Hi Gang, I'm planning a trip to Europe later this spring. I would
love to travel Europe in a Westy, and I was thinking of
ways of accomplishing this. Previous discussion on the list has
suggested things like the collective buying of a Westy stationed
somewhere in Europe for the enjoyment by the participating vanagon 
list members. Now that plan is not (yet) realized so I've been thinking 
of other ways of realizing my dream of a Westy vacation in Europe.

What do you think about the idea of exchanging Westys? I would be 
lending somebody in Europe my Westy for one or two weeks, and in 
return I get to use his/her in Europe for the same amount of time.
Of course there is an emotional barrier involved in leaving your
Westy in somebody else care. Both parties involved in the exchange
would have to have similar standards in terms of how they care for 
the vehicle, how safely/carefully they drive etc. 

Assuming a compatible owner/westy pair can be found some baselines
need to be agreed on. This is what I can think of now:

-- Similarity of the extent of the respective vacation plans. A cross
continental drive or a tour of the NY state Finger lakes region?

-- What to do in case of a mechanical problem. The probability of
this should be very low, otherwise the particular vehicle is not suitable
for this kind of exchange. My thinking is that the owner pays for
repairs. After all the vehicle should be in good condition, and
the other driver presumably drives as responsibly as you do.

-- Insurance: I would probably want to upgrade my insurance to
as much coverage as possible, and would feel more comfortable
if the other vehicle also has full coverage.

I'm sure I've forgotten something here. Please, somebody fill me in.

Another I'd like some comments on is weather there is any risk of
legal trouble with an exchange like this. I consider this being 
the same as lending my car to a friend, which as far as I understand
is allowed by the insurance company, and doesn't put me in the
risk of being sued for doing something reckless. (We had a burglar
break into our house and get caught last year. The burglar had borrowed 
the car (with consent) from a friend, but the friend didn't get
any trouble for this.)

/Martin J (worried) and '82 Westy (hopefully not worried)