>I gather that almost every Vanagon owner has other vehicles.
>Does any Vanagon owner trust it as their ONLY vehicle (as I would be
>doing)?
>
>
Yes!  My '81 air-cooled is my only vehicle, well except for the '74
Karmann Ghia, but note that that's also an air-cooled Volkswagen, and it
doesn't get driven nearly as much as the van.

While I was still in college I had only the '81 at school with me.  Home
was 400 miles away.  My van has of course been a maintenance concern (it
is 17 years old, you know) but it has been very reliable and has never
left me stranded anywhere.  Now it currently has low compression in one
cylinder and so is scheduled for head surgery in the near future, but
the prognosis is good and I'm sure the patient will make a full and
speedy recovery.  I fall into the "like to tinker" class and I'm often
doing some sort of work to the van, even if it doesn't need it :-) -- I
keep it happy that way.

Be aware that a VW van will test its new owner (I hear what you say
about lack of karma but I'm starting to believe otherwise re VW vans)
with a problem soon after purchase.  If the owner handles the problem
well, the VW will be happy and will serve the owner well (provided the
owner keeps maintenance up).  If however the VW is not happy about how
its owner handled the problem, it will keep making more and more
problems, in order to get the owner to sell it to someone who will treat
it right.  :-)  You think I'm kidding, but I'm not.

Sean Bartnik
Fairfax, Virginia
============================
'81 Vanagon L Westfalia
'74 Karmann Ghia convertible

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