Ron is right that the German parts aren't always the best in fact in my
experience German parts suck!  I try to buy non-German whenever possible.
South Afrikan vanagon parts have been good (and a good value) to me
however.

Andrew Fox
86 Westy with lots and lots of replacement parts.

On Tue, 24 Sep 2002, The Bus Depot wrote:

> > There is a direct way out of this morass without leaving it to the luck of
> > the draw: Merely tell the vendor that you want a replacement part
> > which was made in Germany and labeled consistent with the U.S. Code of
> Federal
> > Regulations.  Saying that makes it a condition of the sales
> > agreement between a willing seller and a willing buyer.  It works for me
> every time.
>
>
>
> You could certainly specify in the "comments" section of the order form that
> you would like only parts that are labeled "made in Germany," and to delete
> items from your order that do not fit this criterion.
>
> However, if you did so, you would stand a reasonable chance of shooting
> yourself in the foot. There is a high likelihood that part (or even perhaps
> most) of your order would be deleted, as in many cases there simply is no
> German made part available (or if so, not at a remotely affordable price).
> This could be quite inconvenient if the deleted non-German part were
> critical to your repair.  You might, for example, get a wheel bearing but no
> seal to install with it.
>
> This is not just the case with auto parts.  Try ordering a stereo system
> from CircuitCity.com and specifying that you will only take components that
> are made in Japan itself.  Open up your PC and see how many countries the
> various components inside come from.  Open up the hood of any new car
> (including Volkswagen) and see how many different countries the parts inside
> come from.  It's a big world.
>
> Buying strictly by country of origin simply is simply not logical, or even
> possible, in this day and age. Ford and GM sell parts made in Mexico and
> Japan.  Japanese names like Sony and Panasonic build products in Malaysia,
> Singapore, and Taiwan.  Fifty years ago it might have been possible to "only
> buy American."  Twenty years ago it might have been possible to "only buy
> Japanese made electronics."  Fifteen years ago a "German" car was completely
> made with German parts.  But not today.  Neither can you, in the real world,
> "only buy German parts for your Vanagon."
>
> These vans are 10-20 years old, and parts options are getting more limited,
> not less. Furthermore, there are very few automotive manufacturers who do
> all of their manufacturing in one country anymore.  The cold hard truth is
> that if you are unwilling to put Spanish heads, French heater cores, and
> British hoses on your van (and incidentally, all three of these are actual
> examples are of genuine VW branded parts), then you will be unable to keep
> your van on the road.
>
> And even if you CAN buy the German part, SHOULD you?  In some cases, like
> the previously mentioned ball joints, there is no appreciable quality
> difference anyway. And in other cases, the quality difference may be very
> minor but the price difference tremendous. Such as window crank handles for
> Vanagons.  $1.99 for Taiwanese.  $14.95 for German.  Very small quality
> difference, but an eightfold price difference.  Your money, your decision.
> Unless of course you blindly specified "German only" when you placed your
> order, in the misguided assumption that you knew more about the parts than
> do the vendors who work with them every day.  In which case you'd have
> received a $15 part (or no part) when a $2 part would have done just fine.
>
> There's no need to risk shooting yourself in the foot by blindly insisting
> on German parts without knowing if they're better, affordable, or even
> available at all.  You can rely on people who do know, as Derek did when he
> posed his original question about ball joints.  Use the archives. Pose a
> question to the list. Or simply put a bit of faith in one of the several
> vendors/enthusiasts on the list (of which I am one ;-) who live and breathe
> these parts, and generally take the approach that they wouldn't sell someone
> else a part that they wouldn't put on their own Vanagon.
>
> - Ron Salmon
>   The Bus Depot, Inc.
>   (215) 234-VWVW
>   www.busdepot.com
>
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