I think a lot of the high prices that Patrick writes about are because bus
owners are a relatively small group compared to other car and truck models.
 You can buy parts for a Ford or Chevy cheap at Auto Zone because the large
number of owners encourages aftermarket manufacturers to go after the
business, hence more competition, hence lower prices.  Dealer-only items
tend to be expensive for all cars, though I tend to agree that VW is as
greedy as any of the others.  Vanagon enthusiasts are probably in the worst
shape of all because the waterboxer buses not only were brought into the US
in relatively small numbers, but also used an engine not shared with any
other VW or Audi product.  This situation guarantees that parts will be
more expensive than most cars.  The existence of this list has sure made it
easier, though.  If it weren't for the presence of Ron, Kyle, and other
dealers on the list who have a lot of aftermarket parts at reasonable
prices, I think I'd have given up on vanagons a couple of years ago.  This
is not to mention the thousands of dollars worth of free advice availabe
here for the price of a few minutes browsing a day!