Date:         Thu, 10 Oct 2002 19:16:52 +0200
Reply-To:     Robert Steven Fish <fish@SALZBURG.CO.AT>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Robert Steven Fish <fish@SALZBURG.CO.AT>
Subject:      Amazing List Success Story!! (longish)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hi all.

I want to briefly tell you all about something amazing that happened, which
really renewed my faith in people, and drove home the fact that the Vanagon
list is truly a special and unique community.

Many people post their negative feedback to the list... It is important to
also post positive feedback.

Here's the short version:

I live here  in Salzburg Austria,  Europe.  A few months ago I carefully
removed my A/C from my  '87 Wolfsburg, and posted it to the German/Austrian
Bus list.  I was contacted by a guy in Vienna, just 3 hours away, who needed
it... he is putting together a 1992 synchro from the bottom up, and has
restored everything needed.  But he was missing the A/C.  He drove out to my
place, and was really excited to receive everything for a great price (I
would have had to toss it all in the trash if nobody had replied to my
postings).  The one missing link though was the rear side pillars, on the
interior, left and right... the ones which hold up the huge A/C unit on the
ceiling.

Anyway, he wanted to buy mine, but I could not give them to him (the
interior would be trashed without those) so he got everything set up and
connected on his bus, and for months, looked for these rear side pillars in
Europe.  No luck. (I think that they were actually still available at the
dealer, but for over 500 bucks or something crazy).

The busses here did not have that interior very often, and the late model
ones, which have the shoulder belt cutouts in them are super rare... so
basically his whole restoration was on hold, until he could locate these
panels.

I was helping him look around here, and then noticed a fellow list member
was offering them for sale... in america.  On a long shot I contacted him
and asked him how much he wanted.  The price was fantastic... and I told my
pal in Vienna that we MAYBE could arrange to get the pillars from this guy
in america (if he would agree to shipping them to Europe, and the extra
hassle that this entails).

I sent several emails back and forth trying to make this thing work... as I
knew that it was really stretching the "normal" expectations of the
buyer/seller arangement... having these huge parts packed up, and finding a
shipper that would ship them to Vienna, Austria.. etc.

Long story short... I emailed my father in Rochester, NY.. had him get a
postal money order for the price of the pillars plus shipping... and sent it
out.  The pillars were then shipped... we waited a bit... and the pillars
arrived in Vienna!!!  They were in great shape and exactly as promised!!

Without the list and the super people, willing to go that extra kilometer
for others... we never would have been able to get this deal done.

If I can get some photos of my friends synchro project.. I'll post them to
the list.

Thanks again for all the great info, help, interest, and devotion that I
find everytime I check in with the list.

RSF

IMPORTANT!!! In order to reply to me, you must have the word "FISH"
somewhere in the subject line of the email.  Otherwise it goes directly in
the trash.

<º)))>{   <º)))>{   <º)))>{   <º)))>{   <º)))>{   <º)))>{

Robert S. Fish
Salzburg, Austria
1987 Wolfsburg Vanagon 2.1 GL Weekender
1987 Golf Cabriolet
1991 Golf