Your remind me of  my X-wife.....  WOuld you mine telling the
truth?   What did the Eurospec engine cost?  Or did you buy this Vanagon
this way?
                                       Eric

Hermann the German wrote:

> We have this discussion every time the vans are in the shop.
> However,here's our strategy to cope with the issue:
>
> We add up the annual  repair bills for our two vans and our ' 92 Honda
> Civic . It is never more than 4000$ for all three vehicles and we
> drive the heck out of them. I don't do any maintenance work myself,
> just have a trusted mechanic with reasonable prices. It is my
> philosophy to spend my freetime with my kids rather than under my vans.
>
>
> Here are several  things I have learned since 1996, the year I bought
> my Westy, 150 000 miles ago:
>
> - vanagons need to be driven daily. If you don't drive the van every
> day something will go wrong.
>
> - you should own a second van/westy so one can be in the shop at all
> times.
>
> -owning a vanagon/westy is a matter of lifestyle and/or life philosophy.
>
> -there is no reasonable alternative available in the US at the moment.
>
> -owning a vanagon/westy is an emotional,  not a checkbook issue.
>
> -SWMBO has to be a vanagon enthusiast, otherwise you're heading for a
> marital catastrophe.
>
> -brand new cars break down too and cost a whole lot more to fix than
> old vanagons.
>
> -I love my low insurance and property tax bills for my vans.
>
> -the kids at my high school, in my neighborhood, and in my town think
> I am cool because I drive  vw vans.
>
> -my mother- in- law thinks I am nuts.
>
> Recently I went on a trip to Moab (2500 miles roundtrip) in my 89
> syncro, 186000 miles, 15 years old, crossing the Rockies twice, and
> all that it needed was new brake fluid. I abused that poor thing
> offroading in Moab, and still no problems. Now, that is what I call
> reliability.
>
> My 2 cents.
>
> Cheers,
> Hermann de Boer
>
> Kansas City,Missouri 87 Westy "Eurospec" 89 Syncro GL
>
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