Of all vehicles I have ever owned, a 77 Mitsubishi, a 73 Comet, a 71 Bus and
Super Beetle, a 70 Beetle, a 72 Ghia, 88 Suzuki Forsa, 67 Bel Air, 70
Impala, 85 EXP, and a 90 Tempo, only one has proven reliability, it has been
for NJ to YK and NT, it has been at one time in all Canadian provinces on 2
years, and to this day, a daily driver, with 100 miles round trip in NJ
traffic.  My 90 Vanagon GL is the only vehicle I have ever had to make it
past 300k miles,and still going strong.  Yes I replaced a head and both
gaskets, at 285K miles.  no mater what I do, it is cheaper than a new van,
after taxes, insurance, depreciation and higher registration fees.  The head
and all was $1300.00, at a VW dealer.  I keep up in the coolant changes, oil
changes, and other maintenance.  As long as I can find parts, I am keeping
mine.  It is the best way to haul my 5 kids to anywhere.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jfp w/2 wbxs" <jfp7@HOTMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2002 00:38
Subject: WBX bashing

> Hi Stan,
>
> thanx for your opinion but like others before you, your position is ripe
> with lots of technical ignorance. The 2.1L WBX has enjoyed as much as much
> as 1 million kilometers of VW testing and with required proper maintenance
> has proven it's unique design.
>
> Presently Vanagon list members deal with WBXs that are clearly at the end
of
> their "Service life". Usually that means >10 years & 100K miles.
> Additionally these WBXs often have had "questionable" maintenance,
> especially regarding the all important coolant changes.
>
> In spite of admirable performance, the WBX at some point >100K mileage
> point, the engine will need some sort of major repair. This is where a
> jackass like you buy a Vanagon at bargain prices and then encounter the
> so-called well-known WBX "head gasket problem". Following this, the new
WBX
> expert then pontificates on the lousy reliability of the WBX.
>
> The list tends to be a constant soap box for WBX technical experts like
Stan
> who thinks that >100K miles wear-and-tear failures are simply unacceptable
> when compared to bloated cast-iron American V-8s.
>
> Stan is an excellent example of the guy who buys Vanagon at bargain
prices,
> has a poor quality (cheap)head gasket repair performed and when the
coolant
> leak reoccurs, the "expert" dictates that the WBX design is clearly the
> fault. The fact that our expert bought a light alloy motor at the end of
> it's service life at bargain prices seems to vanish.
>
> Stan, My unfortunate fleet sits side-by-side without leakage or problems.
> They start with a turn of the key because I have restored my WBXs to their
> originally designed functional level. In other words, I've restored the
> "service life" of the WBX.
>
> I'm really disappointed that you missed the intended, romantic beauty of
my
> splitty message and concentrated on the perceived shortcomings of my WBX
> "fleet".
>
> Regards,     John
>
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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