>
> My '84 has about 174,000 miles on it which speaks highly of the durability
> of the VW automatic. Contrast that with my wife's minivan (Plymouth
> Caravan) with only 84,000 miles on it - I just forked out $1400 for a
> replacement transmission which is warranted for only 24 months.
>
> Additionally, if the VW transmission does give up, I am not sure how easy
> it is to rebuild or replace since used units are probably as rare as hen's
> teeth.
>

Rare? Nah. Same auto transmission on a whole bunch of VW/Audi cars from the
same time period. Easy to rebuild, if you want to do it yourself, and cheap
to buy rebuilt if you don't. Under $600, delivered.