Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 00:02:14 -0600
Reply-To: Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Re: Vanagon-Eurovan debate
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
I go to the Lake.
I park my Westfalia.
I go fishing or ride my bike.
I burn Lunch or supper.
I lay in a lawn chair.
I count stars or mosquitos.
I put my dishes out for the farrow cats to clean.
I go to bed.
What's exclusive about a vehicle with a bed?
A 1960 and a 1992 do exactly the same for me....... I love fresh air and
would not have AC unless they threw it in to make a sale. No value even
to me.
I've got all of my life to watch other people hurry, and its very
entertaining.
Stan
On Sat, 9 Mar 2002 18:51:49 -0800 "Loren A. Busch" <lbusch@IX.NETCOM.COM>
writes:
> 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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