In a message dated 02/09/2009 10:07:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
LISTSERV@GERRY.VANAGON.COM writes:

        ALL too true !  BUT,  that's the reason for this LIST and mechanics
like myself, No ! ?   I  have close to 600,000 km on my '87 and have only
once in 20 years of driving had  to leave it on the side of the road and come
back to rescue it later.  Five  extensive trips all over Mexico, USA and
Canada.   So.......What's the  BIG problem ?   We are the only group of folks
who drive around in  antique vehicles on a daily basis and use them for high
mileage cross  country adventures to remote places.  So the moral of that
story is you had  better learn to deal with it or bail out and get yourself
another  POS.  They're all pretty much the same as far as I'm concerned.   I
just like this one 'cause I can sleep in it comfortably, keep my beer cold,
drive, park and maintain it just about anywhere !

>>>>>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.<<<<<<<<<

Cheers,

Frank  Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
'87 Westy & Lionel Trains (_Collection for sale_
(http://frankcondelli.com/trainsal.htm) )
_Frank Condelli &  Associates_ (http://frankcondelli.com/busindex.html)  -
Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa Valley
_Vanagon Stainless Steel Exhaust  Systems_
(http://frankcondelli.com/exhaust.htm)
_BusFusion_ (http://www.busfusion.com/)  a VW Camper  camping event,
Almonte, ON, June 11 ~ 14,  2009