Date:         Sun, 25 Feb 2007 13:56:22 -0600
Reply-To:     joel walker <jwalker17@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         joel walker <jwalker17@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Re: Which Type 2 to recommend?
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
              reply-type=original

>Westy. Having never owned a VW, he had lots of concerns.  What was
>the best
>purchase for this novice teen with no mechanical ability? What should
>he
>buy?  What to look for? Where to find the best deals? etc...etc.
>Anyway, I was just wondering about the List's input on this subject
>and how
>some of you would answer his questions and address his concerns...
>any
.ideas?


i would tend to agree with Greg Potts, except for the recommended
year:
i'd recommend the 1980-1983 AIRcooled Vanagons.
i had a 1971, and drove it hard and drove it far, and loved that bus.
but i had a 1980 vanagon and LOVED that bus ... it was SOOOOO much
easier to fiddle with and much more comfortable on the road and just
all-round a better design. and i think the engine was tougher; not
easier to fix, but tougher.
and yes, both were brand new with me as the very first owner. :)

however ... your friend needs to be aware of the aircooled's peculiar
characteristics. like not having a lot of heat in cold weather. now,
in the 80 vanagon, it was a lot LESS of a problem than in the 71 bus.
another reason i recommend the 80-83. and reading of the How to Keep
book is, i agree, a must. first of all, it warns you about the beast
you are about to drive and depend upon. secondly, it tells you that
fixing a car is NOT rocket science. it CAN be done by idiots (albeit,
idiots who have some common sense and don't just sit and stare at the
problem). ;)

since it's a kid that's going to be driving this thing, i'd still
recommend the 80 over the 71, just because of the increase in power
and drivability and visibility. it also has better brakes, and more
room inside.

now, if they plan to go offroading, like down in baja mexico or some
such, then the 71 would make more sense ... it has nearly four MORE
inches of ground clearance ... 12 inches ... than the vanagon (and
most SUVs today): eight inches.
but the vanagon is ok, as long as you keep good tires on it... the
aircooled engine's torque curve is much better for slippery stuff like
sand and mud and snow (than the watercooled vanagons, whose torque
curvy is VERY steep and spins the wheels when you give it just a tiny
bit of gas). imho. :)

but it kinda all depends on what the kid is used to ... he might
actually PREFER a chevy astro. god help us all, but he might. or a
dodge caravan. so your friend and his kid need to go shopping: go
LOOK, TOUCH, DRIVE. compare. like buying shoes, you won't know til you
put them on your feet. then you find out where they pinch.
and a chevy or ford would be a lot easier to find parts for, and to
get fixed, if something did break. they are really lousy 'vans', but
are easier to fix. :(
and since we are talking up in your area of the midwest, i don't know
which ones would have less rust. :(  i know that nearly every chevy
and ford van i saw when i lived in chicago had lots of rust all over
from the waist down. but then, they used a LOT of salt on the roads.

so i'd recommend they go a-shopping. go look at vans advertised in the
local area, in thesamba.com, and ebay.com and autotrader.com and
craig's list and anything else they can find ...even the newspapers.
comparing chevys to fords to vws to dodges will give them much more
info about what they like and what they think they want to do with the
vehicle. THEN they can start looking for a good copy of the
brand/model they want.

one thing about the volkswagens, though ... they are fairly easy to
find in the already-made-into-a-camper versions. not so with the
chevys and fords and dodges ... with them, you have to go into the RV
categories. small RVs, but still RVs. and those things are almost
always overloaded as far as gross vehicle weight is concerned. also
their transmissions usually don't last more than 30,000 miles without
a fairly expensive rebuild.
but a small RV camper might be what they would want ... they just need
to go find out more about what's out there and how they compare with
regard to room, comfort, fuel economy, cost, repair
frequency/ease/costs, and so on.

hope it helps. good luck!
un cajoel ;)