I have encountered several natural born German immigrants and Ex Military
personnel that have brought Vanagons, Westies to America with them. They
state that the Vanagon series is not significantly different in the
European versions.
Several of the Ex Military people say the US Army was a major VW buyer of
Vanagons and about three varieties of trucks.
They never offered a great deal of detail about their VW Vanagons but
apparently they felt strongly enough to suffer the importation /
transportation cost involved to keep their ride.
I would suggest that parts are somewhat less expensive in Europe since
there is little to no freight cost or import duties on the parts.
Historically the German people buy a vehicle with the intention of
driving it ten or more years, with this in mind they would need to be
very conscious of preventive maintenance.
If you are ever privileged to visit European countries you'll find Diesel
Mercedes Taxi cabs that are 50s models still in operation.
Distances in Europe from major cities is not as great as in the US. Its
been said that Moscow to Paris is about like NY to LA. I've never checked
this but just glancing at a map it could be true.

Stan Wilder

On Sat, 16 Feb 2002 15:58:05 -0500 "Barry E. Muller"
<bmuller@UOFT02.UTOLEDO.EDU> writes:
> Does anyone on the list know if the WBX is held in low regard in
> Europe
> (Germany)?  If it isn't then what is the difference?  Better
> maintenance?
> Just curious because I'm new to this and was wondering if there is
> a
> reason for all the reported problems with this engine on this side
> of the
> pond, or if it is just truly a poor design (which I doubt).  Of
> course,
> perhaps the answer lies in the fact that the new S. African Vanagons
> are
> all (?) sold with the inline engines.
>
> The bottom line is I like the Vanagon and bus styles, but need
> something
> that isn't likely to leave the family stranded by the side of the
> road.
> If there is a maintenance regime that will keep the water boxer
> reliable
> (and maybe even improve the mileage), then I sure want to know about
> it.
> If I can only expect average reliability and better mileage from an
> engine
> swap, then so be it.
>
> bem
>
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.