Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2002 18:51:49 -0800
Reply-To: "Loren A. Busch" <lbusch@IX.NETCOM.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Loren A. Busch" <lbusch@IX.NETCOM.COM>
Subject: Re: Vanagon-Eurovan debate
In-Reply-To: <200203091700.16JRHl1sg3NZFlt0@elektra>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
This past December and early January I was looking for a replacement for
my '85 Westy. I had come to certain conclusions as to what features I
wanted, and the Eurovan Camper would have fit the bill just perfect, all
the bells and whistles that I wanted, more power, all around newer
(implies reliability), etc.
First problem, may seem minor, but major to me, I know my travel and
camping style after a lot of time and miles in my '85: The largest
storage area in the cabin is TOTALLY BLOCKED with the bed down!! I tend
to travel with the bed down and also leave it down during the day when
camping. The Eurovan setup would have been a major PITA.
Second, for what I carry and the way I carry it, there was NOT as much
USABLE storage in the Eurovan as in the Vanagon. Without the overhead
storage and the back seat storage in had been used to in the Vanagon, I
would have had problems. Additionally, the arrangement of the tables in
the Eurovan did not seem to be as convenient as the Vanagon.
Third was potential cost of repairs. Although this may have been an
isolated case, three years ago I was looking at a Canadian Eurovan
conversion, (Open Road) '95 chassis I believe. At that time I had a
friend that was a service writer at the local VW dealer that had this
camper on the lot. He said that that particular van seemed to be in
very good shape, but about six months before one of their customers had
blown the auto tranny in a '95. IT HAD TAKEN THE DEALER OVER FOUR
MONTHS TO GET THE THING REPAIRED, AND HAD COST THE OWNER ALMOST $6000!!!
The situation may be different in 2002, but it really made me leary.
Fourth and last reason for passing on the Eurovan (A very clean, low
milage '95) was dollars. From a reputable dealer, a '95 Erovan camper
was at about $24,000. It had everything I wanted except the price. A new
Eurovan Camper is over $40,000!! Hell, if I were in love with VW
chassis, I could buy a Rialta for for that price. There is a '97 Rialta
sitting on an RV lot about two blocks from my house for $31,000.
I was able to find a low milage (95k) '90 Westy with almost everything I
wanted for $11,500 and in very good condition. Two mechanics have gone
through it (one before I bought it, the other when doing all the
maintenance stuff you do with a 'new' vehicle) and both found it in very
good shape, only major item was tires.
I can add every possible bell and whistle, have all the work done by the
highest priced shop in the country, buy a new engine if ever needed, and
many, many gallons of gas for the better than $12,000 difference.
I don't think that there is a lot of evidence saying that one is more
reliable than the other, Vanagon vs. Eurovan. Let's face it guys, we
are driving vehicles that are at least 11 or more years old, and 80% of
what I see discussed on the list here is in regard to 15 to 20 year old
vehicles. The basic, well maintained Vanagon (my old '85) proved to be
a very reliable and trustworthy vehicle for me. 90% of the 50k I put on
it were at highway speeds or climbing mountains and mountain passes.
(Cooling system problems that I had were man-made, not the Vanagons
fault.) Never missed a stroke, got me where I was going and back every
time. We'll see how the Eurovans hold up. Their history is only in
about the second chapter.
BTW, when sitting in the 'cabin' of a Erovan Camper, there seems to be
more room than in a Vanagon Westy, my subjective view. But that is
empty space that is hard to make use of. If you want a lot of room in
front of you when you sit down, stay home and drive the Lazy Boy!!
Loren A. Busch
I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am
not sure that you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.
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