Is it Friday already or is this no longer the Vanagon List?

On Jan 30, 2008 2:33 PM, Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@turbovans.com>
wrote:

> All very interesting Donna,
> So the TDI has been basically 'pretty good' over all those miles ?
> in terms of repair costs I mean ?
> And not normal wear items like shocks/tires/ brakes/ timing belts/glow
> plugs, but things that it 'shouldn't need' hopefully.
> Like no 3 or 4,000 dollar head jobs ?
> I'm just researching, I'm not 'trying' to make tdi's look bad. I just hear
> about a lot of expensive repairs. I would delight in hearing that your tdi
> experience has been basically good.
>
> I fixed cars in Sausalito, Ca for 13 years straight, 95 % foreign,  of all
> makes.  We used to joke lightly that if you had a german car, like a fancy
> Benz or Porsche say, the only smart and practical thing was to also own a
> Japanese car as reliable back up for when your german car was in the shop.
>
> German cars have it down in handling dynamics over Japanese cars, and the
> Japanese are catching up all the time, almost surpassing at times, if you
> read Road & Track Magazine's comparison tests, for example.
> But.........over all, all things considered from one end to the other, a
> Japanese car generally will cost you considerably less over the years.
> Like
> up to 1/3 of what the equivalent German car will.
>   Being in California or on the west coast might be a factor ( compared to
> the east coast ) but I have seen countless Honda's, Toyotas and
> Nissans..........that almost never fail in any way, ever. There are
> exceptions of course, and I think the late 80's cars were the best, but I
> know of ....say a junky little AWD box of a car, the
> Tercel..............450,000 miles with barely a timing belt , a
> distributor,
> and a water pump, and that is common for Tercel's, not that I would drive
> just a little unsafe box, but that's how tough and long-lifed they can be.
> .........just absurd durability and reliability.  I asked my local machine
> shop here in southern Oregon what they work on .........Nissans for
> example,
> they just *never* get Nissan heads to work on, and doing bottom end work
> on
> things like a Honda, just not done.  A head gasket can fail due to owner
> neglect and abuse on a Honda of course, , but that's it. I don't think
> it's
> possible to burn a valve, even if driven 190,000 miles with never
> adjusting
> the valves, which is supposed to be done every 30K, which I've see, a lot
> actually. .
>  Overall, by country...........nothing but nothing touches Japanese cars
> for long life and durability.  There are 85 toyota pick up trucks that
> have
> 250K on them, and by every indication they do another 250K if they just
> get
> a timing chain.
>  Re Amecian cars........
> Well, if they keep going and don't burn you financially fine, but most of
> them are really awful junk.  How general motors stays in business is just
> beyond me, they make such junk. Of course Cadillac is top end, and they
> MAY
> indeed get it right with say the NorthStar V-8 and maybe those do go
> 200,000
> fault free miles,. And the Corvette is world class and delviers 99 % of
> what
> a Ferrari will at 1/3 the cost, so that is a great vehicle.   But most
> general motors stuff is made terribly cheaply to keep the cost down.
>  But you look in consumer reports magazine at their 'dot
> graphs..............the rate cars in areas of repair problems, like
> 'engine,
> electrical, suspension' etc...............and you can look at a Honda and
> it's solid pink dots ( the top 'good' rating) and you look at a jeep
> Cherokee right next to it...........nearly solid black dots.  ( the bad
> end
> of the scale.......it's a 5 step scale ) .
> The Jeep Cherokee is a legendary money eater btw.  Newer ones are probably
> a
> lot better.
>       The Japanese have forced everyone to upgrade their standards. And
> now
> Toyota is # 2 , right ? in sales in the US. ...........there is just one
> problem there............they are making them in the US now, and they are
> not made as well, the workers do not have a work and quality ethic like
> Japanese workers do, and now unions are getting in. And I predict that
> Toyota will become GM-ized, more than they are now, and their quality,
> which
> already isn't what it was say, in the late 80's will decline.   But
> they'll
> still stay on top sales wise.
>  I don't know about now, but traditionally in japan, if you had a job with
> a
> big company, it was for life. Unless you extremely screwed up,
> AND....Japanese mentality is very 'mass and group' focused. Be part of the
> whole, support the whole.   Now they are getting Americanized and have
> mavericks etc. , but traditionally as a culture they do things like have
> whole clubs of people, like 200 say, all wearing the same whimsical
> identical outfit and they all go skiing together.  Very 'blend in'
> cultural
> mentality.
>  And, in a factory, before their shift,  a team of workers , say 40, would
> do calisthenics together for exercise, before the shift, and when that
> session was over, they would all BOW to the their shift leader that just
> lead the calisthenics.
>   They're incredible.  They wiped out the British motorcycle industry in a
> bit over 10 years initially ......and the Brits have recovered some by
> now.
> But if you asked me what I thought of a late Acrua- say the CL,
> Id say ...it won't be German, and it might not have a certain crispness,
> but
> it should be about the most reliable and dependable car you every dreamed
> of.
> But do your research.
> And Honda's in general, I put them right after Mercedes Benz, and even
> they
> have slipped A LOT in the last decade ( benz ) in term of sheer
> reliability
> I believe. ..........I have a 'friend' sort of, ahem, on the east coast,
> he
> says Japanese cars are like any other piece of junk and have their
> problems
> too, I don't know it it's that environment or what, but in California,
> Japanese cars, in general, in terms of cost effective ownership, nothing
> touches them. Nothing at all.   Some of them you just can't wear out
> almost.
>
> Scott
> www.turbovans.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Donna Skarloken
> Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 1:39 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: NVC Re: Stevens Creek Volkswagen in Santa Clara
>
> I guess it all depends on what you want to drive.  VWs have their quirks
> and
> I stay far away from the Tracy, California dealership.  I've never drove
> Japanese though most people keep trying to twist my arm into doing so, and
> I
> like some of their cars, particularly Acuras.
>
> However, now I guess I'm too old to switch.  My husband reluctantly puts
> up
> with the bad VW habit and now has a Syncro he shares with me.  He curses
> it
> but will not part with it (yet).  By the way, it doesn't leak oil (knock
> on
> wood) and neither does my previous 87, a Wolfsburg (knock on wood again!)
> nor does my current New Beetle TDI; we did just replace a gasket at about
> 210,000.
>
> I'm at 222,000+ on the 98 New Beetle TDI.  It has not been a hassle-free
> experience by any means, but I'm used to it now, and staying far away from
> the dealerships help. I guess it's a lifestyle choice; if you want
> straight,
> reliable transportaion, a Honda probably is the way to go.
>
> I don't want a car payment and newer cars really don't interest me.  I
> would
> like a decent 4-door family car some day but I will likely try to find a
> decent used model; I really like the look of the Cadillac CTS (I think
> that's the right initials) and my husband is a U.S. car guy so I have to
> compromise occasionally.  In the meantime, I love driving a diesel so I
> think I'll hang in there with my old TDI for the daily commute, and the
> Syncro for weekends/hauling/4-wheeling.  The slide in the economy really
> makes me want to just hang on to the vehicles I have, keep fixing them,
> and
> go about my business.
>
> Donna, content VW owner, 1987 Syncro
>

--
Jake
1984 Vanagon GL
1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
Crescent Beach, BC
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
http://subyjake.googlepages.com/