Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2007 19:34:55 -0400
Reply-To: Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@YAHOO.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@YAHOO.CA>
Subject: Re: Best Cars to go 200,000 Miles
In-Reply-To: <HHEAJIOMDPBGGCKHACGJAEKACNAA.al_knoll@pacbell.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
My best value/lowest cost/mile car was a 1985 B2 chassis Quantum/Passat.
turbo diesel. Bought in mid 90's for $250 with 100k something on it, sold in 2000
with 200k something on it. Total repair cost: $2 (needed new fuel return lines.
Had I been prudent I should also have splurged on a new timing belt and tensioner at $20 each)
My T3 Vanagon experience has been pretty good also. My first '82 Diesel Westy set my student budget back $2700 in 1994. After graduating I splurged on a 1.9TD engine at $2500. Old engine was still fine. I was just tired of going 55 (45 or slower uphill). Spent less than $1000 on parts in 13 years, and time cortesey of yours truly... Still going strong. Last year bought an '85 Westy in Europe for Eur 2000 with 150kmiles on it. After adding a couple hundred more in parts it took us around Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Lichtenstein without mishaps. I believe it's still running strong for the guy I lent it to, and I hope to use it next summer again once school is out.
My T4 experience has not been so economic. In addition to being pricey to buy, the T4 camper seems to have a maintenance bill in the thousands instead of hundreds $ per year. Maybe I'm still just ironing out the bugs of the PO, but at only 100tkm I was thinking I was buying myself a troublefree, nearly new (compared to all else I've owned ;-) vehicle.
Since I'm now paying way to much per km in maintenance and fuel cost for my T4 Eurovan I started wondering what would be an economic station wagon car alternative? The B2 Passat's don't seem to be available in Canada. I looked under the hood in an early 90's B3 Passat, and it looked promisingly roomy. (meaning servicing would be easy. I hate the cramped space under the hood and all the always-in-the-way plastic covers in todays cars.) What do you think? Any other suggestions?
Martin
Pensioner <al_knoll@PACBELL.NET> wrote: http://tinyurl.com/2wzl8t
Note that the Toureg isn't recommended.
My first syncro got 180Kmi.
My present syncro is at 220Kmi +
According to the article I probably saved 60K$.
---------------------------------
All new Yahoo! Mail -
---------------------------------
Get a sneak peak at messages with a handy reading pane.