Katherine Lee wrote:
>
> ...do all Vanagons cost so much to keep? and if people didn't have problems with their Vanagons, would there be anything to talk about on this list...

All I can say is that (IMHO) not all Vanagons were created equal.  My
wife and I sold our house, stored the furniture and spent 1997 on a
30,000 "vacation" in our Westy.  A leaky slave cylinder and a collapsed
catalytic converter (my fault for driving to fast on washboard road)
were the only problems.  I never would have tried this but we had had
such good experience with the van up to that point that we were willing
to live with it as our sole transportation and home.

The point here (I think) is that there are examples that have been and
will be reliable.  I wish I could tell you how to know one before you
buy but that isn't always possible.

Geo Hahn
84 Westy