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Date:         Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:50:37 -0800
Reply-To:     Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: NVC Re: Stevens Creek Volkswagen in Santa Clara
Comments: To: Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@turbovans.com>
In-Reply-To:  <014601c86390$1fd74060$6501a8c0@TOSHIBALAP>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Is it Friday already or is this no longer the Vanagon List?

On Jan 30, 2008 2:33 PM, Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:

> All very interesting Donna, > So the TDI has been basically 'pretty good' over all those miles ? > in terms of repair costs I mean ? > And not normal wear items like shocks/tires/ brakes/ timing belts/glow > plugs, but things that it 'shouldn't need' hopefully. > Like no 3 or 4,000 dollar head jobs ? > I'm just researching, I'm not 'trying' to make tdi's look bad. I just hear > about a lot of expensive repairs. I would delight in hearing that your tdi > experience has been basically good. > > I fixed cars in Sausalito, Ca for 13 years straight, 95 % foreign, of all > makes. We used to joke lightly that if you had a german car, like a fancy > Benz or Porsche say, the only smart and practical thing was to also own a > Japanese car as reliable back up for when your german car was in the shop. > > German cars have it down in handling dynamics over Japanese cars, and the > Japanese are catching up all the time, almost surpassing at times, if you > read Road & Track Magazine's comparison tests, for example. > But.........over all, all things considered from one end to the other, a > Japanese car generally will cost you considerably less over the years. > Like > up to 1/3 of what the equivalent German car will. > Being in California or on the west coast might be a factor ( compared to > the east coast ) but I have seen countless Honda's, Toyotas and > Nissans..........that almost never fail in any way, ever. There are > exceptions of course, and I think the late 80's cars were the best, but I > know of ....say a junky little AWD box of a car, the > Tercel..............450,000 miles with barely a timing belt , a > distributor, > and a water pump, and that is common for Tercel's, not that I would drive > just a little unsafe box, but that's how tough and long-lifed they can be. > .........just absurd durability and reliability. I asked my local machine > shop here in southern Oregon what they work on .........Nissans for > example, > they just *never* get Nissan heads to work on, and doing bottom end work > on > things like a Honda, just not done. A head gasket can fail due to owner > neglect and abuse on a Honda of course, , but that's it. I don't think > it's > possible to burn a valve, even if driven 190,000 miles with never > adjusting > the valves, which is supposed to be done every 30K, which I've see, a lot > actually. . > Overall, by country...........nothing but nothing touches Japanese cars > for long life and durability. There are 85 toyota pick up trucks that > have > 250K on them, and by every indication they do another 250K if they just > get > a timing chain. > Re Amecian cars........ > Well, if they keep going and don't burn you financially fine, but most of > them are really awful junk. How general motors stays in business is just > beyond me, they make such junk. Of course Cadillac is top end, and they > MAY > indeed get it right with say the NorthStar V-8 and maybe those do go > 200,000 > fault free miles,. And the Corvette is world class and delviers 99 % of > what > a Ferrari will at 1/3 the cost, so that is a great vehicle. But most > general motors stuff is made terribly cheaply to keep the cost down. > But you look in consumer reports magazine at their 'dot > graphs..............the rate cars in areas of repair problems, like > 'engine, > electrical, suspension' etc...............and you can look at a Honda and > it's solid pink dots ( the top 'good' rating) and you look at a jeep > Cherokee right next to it...........nearly solid black dots. ( the bad > end > of the scale.......it's a 5 step scale ) . > The Jeep Cherokee is a legendary money eater btw. Newer ones are probably > a > lot better. > The Japanese have forced everyone to upgrade their standards. And > now > Toyota is # 2 , right ? in sales in the US. ...........there is just one > problem there............they are making them in the US now, and they are > not made as well, the workers do not have a work and quality ethic like > Japanese workers do, and now unions are getting in. And I predict that > Toyota will become GM-ized, more than they are now, and their quality, > which > already isn't what it was say, in the late 80's will decline. But > they'll > still stay on top sales wise. > I don't know about now, but traditionally in japan, if you had a job with > a > big company, it was for life. Unless you extremely screwed up, > AND....Japanese mentality is very 'mass and group' focused. Be part of the > whole, support the whole. Now they are getting Americanized and have > mavericks etc. , but traditionally as a culture they do things like have > whole clubs of people, like 200 say, all wearing the same whimsical > identical outfit and they all go skiing together. Very 'blend in' > cultural > mentality. > And, in a factory, before their shift, a team of workers , say 40, would > do calisthenics together for exercise, before the shift, and when that > session was over, they would all BOW to the their shift leader that just > lead the calisthenics. > They're incredible. They wiped out the British motorcycle industry in a > bit over 10 years initially ......and the Brits have recovered some by > now. > But if you asked me what I thought of a late Acrua- say the CL, > Id say ...it won't be German, and it might not have a certain crispness, > but > it should be about the most reliable and dependable car you every dreamed > of. > But do your research. > And Honda's in general, I put them right after Mercedes Benz, and even > they > have slipped A LOT in the last decade ( benz ) in term of sheer > reliability > I believe. ..........I have a 'friend' sort of, ahem, on the east coast, > he > says Japanese cars are like any other piece of junk and have their > problems > too, I don't know it it's that environment or what, but in California, > Japanese cars, in general, in terms of cost effective ownership, nothing > touches them. Nothing at all. Some of them you just can't wear out > almost. > > Scott > www.turbovans.com > > -----Original Message----- > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of > Donna Skarloken > Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 1:39 PM > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM > Subject: Re: NVC Re: Stevens Creek Volkswagen in Santa Clara > > I guess it all depends on what you want to drive. VWs have their quirks > and > I stay far away from the Tracy, California dealership. I've never drove > Japanese though most people keep trying to twist my arm into doing so, and > I > like some of their cars, particularly Acuras. > > However, now I guess I'm too old to switch. My husband reluctantly puts > up > with the bad VW habit and now has a Syncro he shares with me. He curses > it > but will not part with it (yet). By the way, it doesn't leak oil (knock > on > wood) and neither does my previous 87, a Wolfsburg (knock on wood again!) > nor does my current New Beetle TDI; we did just replace a gasket at about > 210,000. > > I'm at 222,000+ on the 98 New Beetle TDI. It has not been a hassle-free > experience by any means, but I'm used to it now, and staying far away from > the dealerships help. I guess it's a lifestyle choice; if you want > straight, > reliable transportaion, a Honda probably is the way to go. > > I don't want a car payment and newer cars really don't interest me. I > would > like a decent 4-door family car some day but I will likely try to find a > decent used model; I really like the look of the Cadillac CTS (I think > that's the right initials) and my husband is a U.S. car guy so I have to > compromise occasionally. In the meantime, I love driving a diesel so I > think I'll hang in there with my old TDI for the daily commute, and the > Syncro for weekends/hauling/4-wheeling. The slide in the economy really > makes me want to just hang on to the vehicles I have, keep fixing them, > and > go about my business. > > Donna, content VW owner, 1987 Syncro >

-- Jake 1984 Vanagon GL 1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie" Crescent Beach, BC www.crescentbeachguitar.com http://subyjake.googlepages.com/


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