This is my take on it. I own a new Kia that's gets 35 mpg that I drive to work 100 miles a day and let my wife drive the Van around town during the week with the kids. But when Friday night comes around that little miserable Kia Rio Wagon just sits till Monday Morning. I live for the weekends and our Wolfie Van. We are known for our van, gets waves around our little town and a whole lot of peace signs, don't get any in the Kia.
And the best thing our 9 and 12 year old kids just love our van, and tell all there friends about all the good times we have had in it.
And the next neat thing is my dog Daphnie ( giant schnauzer ) knows when its Saturday morning and our ealy morning drive just the two of us.
And the greatest thing is it has been very little upkeep except for routine stuff

Peace

Ken Fry 89 wolfie
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Steven Dodson 
  To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM 
  Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 4:22 PM
  Subject: Vanagon Mania

  My wife would have to disagree but...
  She doesn't understand the difference or similarities of the cost of
  maintaining a used vehicle vs. making payments on a new one. The average car
  costs what, $150-250/mo+ to buy new, depending on how many thousands you put
  down. Yet try to justify spending $1000 per year to maintain a Vanagon. Once
  you stop making payments on that new car, it's a long time out of Warranty
  and you'll be spending bucks on it too. I think, if anyone applied
  preventative maintenance with a religious effort, any vehicle would last
  decades longer than they do.
  The fact that Vanagons last as long as they do, I think, speaks well of the
  owners.

  -Steven Dodson
  Kneeland, CA
  "Inga" the 87 Syncro

  From original message:

  It never ceases to amaze me at how well these vehicles hold up.  How =
  many 18 year old anythings do you see on the road around you?  Even with =
  over 130,000+ miles on the broken odometer, they just keep on going.  =
  And for some reason, they keep us wanting to keep them going!  Yes, they =
  break down once in a while and get cranky now and then, but we just =
  chalk it up to old age and wear, fix the problem, and keep on going!  =