I bought my '83 from the original owner about five years ago.  The van had
just over 100K.  The manual transmission had just been rebuilt, and the
engine was replaced at 50K.  I now have over 200K with no major repairs (a
new clutch was the biggest repair needed).  The only time the van has been
to the shop was once when I could not get it started.  It turned out to be a
cracked distributor cap and a $20.00 bill.

I drive the van to work every day, 36 mile round trip, and up to 400 miles
in a day when I have to travel out of town.  Other than a fuel line
freeze-up when I first bought it, and a bad fuel pump a year ago, it has
never left me stranded.  On the other hand, I am not stranded easily.  When
the clutch slave cylinder developed a leak, I drove home (18 miles) with no
clutch.  When the mechanical ignition switch went out on our anniversary, my
wife helped push start the van after dinner out.  Then there was a period of
time when the van would not start on wet mornings (bad plug wires), and my
wife had to push start me with the Chevy van.  I usually have another car
available if there are problems or when a job like replacing brakes takes
over 24 hours.

I love my Vanagon and still drive it daily to work and on family trips.

Vanagon40
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com