Date:         Mon, 24 Jul 2000 12:59:11 -0400
Reply-To:     John <johnpatt@warwick.net>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John <johnpatt@warwick.net>
Organization: PattonSystems International
Subject:      Re: Repair nightmare on vacation! (long)
Comments: To: The Bus Depot <ron@netcarrier.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

The Bus Depot wrote:
>
> I went to the Grassroots Music Festival in Ithaca, NY this weekend with my
> wife and 2-year-old.  Left in my '89 Westy.  Ended up camping in the back of
> a D*dge van while my Westy got towed 200 miles home with the engine in
> pieces.
>

Dear List,

I realize how easy it is to second guess this unfortunate story but
there are at least two clear lessons here.

1) The wasserboxer requires regular coolant hose inspections with a
pressure tester attached AND ALL the hoses should be replaced when one
or more are deteriorated.

2) Any workshop that calls itself "European Auto Specialists" and can't
determine if fuel is being injected, should be prosecuted for fraud.
It's inexcusable that a european auto specialist doesn't know the
wassereboxer in the year 2000 but the fuel injection system is common to
many european autos.

Lack of timely, comprehensive inspections & maintenance and
unprofessional, ignorance-based repair work IMO are the reasons the 2.1L
wasserboxer has such a poor reliability reputation. The old VW models
that built VWoA reputation in the U.S. received a "W10" maintenance
service/inspection every 6,000 miles. And the W10 service was performed
by a TRAINED technician who knew what he was looking for. The old
air-cooled motors were no more reliable than the wasserboxer, the
air-cooled stuff just got much better technical support.

The pro-conversion list members may point to this unfortunate experience
as more proof that the wasserboxer is a loser and a conversion is in
order. However the hind sight moral here is regular inspections pay off
by limiting or eliminating contact with so-called specialists who, in
the 9 years since T3 production ceased, are still incapable of gathering
the product knowledge needed to support the wasserboxer's reliability.

Regards,         John