Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2005 10:50:50 -0600
Reply-To: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: Those dreaded 9 words...
In-Reply-To: <0F38A1E1-0F6A-4F6B-AFF1-D12FA8007D63@xochi.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Build yourself a spreadsheet and make a cost comparison over 5, 10, 15,
and 20 years between the Vanagon and any other vehicle of "Comparable"
utility. A passenger car cannot do what a vanagon does. Look at
appreciation vs depreciation. Mass market vehicles tend to lose value
over time. Those vehicles that manage to survive long enough to become
relatively scarce over time tend to appreciate in value after a certain
point. So far as I know, there is no comparable vehicle out there today
that is a match for the Westy. or for the Syncro - be it plain jane
version or camper model. And as for the GL series, Can you carry 15 one
hunded pound bags of plaster inside a passenger car or any SUV?? Or a 12
foot step ladder or 2X6 lumber 12 feet long? Haul the kiddie ball team
or cheerleader squad and then convert to a camper for w weekend family
outing? I don't know of another vehicle today the fills the niche that
the Vanagon does. That is exactly why I have mine. It does for me what
no other vehicle out there does.
I can't imagine selling my Vanagon. It's my daily driver and it's a
workhorse. The ladies in our lives don't usually do the tasks that
require the workhorse vehicle that men require to do their part. As a
consequence they aren't even aware of the issues. Education may be the key.
Regards,
John Rodgers
Michael Diehr wrote:
> "Honey, I think we should consider selling the Vanagon?"
>
> Pardon? "Shelving" the vanagon? No honey, it's got shelves in it
> already. And besides, why would we want to work on the interior
> when the engine is dead....the engine...the engine is dead....it's
> dead. Uh oh. That's not what you said, is it? What did you say
> exactly?
>
> It could happen to you. The fear. Those words...echoing in your head.
>
> How do I convince my sig.other that spending $4k to $8k on a engine
> rebuild/fix/swap actually is a good idea. This is, after all, a 20
> year old car with 150k miles on it. I think she's still mad over
> the 24 hours spent broken down in the middle of nowhere on our last
> vacation. She's also concerned about global warming. And
> societal breakdown. So I'm thinking maybe start with the TDI
> conversion running biodiesel (reliable and good for the environment)
> and then negotiate from there? Maybe the idea that the vanagon
> could be up-armored a lot easier than a Camry, and we'd probably look
> silly driving a Camry with mohawks and crossbows?
>
> Help me out here!
>
> :-)
>
>
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