Aircooled VW South Africa

Greetings, All
My missus has a '72 Beetle ("Klara") that she adores, however, Klara has turned out to be a little more expensive to run than we expected, fuel-wise. We now have two choices, 1) Let Klara go, or 2) find the missus work closer to home, since we live in Ferndale, and the wife works in Parktown, and the daily commute is an uphill, trafficky mess.
We don't really want to get rid of Klara, since we're really enjoying driving her, and the whole ACVW vibe, the guys involved with ACVW are generally a great bunch.
OK, to the point: If you know of any available reception/admin jobs in the Ferndale/Strijdom Park areas, paying R7k-plus p/m, please let me know?
Or, if someone knows how to tune/setup the carb properly, and is prepared to give me a hand, to try and improve the fuel consumption?
Thanks in advance...

I'm sorry to hear about your travails Soutie. I don't have a solution for you, but you're thinking on the right track. Workimng closer to home should be on everyone's agenda.

Unfortunately ACVWs are no longer cheap transport. They use more fuel and require more maintenance than more modern cars. They are also a lot older and have therefore been neglected/abused for longer. The damage caused by neglect, stupidity and abuse takes a while and some expense to undo.

It's probably not a solution for you, but why not relegate the Beetle to a hobby and occasional driver (shows, weekend cruises, special occasions) and buy a cheap throwaway plastic Mazda or Toyota for the daily commute. One can find a good, low mileage hatch between 10 and 20 years old for less than a Beetle costs these days.

Thanks, Fig, for the advise...
Yes, a cheapie 'plastic' would be the 'ultimate' solution, however, the budget doesn't allow for one at the moment. The current thought process is to let 'Klara' go to another owner who will be able to look after her better than we can, at the moment, and get the missus a scooter for her commute, and then look for a 'Bug again when the finances recover.
Having taken a year,recently, to get the finances back to almost 'on-track' levels after an 8 month period of unemployment, the financial institutions are not interested in allowing me a loan, which is understandable, since I wouldn't lend myself money at the moment, based on the history! I'll have to give it another 3-6 months to build up a better 'credit' picture first.
We're just bouncing around ideas, and looking for the least painful solution, at the moment.

Soutie, that commute is a killer even in a plastic bucket. Used to do it for a few years..... Is there any way you wife can go in a little later or earlier to avoid the traffic. That should kill the costs a little. When I had to do it in a brand new car it still cost me a fortune and so I worked a plan to work from home or at least go in later/ earlier to avoid sitting in traffic on the days I had to go in.


Cost on the pocket and cost on the planet

Whatever route you go ,stay away from the scooter idea!
Scooters and the traffic on the routes to Parktown dont go well'together.

I agree with Buggyfan, it is dangerous enough driving a car on SA roads,nevermind a small motorcycle!!!

Lift club not an idea? Even if it's xot a collegue, that should cut budget significantly.

Are there any metro buses from ferndale?

Would have said buses but may have caused some confusion on the site

Greetings, all
@Klaus: The leaving earlier/later was taken into consideration, however we are limited by the school-times, and her work-start time.
Regarding the bus idea, I think the missus would rather be unemployed than take a bus, she's a bit of a snob, in spite of not being able to afford being a snob!!
This is purely a temporary situation, but I need to find a solution. The best solution would be to find her work closer to home. She has gone for an interview for a position at a business in Strijdom Park, and is still looking.
So, if ANYONE knows of admin/reception work in the Ferndale/Strijdom Park area, please let us know...

will keep an ear to the ground. as for the scooter idea, you will save loads, but negotiating rush hour traffic is best left for more experienced riders. i commute on a 125 about 30km a day and i still ask myself why i risk it.