A vanagon Carat has been my only means of transportation since August
1990 and my wife cooked the heads about a year ago at 227,000. Then my
diesel westy became my DD. They've been remarkably good cars for me
and are easy to maintain, which other family cars are not.

Jim

On Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 6:49 PM, John Bange <jbange@gmail.com> wrote:
>> It's something I've considered doing too. Making my Westy a DD. Can't
>> imagine. Even with a "more reliable" engine installed, it would be a
>> brave move.
>
> I've been driving my non-GL under heavy load as a work van (30mi
> commute + 20-40 miles city driving each day) for a few months now, and
> it was a daily commuter for a couple years before that. Easily as
> reliable as my wife's Honda Civic, at this point. I did put about $10K
> in engine, tranny, and other parts into it 6 months after I got it
> after the original engine snapped a head stud. It's remarkable how
> reliable machines are when you start from a known, good condition
> baseline and then maintain them accordingly.  All it has needed has
> been fluid and wear part changes since. My coworkers laugh at me for
> driving such a weird vehicle, but they're all driving giant domestic
> trucks and vans that get 10-12 MPG. At 38 cents a mile reimbursement,
> who's laughing now...
>
> --
> John Bange
> '90 Vanagon - "Lastwagen"
> '90 Vanagon GL - "Wiesel"
>