Date:         Tue, 24 Sep 2002 15:28:36 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Re: Are There Junk Ball Joints?
In-Reply-To:  <111.18ea1ae4.2ac1fb75@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

> There is a direct way out of this morass without leaving it to the luck of
> the draw: Merely tell the vendor that you want a replacement part
> which was made in Germany and labeled consistent with the U.S. Code of
Federal
> Regulations.  Saying that makes it a condition of the sales
> agreement between a willing seller and a willing buyer.  It works for me
every time.



You could certainly specify in the "comments" section of the order form that
you would like only parts that are labeled "made in Germany," and to delete
items from your order that do not fit this criterion.

However, if you did so, you would stand a reasonable chance of shooting
yourself in the foot. There is a high likelihood that part (or even perhaps
most) of your order would be deleted, as in many cases there simply is no
German made part available (or if so, not at a remotely affordable price).
This could be quite inconvenient if the deleted non-German part were
critical to your repair.  You might, for example, get a wheel bearing but no
seal to install with it.

This is not just the case with auto parts.  Try ordering a stereo system
from CircuitCity.com and specifying that you will only take components that
are made in Japan itself.  Open up your PC and see how many countries the
various components inside come from.  Open up the hood of any new car
(including Volkswagen) and see how many different countries the parts inside
come from.  It's a big world.

Buying strictly by country of origin simply is simply not logical, or even
possible, in this day and age. Ford and GM sell parts made in Mexico and
Japan.  Japanese names like Sony and Panasonic build products in Malaysia,
Singapore, and Taiwan.  Fifty years ago it might have been possible to "only
buy American."  Twenty years ago it might have been possible to "only buy
Japanese made electronics."  Fifteen years ago a "German" car was completely
made with German parts.  But not today.  Neither can you, in the real world,
"only buy German parts for your Vanagon."

These vans are 10-20 years old, and parts options are getting more limited,
not less. Furthermore, there are very few automotive manufacturers who do
all of their manufacturing in one country anymore.  The cold hard truth is
that if you are unwilling to put Spanish heads, French heater cores, and
British hoses on your van (and incidentally, all three of these are actual
examples are of genuine VW branded parts), then you will be unable to keep
your van on the road.

And even if you CAN buy the German part, SHOULD you?  In some cases, like
the previously mentioned ball joints, there is no appreciable quality
difference anyway. And in other cases, the quality difference may be very
minor but the price difference tremendous. Such as window crank handles for
Vanagons.  $1.99 for Taiwanese.  $14.95 for German.  Very small quality
difference, but an eightfold price difference.  Your money, your decision.
Unless of course you blindly specified "German only" when you placed your
order, in the misguided assumption that you knew more about the parts than
do the vendors who work with them every day.  In which case you'd have
received a $15 part (or no part) when a $2 part would have done just fine.

There's no need to risk shooting yourself in the foot by blindly insisting
on German parts without knowing if they're better, affordable, or even
available at all.  You can rely on people who do know, as Derek did when he
posed his original question about ball joints.  Use the archives. Pose a
question to the list. Or simply put a bit of faith in one of the several
vendors/enthusiasts on the list (of which I am one ;-) who live and breathe
these parts, and generally take the approach that they wouldn't sell someone
else a part that they wouldn't put on their own Vanagon.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  (215) 234-VWVW
  www.busdepot.com

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