Date: Wed, 2 Sep 2009 21:09:11 -0400
Reply-To: Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: vanagon difficulty
In-Reply-To: <21659742.6024.1251935369585.JavaMail.mcneely4@127.0.0.1>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
What you have to understand about the Vanagon is that they are NOT any
more difficult to work on or diagnose than any other car. They are also
about the middle of the curve as far as reliability goes in my opinion.
The biggest problem that they have always had is support. The VW dealer
mechs don't know these vans and they frankly don't want to know them.
There are a handful of master techs still out there who have some
Vanagon experience but they are rare. The independent shops don't know
anything about the vans because they don't see enough of them for it to
be worth their while. So they don't buy a manual, therefore they have
no idea how to troubleshoot the fuel injection system and again to them
it isn't worth the learning curve because they just don't see enough of
them.
The best thing that ever happened to the Vanagon and the reason it is
still around and kicking while "reliable" cars of a similar vintage are
rotting in a scrap yard is the internet and this list in particular.
This list was the beginning of people coming together to support the van
by sharing their knowledge and experience about it. Through this people
stepped up to the plate and started businesses that focused on the vans
with parts and service for them. Today we have a better handle on the
"problems" of the Vanagon and how to deal with them than VW ever did.
It is because people have banded to together and have shared what they
experienced and learned over the years and it winds up helping everyone
else. I drive my Vanagon every day. It is my primary vehicle. I drive
it from NJ to Georgia and back at least once a year and take several
shorter family trips every year with it with no breakdowns or problems.
It is because I have learned from this list, taken that knowledge and
applied it to my van that it can be a good, reliable van. Of course I
also take that knowledge and apply it to my customer's vans and that is
why people bring me vans to fix that supposedly no one else can fix and
I fix them in a few hours. It makes me look like a magican, but really
I just keep watching the list, learning things from it, learning things
from my experience, sharing it and passing it along and it allows me to
be able to help others.
If you want your van to be reliable, it can be and it doesn't have to
take a ton of money, however you have to be willing to learn and you
have to be willing to do some work on your end. That is really all it
boils down to.
I love my Vanagons and I love this list and the people on it.
Thanks so much!
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com
Dave Mcneely wrote:
> David Beierl asked what is it about vanagons that makes me consider them
> difficult. Here:
>
> The are unreliable. Given their age, that is expected, but they NEVER
> were as reliable as Japanese vehicles, which in my experience seldom
> need repair.
>
> People who can (or are willing) to work on them are rare, especially in
> the middle of the country. General shops can handle most vehicles.
> Take a vanagon to one, and if the shop accepts it, the repair will
> likely be done wrong.
>
> Diagnosis seems more difficult than with other vehicles, even for
> knowledgeable techs.
>
> Parts are hard to get and inordinately expensive.
>
> A NON-difficult vehicle is one that seldom breaks, and when it does, can
> be easily repaired at a wide variety of shops at reasonable cost.
> That's not a vanagon.
>
> '91 Vanagon GL Campmobile, which I love for its utility in camping and
> cross country travel, but fear will leave me stranded far from home or
> help.
>
> Dave Mc
>
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