

| Subject: | Fwd: Re: Mexico and Vanagons |
| From: | HAP |
| Date: | Tue, 11 Dec 2001 05:29:33 -0500 |
Some spare parts are readily available for Vanagons in in Mexico. My water pump failed once near SLP and the local dealer obtained a new one from Mex DF and had me on the road again in much less than 24 hours. The parts and labor charges were much less than a US shop would have charged. On another trip my new (remanufactured) NAPA clutch disc disintegrated about 30 miles from a dealer, or any repair shop. A phome call got me a grua (wrecker) for a tow to a dealer who had just closed at noon (Saturday). The guard phoned an independent shop for me and gave the grua driver directions. My Vanagon was then pushed by several hands backwards onto a front end alignment pit. With a few instructions from me the txmn was soon removed. I was then taken to a local FLAPS by the shop owner's brother in his nice VW bug where I purchased a new clutch kit. New clutch was installed and 4 small Mexican men easily lifted the txmn into place (no txmn hoist available). Again, the cost for grua, parts, and labor was astonishingly low and down time was minimal. In summary, after 3 extensive trips from Florida to many parts of Mexicio, I have not found lack of Vanagon parts to be a problem. Most shops are thoroughly familiar with local VW products which have many similarities and in many instances use the same parts as our Vanagons. The quality of work was also excellent. I hope to make my 4th trip to Mexico in my 84 Westy, now a 1.9 TD, in Jan/Feb 2002. I hope this helps you to decide to go and have a nice trip. Harry Patrick
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