Date: Tue, 1 Sep 2009 19:31:58 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Vanagons and part
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reply-type=response
given all that's been said here......
this is why I say let's enjoy vanagons, and driving as we currently know it,
while we still can.
Forces beyond our control are wresting all that was 'fun, simple, and
practical' away from us, particularly in the area of cars, vans, and
driving.
Before too long, you won't even drive your own car - computers run by 'the
man' will.
Already direct control of what the engine does when you push on the gas
pedal - already that's going away, Now computers in the car decide if it's
safe to do what you tell it to.
( and your car can send you an email saying it's due for a service, or
having a difficulty - sorry, too crazy for me. )
Which is why we should treasure and cherish our so-loved Vanagons.
They will be known, ultimately, as the last VW Vans that worked well, that
you could work on yourself.
And no computer between you and the throttle plate either !
Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "joel walker" <uncajoel@BELLSOUTH.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 2:53 PM
Subject: Re: Vanagons and part
> >A good VW shop in North Vancouver is now recommending to it's
>>customers NOT
>> to purchaseVanagons as they are "too old" and some replacement parts
>> difficult if not impossible to get.
>> Your comments please?
>
> from a purely practical point of view, they are correct ...
> i would not recommend any of my friends (who are not vanagon nuts) buy
> anything more than five years old. certainly no more than ten years
> old.
>
> why?
>
> simple ... dealers are in the business to make money. they do NOT want
> to stock a lot of parts for old cars. the vw dealer here has NO
> aircooled parts at all in stock, and NO vanagon parts in stock. not
> even an oil filter. so if i drove my vanagon into the dealer for an
> oil change, it would sit there until a special-ordered oil filter came
> in. and that's IF the service department decided to do the work.
>
> and it's not just vanagons or volkswagons. Ford and Chevy and Mercedes
> and Toyota and Honda all do the same here. they have no one who is
> familiar with the older cars, and don't want to take the liability of
> having some hotshot young mechanic screw it up because he thought it
> was like the new ones.
>
> and it's getting worse. new cars today are pretty much NOT capable of
> being worked on by the owner at home. you have to have special tools,
> special electronic devices for diagnosis, and a lift to be able to get
> at things more easily.
> i'm not saying that it can't be done, but that it is getting harder
> and harder and harder.
> an oil change on a beetle was easy. oil change on a vanagon is MUCH
> easier. oil change on a honda is a royal pain, and you can't even do
> it without a set of ramps at the minimum. :(
>
> so, from a business standpoint, i suspect that it would be true all
> over the country, perhaps even around the world: old cars are not
> profitable. so the dealers would rather NOT work on them. :(
>
> unca joel
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