Peter et al,

Yes, the little things . . . Right now, that's my iPhone and my new son,
Nicholas, who, at 5 weeks is already a rock star in my book!

I'm tossing around the options and here's what I've got right now:
1) There's a nice weekender EV with 115K that I can get for $18K
2) There's a full camper EV with less than 40K miles that I can get for
over $30K. =8^O
3) There's a Westy weekender in Cali with 9xK miles that I can get for
about $25K =8^O
4) I can buy a 2000 BMW 528it (wagon) for about $7K and fix up my van.

Options, options... So, I'm going to borrow my mother-in-law's car for
awhile, get some estimates on fixing the rust and paint on the Vanagon, on
putting in a Bostig conversion (sorry Stuart, but I have a friend here with
a Bostig that RAVES about it), and fixing up the misc. little things, then
make a decision.

The allure of the awesome HP of the EV Weekender almost sucked me in, but
the transmission, and other costly, issues make me nervous.

Dennis, when everyone else refers to the Haynes manual, they mean something
different. To me, the Haynes manual is everything you've written here. I
think you and David Beierl know more about car electronics than the people
that design them. You guys are the best! I hope to meet you both some day.

An interesting side note about newer VWs... I bought a 2000 Passat that had
just over 24K miles on it, i.e., it was just beyond the 2 yr./24K warranty.
In the 18 months I owned it, it ran right for 3 months and I spent more on
its repairs than I did the 4 years that I owned my '87 Vanagon by that
time. So, while I get really frustrated when I'm having the umpteenth
coolant leak on my van, it's my own darn fault for not replacing ALL the
coolant hoses at the FIRST sign of trouble. No more deferred maintenance...

Thanks for all the advice, everyone!
Marc

On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 7:08 PM, turbowesty <turbowesty@gmail.com> wrote:

> Yay for the little things!
>
> I considered an EV when I first started considering getting a VW camper. I
> ended up rejecting them as they were no more reliable, not much newer and
> much more complicated. I know a few people who own them and love them. And
> I hear a lot of complaints about the transmission. The Winnebago interior
> is quite different and also darker inside (not as much light when they
> stopped putting one side window in). They are also considerably more
> expensive to buy ($20K plus) and maintain. Just a few stray comments to add
> to what you'll learn from others.
>
> This GoWesty article is a reasonable summary of the various EV models
> although it overlooks the fact that Westfalia conversions were brought into
> Canada in '93-'94 as well as the MV:
> http://www.gowesty.com/camper_model_overview.php
>
> Would perhaps having a small and reliable daily driver (not a Vanagon) be
> an option to deal with the pressure you're in?
>
> Regards, Peter Kraiker
> nextchapter.kraikerphoto.com
> Toronto, ON, Canada
> '82 L Westfalia 1.9 TD 5 Spd (Babe)
>
>
>
>
>
> On 2012-10-17, at 3:07 PM, Marc Perdue <mcperdue@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> > On a positive note, my new iPhone is coming tomorrow!!!
>
>