for me. Despite enjoying how much people loved it, I hated having to wave back and not look like a jerk. Also the steering and and lack of power meant it was never actually fun to drive. I found myself driving it more out of obligation than desire, and that isn't right. All that said, I am not against owning another German. I've toyed with buying an actual Beetle and looked at several old Mercedes. Ultimately, I am happy with my random fleet as-is, for now, and will take my next German if and when it comes.

[Shop-Teacher]

@akioohtori said in I have owned one German car, and here it is...:

Pulling up to a valet with four people in a bright blue dune buggy is an experience I hope never to forget.

I kind of want to buy one, just for that experience.

[ClassicDatsunDebate]

@akioohtori I think everyone loves seeing a dune buggy but the realities of dealing with one are much different....hmmm, reminds me of other things in life too.

You used to post about your Scout back then didn’t you? Wasn’t it light color....maybe it was your avatar?

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@akioohtori You're not wrong. I love seeing a dunebuggy, but if you don't live near some dunes, it seems like a questionable thing to cruise around in. Also, great vanity plate. That is probably one of those things that you remember more for the memories than the car itself.

[CivicWagonEngineer]

@akioohtori I drove my old roommates dune buggy once. It was pretty much as you described, jittery as hell and not much power. Didn't have the short shifter so the gears were a mile apart, and somehow all three pedals were at different angles that made driving it...interesting. Overall, pretty fun though and I can see it being a hoot at the beach

[Manwich]

@akioohtori said in I have owned one German car, and here it is...:

Apparently the truck driver dropped it in some random parking lot about 2 hours from his house

Did the truck driver do that because he was an asshole or was there a miscommunication over where to bring the car?

[AkioOhtori]

@classicdatsundebate It was a thumbnail on a post I made a while back and everyone was a little irritated I didn't include any Scout content in the post haha. The saga of the Scout is... a lot. I'll tell it eventually... probably.

[Manwich]

@shop-teacher said in I have owned one German car, and here it is...:

I kind of want to buy one, just for that experience.

You know what else is an experience? Passing kidney stones!

[AkioOhtori]

@manwich Yes? The guy lived in the mountains and I think the truck driver didn't want to deal with getting a car carrier up 1-lane mountain roads? Luckily that wasn't my problem as I hadn't hired the carrier. Curiously the (new) owner hired an open carrier for a car with no roof but, again, not my problem.

[Shop-Teacher]

@manwich said in I have owned one German car, and here it is...:

@shop-teacher said in I have owned one German car, and here it is...:

I kind of want to buy one, just for that experience.

You know what else is an experience? Passing kidney stones!

That experience is significantly less appealing.