Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:12:53 -0800
Reply-To: Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA>
Subject: Re: first time buyer
In-Reply-To: <20110118134742.YTWIB.703436.imail@eastrmwml31>
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Dave,
Think about it, the "newest" Vanagon is now almost 20 years old. It is
unreasonable to expect the van to be trouble free, especially compared
to "things like Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic, that never break."
And westies need more maintenance. I look at them as if they were
boats. Try buying a 20 year old boat that sleeps 2, has a galley, and
and expect then to do no work on it. :)
Vanagons in all there forms are not for everyone. I'm one of those who
love mucking around fixing things on mine, I know other owners who
don't and have pro. mechs. do the work. I do wince a little when
someone that I suspect don't want to take either path asks me about
vanagon ownership.
alistair
On 18-Jan-11, at 10:47 AM, Dave Mcneely wrote:
> I guess I'll have to say at this point that the following post from
> Matt illustrates something that any prospective Vanagon buyer
> without Vanagon experience should consider. The folks who seem to
> enjoy Vanagons the most are those who are either mechanics or want
> to be mechnics, and who just enjoy getting their hands greasy and
> barked up for the sake of working on a vehicle themselves. This
> even extends to the point of some (though not most) of them
> resorting to ridicule towards those of us who just want to have a
> vehicle that works to do what we want it to do. For them, it is all
> about the opportunity to work (and redesign and rework even) a van
> that some of us would just like to be able to reliably used, having
> been spoiled by things like Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic, that
> never break.
>
> I have grown to like my camper a lot, and my wife likes it even more
> than I do. But the things can be a real trial, and only someone
> willing to put up with that, or even better, to love it, should
> consider one. It is not for the sake of the trials and tribulations
> that we like the camper, but for what it can do for us. But a good
> many others seem to love the trouble, and to love constant dickering
> with the beast. And though some will say, particularly in response
> to anyone stating otherwise, that the vehicle is easy to maintain
> and easy to diagnose, and easy to work on, there are probably very
> few people for whom that is true.
>
> McNeely
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