Actually, I consider the Vanagon to be one of the easier if not the
easiest vehicle ot it's type - a van - to work on. Having some
appropriate equipment makes it a snap.I have gone completely through one
van - my first - which was an '85 GL, and currently almost done with
going through my current one - an 88 GL. With a fairly standard tool box
you can do one heck of a lot of work on these machines yourself, if you
are spry enough, and when you pass that stage in life - you cans show a
decent mechanic what to do and still get it done right. BTDT.  I have
another 88 GL waiting in the wings for the same treatment, and I have no
fear of it either. If one wants to talk of problematic vehicles for
maintenance - consider the frontwheel drive machines and what you have
to do to them ot change out a CV, or R&R a transmission. What a
nightmare. On many you almost have to pull the engine out to do that
kind of work. Vanagons are really simple by comparison, and even on a
bad hair day, they aren't bad.

Regards,

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver

Dave Mcneely wrote:
> David Beierl asked what is it about vanagons that makes me consider them
> difficult.  Here:
>
> The are unreliable.  Given their age, that is expected, but they NEVER
> were as reliable as Japanese vehicles, which in my experience seldom
> need repair.
>
> People who can (or are willing) to work on them are rare, especially in
> the middle of the country.  General shops can handle most vehicles.
> Take a vanagon to one, and if the shop accepts it, the repair will
> likely be done wrong.
>
> Diagnosis seems more difficult than with other vehicles, even for
> knowledgeable techs.
>
> Parts are hard to get and inordinately expensive.
>
> A NON-difficult vehicle is one that seldom breaks, and when it does, can
> be easily repaired at a wide variety of shops at reasonable cost.
> That's not a vanagon.
>
> '91 Vanagon GL Campmobile, which I love for its utility in camping and
> cross country travel, but fear will leave me stranded far from home or
> help.
>
> Dave Mc
>
>