Date:         Tue, 24 May 2005 23:12:34 +0000
Reply-To:     Robert Rountree <syncro87@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Robert Rountree <syncro87@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Did I buy the Right Vehicle? Am I hearing all the bad.
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

>>Adam said "Can people please provide me some positive stories of trouble
>>free ownership
and trips with regular maintenance?

Adam I was just in a VW dealer's service room. While there, I overheard
this....one customer ....her new VW Jetta, burned a hole through her
expensive coat because of a problem with a seat heater that's now being
recalled. Another customer... His new TDI Jetta is stalling and running real
ruff, but runs fine when he adds gas line antifreeze.  Another customer...
was hauled in because his new Jetta just died and will not restart.....this
was about new cars not 20+ year old unique things. Of course you are going
to hear stuff like that in a service center..... .. when you are in a
restaurant you hear a lot of people order food....It's not that they talk
like that to everyone at the barber shop or home depot, but they do to their
waiters.

This list is the focal point of solving Vanagon problems. This is the season
for start ups of trips. Trips that are going to create memories that last
forever. Trips that can go fabulously well  or not so well.  And this list
is filled with a lot of folks that have had some great trips. Plus the road
is full of many more that have never even heard of this list.  But all the
folks that have had those great LONG trips have all had one thing in
common.... they knew how to listen, watch and feel their vans, almost all of
them had some issues come up over the miles. Some it was a piece of cake to
fix, others got taken to the cleaners by road side pirates (I.E. small
garages who secretly hate VW's). What's it going to be for you and will you
hang in there and learn?

I saw a guy last year buy himself a boat.  He had always wanted a boat. Got
in it, took off across Georgian Bay and knocked the whole lower end off on a
rock. He had taken a boat safety course and passed the test. There is just a
lot more to boating than buying a good boat.

A lot of nice VW vans are dreams waiting to happen for some people...But
this list is where the rubber meets the open road when it comes to vans. Go
into the archives of this list and study up, there is a lot you need to
learn.

I'm personally on my 4th VW van. The first one was a 62 Split window Kombi.
I sorta made into a camper. Spent 3 months of the summer of 69 out in the
CDN Rockies and Vancouver Is.. The engine blew on the north shore of
Superior coming back to TO. I cried having to leave it. I had a summer to
never forget and  loved it that much. I still look at old pictures of my 4
VW campers I've owned in over 35 years, and I swear I feel about the same
for them as I do about my 3 dogs I've had over the last 40 years... For me
there is just nothing on this planet that fills a hole in me like my VW
camper. It's sort of the pinnacle of what man has been able to do with all
his technology. But still under that dream of open roads, amazing sunsets
and wild places all your own...... lurks the technology of machines    and
if you don't respect it... it can bite... but it can also give you dreams
that last forever...

but on an honest note....."trouble free ownership"..... Ha Ha Ha.. ...I'll
have some of what he's having ;^)

(sure my wife's car is a toyota... and she needs it to be)

RR