It pays to have accurate maintenance records.

I tracked down some missing maintenance records for the 1989 vanagon I
bought. I made a few long distance phone calls to see if a clutch job had
been done with the factory rebuilt engine. No clutch work done for 137,000
miles. But I had the VW dealer in Pasadena fax me a copy of the service
records.

I was delighted to discover that the CV joints were dismantled, cleaned ,
inspected and repacked 4,000 miles ago. Also new spark plug wires, plugs and
distributor cap and rotor, and a new coolant  level sensor and a temperature
sensor which were both leaking at 137,000 miles.

I'm sure glad I did not tackle the CV job or pay to hire it out.

William Polowniak
1989 Vanagon GL
1988 Mercedes 300 SE