On Thu, Aug 19, 2010 at 7:40 AM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:

> Michael, for a dealership not to work on older vehicles is common.  For a
> dealership that does work on older vehicles, it may not work on Vanagons.
>  My local VW dealership long ago stopped servicing them, but given its
> reputation for poor service and disdain for customers, that's no loss.
>

  Having your VW dealership tell you they won't work on your Vanagon....that
is good.  You now won't ever be tempted to "just take it to the dealer...get
the problem fixed..don't care how much they charge..Need the van fixed.."

  I've never taken mine to a dealership, but I have done with other
vehicles.  Once the warranty has expired, and most of the time while it was
still valid, that has been a BIG mistake.
 I don't think dealerships, at least the ones I have dealt with, know or
care very much about what they are actually doing.  They are out of touch
with their customers on repairs...They seem to be connected to the Parent
Company and not to the customer.
 Dealerships almost always seem to charge outrageously high hourly rates and
to do many service tasks "by rote" rather than with any skill.  The
underwriter "looks it up, writes it up and tells you what you will pay"..
The Tech who does the work, he is thinking more about going wake boarding
next Saturday than fixing your vehicle..and the Cashier down the hall is
worried about her broken nail and can't be bothered to take your credit card
right then..

  Consider it a good thing that dealership won't do anything to you..You
won't be "tempted" to 'just take it to the dealer' so you won't be getting
overcharged and under- repaired by them.
  Don Hanson