Date: Wed, 2 Sep 2009 21:02:58 -0400
Reply-To: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject: Re: vanagon difficulty
In-Reply-To: <21659742.6024.1251935369585.JavaMail.mcneely4@127.0.0.1>
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At 07:49 PM 9/2/2009, Dave Mcneely wrote:
>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.
Agree hugely.
>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.
Agree.
>Diagnosis seems more difficult than with other vehicles, even for
>knowledgeable techs.
Hmmm...I don't really think so, but I can't prove it. Anyone who
knows how to deal with L-Jetronic should be able to get pretty far
with the ECU/fi system, for example, as long as they realize that's
what Digijet basically is. Digifant is more different but still uses
all the same sensors etc. I think the unfamiliar layout may be an
issue for some people, and I don't think there are that many good
general-purpose diagnosticians around period. By that I mean people
who are good at thinking/working through a system logically, not just
relying on a bunch of saved-up experience of "if this problem, likely
that solution." I could be wrong about that, but it has been my impression.
>Parts are hard to get and inordinately expensive.
I don't think the expense is really inordinate, especially given the
cost of keeping low-volume parts in inventory. In the last year both
NAPA and Advance have cut out a lot of Vanagon parts, obviously
because they're losing money on them. The coolant hoses are a b*tch
partly because there are so many of them. There's also some
intrinsic expense because keeping major related components at
opposite ends of the vehicle, which hurts but I can't really call it
inordinate.
Access is likely a problem for the random population, but I don't
think it's too bad for internet and especially for list people.
>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.
Totally agree.
>'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.
I've never had much fear about it. In a way it's like my Saap 96 was
-- hardly ever totally right (for one thing, the engine went out of
tune in what seemed like five minutes), but unlikely to leave you
totally flat in a way that can't be limped home or cobbled up beside
the road. Now that does presuppose being both able and equipped to
work on it to some extent. My new beast has too little road
clearance for me to actually crawl underneath it, for example, which
limits things to some extent.
--
David Beierl - Providence RI USA -- http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'89 Po' White Star "Scamp"
