Date:         Thu, 27 Apr 2000 15:58:24 -0700
Reply-To:     BRENT CHRISTENSEN <bchristensen@INFOGENESIS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         BRENT CHRISTENSEN <bchristensen@INFOGENESIS.COM>
Subject:      Maintenance tracker software
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;

Last year I wrote a nifty little Access database for tracking all my vehicle
maintenance.  It categorized all the repairs by type (i.e. tune-up, engine,
steering, suspension, etc.) and then had a sub-database of all the parts
used (by VW part number).

This allowed me to run reports showing categories of repairs, costs, etc.
sorted by date, mileage, category, etc. etc.  Well, I put a lot of work into
it (but it was fun!), and unfortunately, I seem to have forgotten which hard
drive I had it on (don't ask) and think I may have erased it.  (I think it
may now be on its way to becoming a Linux MP3 server...) Doh!

Before I embark on this project a second time, has anyone else out there
done something like this already?  If so, I'd love to see what you've done.
And, if no one has done it, I'd love to hear feedback from people that might
have ideas for this sort of project.  If I do it again, I will make it
available to list members, for sure.  Now that I have a list of all the VW
part numbers and their descriptions, I may even make a cross-reference table
in the database for item descriptions by part number...  :-)

BTW, in the way of background, the reason I did this was that when I bought
my Syncro, I was handed a 2" thick stack of repair receipts, all of which
were from the original dealer that sold the Syncro to the PO.  Every time I
wanted to find out the last time "x" was replaced or had PM done, I had to
leaf through this huge stack of paperwork, and try and decipher the service
department's hand scribbles.  By creating the database, I was able to look
up by category or individual part number, and see the actual record (date
and mileage, etc) of when work was done.  Classic case of "do a bunch of
work now to save time in little increments over the long run".

Cheers,

Brent Christensen
'89 GL Syncro Westy "Klaus"
Santa Barbara, CA

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