I'm not sure about this whole lock thing, anyway.  The areas I have lived in
for the past 20 years has conditioned me to know that the safest place for
the keys is in the ignition. They'll always be there when I want to go some
where and if the kids were to accidentally lock the door to the house, which
they did once, I would have the keys to get back in.  Additionally, a
vanagon is one of the easiest vehicles to get into.

I was further proven right when I recently called my insurance company to
add my recently acquired 88 GL.  I called and ask them to add the Van.  She
responded "does it have an anti theft device?"  My reply: "It's a vanagon,
but if I were to have one how much would it reduce my premium?"  long
silence and the sound of a keyboard clicking in the
background............and she replied: "The computer says that it won't
reduce your premium a single cent."  Needless to say, a vanagon is a self
protected species.

Jere
90 GL
88 GL

 -----Original Message-----
From:   Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]  On Behalf Of
Michael Snow
Sent:   Sunday, January 14, 2001 2:12 PM
To:     vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject:        Re: Drivers Side Door Lock Modification

Have you ever locked yourself out of a car?  Breaking into your own vehicle
or hiring a locksmith is far more expensive than replacing door locks every
20+ years or so.  I think this is one of the more intelligent features of
the Vanagon.  At least some Subaru cars use the same design, and they also
reduce the number of dead battery surprises by running the headlight relay
through the ignition switch so the lights cannot be inadvertently left on.
Smart...

Mike Snow

<snip>
>Has anyone ever modified thier Drivers Side Door Lock so a person can lock
>it by pushing the lock button down, instead of having to use the key?

I want to know too; it's a real PAIN having to use the ket to LOCK the
door, and wears the lock out twice as fast.

<snip>