And, I have enjoyed not having a car payment since I bought the 84 w/11k
miles on it in 1996 for $7k..

A couple of weeks ago, my son and I were walking out of B&Ns with our bags
of books, and someone had parked the same year, model nose to nose with my
Westy.  Adam exclaimed loudly, "Geesus!  They're mating?"

----- Original Message -----
From: "Geza Polony" <gezapolony@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 1:18 PM
Subject: Re: The two kinds of Vanagon owner..

> Spoken like a true VW bus person. Vanagons being the last of the VW
> Busses.
>
> The VW ethic also means you get to groove on nature while you're waiting
> to
> get it fixed...towed...whatever.
>
> Cars are supposed to break down--that's what they do--and we need, as a
> society, as a planet, to come to terms with that, to accept it, with all
> the
> cosmic implications it may have.
>
> That's what differentiates the true VW bus driver from the RV driver, who
> in
> the case of a breakdown is swearing about how he can't get the 440 HP ski
> boat he's towing to the man-made lake in time to watch Fox News on
> satellite. He doesn't get the cosmic implications of it.
>
> Grooving on nature is impossible in an RV, inevitable in a VW Bus.
>
> You're right, this does beat working.
>
>
> On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 22:42:04 -0700, Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET> wrote:
>
>>Ben's got it right..You either re-work all the weak points in your van, or
> you "hope for the best(but expect the worst)"
>>
>>  Now I may be off in my thinking, but personally, I would rather have a
> machine that I've brought up to whatever level of "perfection" I can
> afford
> (time or money) my own self.  Yeah, If I were a billionaire, I would just
> have a  bunch of vehicles and some people to take care of em for me...but
> there are few of those..Jay Leno, Lyle Lovett (with motorbikes) Paul
> Neuman..etc..
>>  Even a brand new vehicle screws up often..A brand new camping vehicle,
> ever more often...I once inherited an almost new Bounder when my father
> passed away and my mom no longer wanted it..Got talked into taking it to
> Baja instead of my 'regular' Baja outfit..usually a splitty, or a Ford
> pickup, or something simple....By the time we reached our furthest point
> south, I was steering with a set of vicegrips on the steering column...The
> wheel fell off in my hands!  (when we got back to the US and our mail,
> there
> was a "recall" notice from GM saying.."You should have your steering wheel
> checked at the dealer before you continue driving your new Bounder"...No
> shi+!
>>
>> I spent that whole winter 'fixing'  Mo-Ho stuff on the beach in
> Baja..."What good is a VCR if your generator won't run " or "Hey Honey,
> the
> holding tank is full..what do I do?"  Or, Honk! honk! Frantic waving out a
> window, pointing down near the right of the Mo-Ho...Steps are hanging
> down...A flat?  Of course it is the inside dually and the jack doesn't
> work
> in sand...Like that...
>>
>>  No, Give me a twenty year old vanagon and $10 grand...Keep your new
> Mini-Winie, your Adventure Wagen, Your Prevost motorcoach..
>>  When my van's alternator belt broke recently near Boron, California this
> past trip...I knew exactly what it was..No Flatbed ride to the dealer.  No
> "Bosch Hammer." instrument to hunt up to "diagnose the fault"..I just
> fished
> around under the bed and found my tire chains..took off all the hooks from
> the tensioner rubber thingie and used that to drive the water pump and the
> alternator till I got to a town with a parts store, camped in front till
> they opened and got a new belt.
>>  You can't even see the belts in some of the newer cars...If you have
> satellite reception, you can maybe call ONSTAR and ask..."Hey, Onstar,
> where
> is my frikken alternator?"  Or if you are a millionaire, you discard that
> car and get another new one brought to you..
>>  Me, I would rather KNOW my van, inside and out, from personal
> involvement.Sure, you have to spend some money to get it right (enough)
> but
> when you are satisfied, you actually know you have good stuff, done right.
> You won't ever get your money back out, but then when you drive a new car
> off the lot, you lose a bundle anyway...
>>
>>  You start with a new camper, you just start over with  new
> problems....New *expensive* problems that aren't user serviceable...Call
> the
> dealer, call the flatbed...call you mommy..they still break..Gimme one I
> can
> fix most of the stuff on before it breaks (again?) and I think that is a
> better way..of course, I may be a little "off" in my thinking..
>>  Don Hanson