Vanagon EuroVan
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Date:         Wed, 31 Jul 2002 12:47:17 -0400
Reply-To:     alan barber <barb2375@BELLSOUTH.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         alan barber <barb2375@BELLSOUTH.NET>
Subject:      Re: WBX bashing
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 11:06:18 -0400 From: Jay L Snyder <Jay.L.Snyder@USA.DUPONT.COM> Subject: Re: WBX bashing

>Talk to some of the original owners. A lot of you are buying worn out >vehicles and then complaining about problems. I didn't know how terrible >these things were until after I joined this list! The '86 I purchased new >had over 138,000 miles on it when I sold it and it still ran great. I >changed the oil regularly, along with the coolant, trans oil, fuel filters, >etc... I only sold it because I had just bought an '85 camper. Many VW >owners are cheap. They scrimp on maintenance. This '85 was not looked >after. The motor was shot at 125,000 miles. I am amazed it lasted this >long. The problem was not the head gaskets, Vanagon syndrome, or the >P-rated tires! Low oil pressure was its demise. The simplest of all >maintenance items--regular oil changes. These vehicles are "cockroach" >tough if you look after them. How many '85 Chrysler mini-vans are still >on the road? I am looking forward to at least 150,000 miles from my new >Boston Bob engine.

I sold my '88 Dodge Caravan to my security company for use as a work vehicle back in '95. It had about 120k miles on it. They're still using it, and it has over 200k miles on it. When I sold it, the only repairs it ever needed were a frozen freeze plug in the radiator, new brakes at 100k miles, (they were completely original at that point) and a battery.

Since then, it has needed a new gear in the tranny, both drive axles replaced, as well as all the CV joints and wheel bearings. But the motor is rock solid... stopping only twice when the map sensor failed. Of course the map sensor is cheap and found easily in most auto parts stores and can be changed in about 5 minutes with a screwdriver.

Oh yeah, it got 35 mpg when new, (4 cylinder, 5 speed manual) I rarely changed the oil more often than every 12k miles, (and probably even less now that it's a fleet vehicle) and I beat it mercilessly. I hated that car. It w as no fun to drive, it was ugly, it smelled funny, and it was uncomfortalble.

But the sumbitch ran and ran and ran and is still running.

As far as talking to original owners, I remember my best friend bought an 82 (or 83? I don't remember for sure it was a long time ago) after deciding that my 78 Westy was the coolest thing on the road. (It was) He couldn't afford a Westy, so he got a panel van. Not being particularly inclined, he bought one brand new with an extended warranty. Two years later he sold the car at a huge loss because he has so many problems with it that even the extended warranty company wouldn't answer his phone calls. He bought one of those early Toyota vans and drove it for years with no trouble. I'm sure that talking to him would be very enlightening. His experiences, and those of a couple of other people, are why I never sold my 78 and bought a Vanagon.

The Vanagon is a unique and special vehicle that is definintely best for a hobbyist. Don't kid yourselves, these things require lots of arcane knowledge and special attention. If you have that knowledge and are prepared to give them that attention, they're fine vehicles... most of the time.

But there are a lot of folks that want a Vanagon but don't want to be *that* involved with it.

I do wonder why these people don't consider the Eurovan. It's got about 85% of the personality once you give it a chance. It's still unique and special (actually more unique than the Vanagon) but not so special that you vacation in it and *expect* to break down. It also has some practical advantages that should be attractive to folks that drive them daily, like power enough to tow, or just keep up with traffic in these frenetic times, a motor that is actually quite stout with a cooling system that is modern, simple, and makes sense, and a very flat loading floor which makes it great for hauling.

I sold my 78 last year and bought a '01 Weekender. I miss the camper stuff, but there is more seating. At any rate, I've got 30k miles on the Eurovan and it's the coolest thing I've ever owned. I miss the 78, but there was no air, no heat, and it couldn't tow my race bike to the track which is one of the main things I wanted to do. The Eurovan tows easily, is extremely comfortable, actually gets over 20 mpg, (24 is the best, 18.5 average all around commuting) and still manages to be more useful than anything else on the road. The only problems I've had were with the dealer, understanding the owner's manual, a few squeaks and rattles, and the annoying cloth interior that is a magnet for dog hair and grease. I love this thing!

But it's still quirky. Just quirky in a way that leaves you thinking "Hmm. That's odd." Instead of "Hmm. I wonder how far we're going to have to walk this time?".

Az -- AH#56


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