Let's see...
For Parts, well I'll stick with Bus Depot, Gowesty, Vanagain... more than
1/2 the cost of the dealer, they know which parts work with your
application, they have the parts, and they all support this list!

I needed a new Thrust Washer for my 2.1L, the dealer wanted $38.95!  Our
friends are over 50% less!  If you get your Van fixed at a dealer, not only
do they charge you an arm and a leg for service, they charge you FULL price
for the parts!

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Donna Skarloken
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 2:55 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: What a real VW mech @ the dealer has to says about vanagons

My husband forbides me to go to the VW dealership for anything anymore -
we've had so many mistakes and appointment runarounds.  We've actually
trained our local mechanic, a shop that works on everything around town, to
work on VWs, letting him take his time, borrow our books, etc.  I presently
work in Sacramento and when time permits drop off some of our jobs with
Stefan's Autohaus.  It goes without saying my husband would rather I not buy
a new VW, but if I did, won't go near our local VW dealer.  I don't know
anything about the other dealers in the Central Valley area.  The
probability of my buying a new VW is slim to none anyway.

Donna, 87 Syncro

On 9/10/07, joel walker <jwalker17@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> > I quote
> >
> > I am a mechanic at a VW dealership, TRUST ME. you do not want a
> > vanagon, we
> > will not even take them in to work on!! I heartily recommend either
> > buying
> > an asian or domestic van, or holding out until "Project M"- our new
> > minivan
> > arrives next year as a 2008.
>
>
> my question is, with appologies in advance to any real dealership
> mechanics on the list, is ...
>
> would you, as a vanagon owner, believe ANYthing that a dealership
> service department personnel tells you?
>
> i've been driving (and fiddling/working/tinkering on) vw buses now for
> 37 years ... since i got out of the army in 1970. vanagons for 28 of
> those years  or whatever math it makes from december 1979. :)
>
> and quite frankly, i've yet to run across a vw dealership person who
> knew ANYthing about vanagons, much less how to fix them.
>
> just because someone is a vw dealership mechanic does NOT mean he
> knows how to fix ANYthing. he could be the lowest totem on the pole,
> and get all the oil changes dumped on him (cause the more senior
> mechanics grab all the high-paying jobs so they can maintain their
> lifestyles).
>
> and if the dealerships had known anything about vanagons, we wouldn't
> have needed to create this mailing list!!!
>
> in my damnably humble opinion!
> unca joel
>