That 90 is over 30 years old and these vehicles have always been just
different enough...
Driving one today you have to REALLY want to drive it & that means deep
pockets & time....or luck.
Or the willingness to do it yourself & getting talked through the repairs
by the side of the road does count!

John Muir talked me through many repairs by the side of the road & it turns
out he was already passed by then!

Rob
vwrobb@gmail.com
With a 90 tintop too :-)

On Fri, Mar 17, 2023, 2:51 PM Dan N <dn92610@gmail.com> wrote:

> *"And from my perspective, would the person servicing it be capable?"*
>
> Well... they will say they are capable because they have the Bentley book
> on the shelf... and the real capable mechanic is busy jumping from one van
> to another to help solve the problems...
>
> I have a story... my daughter was travelling recently with her '90 tintop
> from Oregon to Arizona. In Tucson a little rubber hose connected to the
> thermostat tower blew. She found a shop in Tucson and waited for 3 days to
> have a spot for repairs. They replaced the hose and some other unnecessary
> stuff. On her way back to Oregon, some hundred miles north of Tucson, the
> coolant light blinked (not overheated). I told her to check the coolant
> level in the expansion reservoir, it's very low (they didn't bleed
> properly)... she filled it up. Some hundred miles later, the same thing
> happened. I told her to check the level every morning before hitting the
> road. She happened near the GW store so I told to get a new blue cap and
> have the cooling system bleed well. No one had a spot for her and GW didn't
> do it. So I have to instruct her how to bleed over the phone and email. She
> did it with the help of her boyfriend. They made it home safely.
>
> So... yes... There are still some good mechanics with experiences on
> vanagon out there... BUT... how many young ones want to learn to replace
> them after they are gone?
>
> On Fri, Mar 17, 2023 at 11:03 AM David McNeely <davmcneely40@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > In part, this is a matter of "aging out."  If these folks are to stay in
> > business, they must hire young folks into their shops.  There just aren't
> > enough old folks who know our vehicles still around.  Just this past
> week,
> > I tried to set up a shop visit for my camper.  Best shop locally by
> > reputation is one called European Auto Haus.  Best tech there used to be
> > "Obie," who was trained in Germany on VWs back in the day.  He was super.
> > But Obie of course could not work forever.  He had to move on to
> > retirement, well deserved.  Sadly, European Auto Haus responded by saying
> > that there are six Vanagons in shop currently for work, but none of them
> > will get serviced before summer, and that they could not promise a date
> for
> > my van earlier than
> > August.  And from my perspective, would the person servicing it be
> > capable?  mcneely
> >
> > On Fri, Mar 17, 2023 at 10:52 AM Eric Caron <ericcaron96@comcast.net>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > The recent post about why do you purchase from Amazon reminded me of
> the
> > > good old days of purchasing from our venders like Vanagain.  One of the
> > > best things was that I could ask questions about the products
> especially
> > > about correct fit or how to install.
> > >
> > >         I realize that now, Ken is the only vender that I can still do
> > > that with.  He is incredibly generous with his time.  I really don’t
> know
> > > how he does it and runs a family business as well.
> > >
> > > In tech emergencies I have called Ken and he has answered the phone and
> > > helped.  Last time was when a friend was helping to install Ken’s power
> > > steering rack. It was a simple thing but we would not have figured it
> out
> > > without Ken answering the call.
> > >
> > >         I try not to call unless I need to.  Another time when a friend
> > > was here we were stuck and called Dennis.  And sure enough he talked us
> > > through the problem.
> > >
> > > In the old days I used to talk to folks at Bus depot, but though I
> really
> > > appreciate the business, and I hope to drop in to visit one day, the
> > folks
> > > on the phone can’t help with issues, as they don’t know VW buses.  And,
> > > sadly the site is very hard for me to use. They do however, have a lot
> of
> > > great bus items and nice to have them on my coast!
> > > Van Cafe, was great before it was sold.  Peter and others there talked
> me
> > > through many part installations.But, that ended.
> > >
> > > I even once got tech help from GW, but they don’t seem to do work there
> > > any longer. Though to be fair, They were very helpful in emailing
> > > information back about specific products like how to update the engine
> > > management system.
> > >
> > > So, I really appreciate that Ken sends out help videos, has useful
> > > articles and info on his site, and I don’t know how he does it, but
> even
> > > answered the phone and gave help directly.
> > >
> > > I do miss the days of calling the different venders to make orders, and
> > > get personal direction on the products.
> > >
> > > I think they mean well, but other then Ken I don’t think vanagon or VW
> > bus
> > > people answer the phone, or can directly assist.
> > >
> > > Hang in they're Ken.
> > >
> > >
> > > Eric Caron
> > >
> >
>