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My Pros and Cons List

Posted on by Riaz Arbi 3 mins read

Over the last few years we’ve done lots of family trips in the Zombie. It has two locking differentials and a decoupler, so it really can go wherever you want it to.

It’s reliable, but also things break all the time. Most days that I drive it I’m the happiest guy in the world. But some days I feel like I’ll never manage to get it reliable enough to just drive without worrying about it.

In order to help me emotionally process the burden of owning a perpetually breaking vehicle, I decided to keep a pros and cons list, which I update from time to time.

Namibia

Here’s a list of the things we do with the Zombie Kombi. Think of it as the ‘pros’ list:

  • Strap the stand up paddleboard to the roof and go supping around the Cape Town peninsula
  • During the 2020 South African Covid lockdown I used it as my office. The front seats swivel round to make a nice office.
  • In December 2020 we did a 6 week camping trip through the South African Garden Route and Eastern Cape, stopping in Natures Valley, Cape St Francis, Grahamstown, Addo National Park, Baviaanskloof and the R62.
  • Road trips to the Cederberg. Like, 4 a year.
  • Filled it to the brim several times to move form our tiny flat to a house.
  • Lots of weekend adventures around Cape Town.
  • At its core, it is an engine connected to four wheels. Everything else can theoretically break, and we’ll still get home. This is r a real plus, because with modern vehicles some non-essential (to moving) system or component will fail and you’ll be stuck.
  • It’s a wonderful learning aid. Every month my knowledge of the mechanical aspects of vehicles improves - and this knowledge applies to other people’s cars, so I’m becoming a ‘guy who knows cars’!
  • It’s not a ‘purist’ car, so I can hack / mod it to my heart’s content. Swap out seats for other seats. Rip out the rear seats and build a bed. Pull the bed out and put the seats back.
  • Really fun to work in. When I am tired of sitting in my home office, I chuck my laptop in my backpack, drive to the beach, open my sliding door, and enjoy the cool breeze while tapping away.

Here’s an expanding list of thinks I’ve had to fix so far. Think of it as the ‘cons’ list:

  • The engine is loud. I’m getting tired of how loud it is
  • It’s expensive. I’m constantly fixing something, and parts cost money
  • I spend a singificant amount of time living with broken ’non essential’ bits. Things like broken window winders. Which means you are baking in the bus.
  • Some bits are proving to be repeat offenders in the breakability department. Power steering pump, and aircon, I’m looking at you.
  • It’s not light on fuel (by modern standards). I can expect 7.5km/l, pretty much no matter what engine I put in it.