Date:         Tue, 25 Apr 1995 10:05:09 +0100
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         puusital@adobe.com (Paul Uusitalo)
Subject:      Re: Head Help!

>I know someone who got full reimbursement for his cracked  "87 synchro heads
>by pointing out a "casting defect" on the crack.
>
>If you still have your heads, and want more info, email or post here, and
>I'll see what I can find out.
>

The variety of stories regarding what VW is willing to do regarding
wasserboxer head problems is most interesting.

When I was searching for my bus, I looked at an '89 Westy Syncro with about
60k miles on it, at a dealership here in Seattle (Carter, probably one of
the biggest VW dealerships in the country).

The interesting thing about this vehicle was that VWoA had re-purchased it
from the original owner to settle the owner's head gasket problems.

The dealer showed me some VWoA paperwork indicating that the original owner
had brought the vehicle in complaining about a "lack of power climbing
hills."

I don't know what events ensued that resulted in VWoA's actually buying
back the vehicle, but I'd sure love to know (perhaps the owner was a
prominent product liability atty.). Nor do I know if the vehicle was under
warranty at the time of the complaint.

In any case, VWoA put new heads on the motor, slapped on a 1-year
drivetrain warranty, and auctioned it off to my local dealership (which
then proceeded to price the unit at $26k!!!).

Given the price that Syncro Westys command, perhaps VWoA knew they could
make money on the deal by offering to buy out the original owner at "blue
book" pricing, fixing it, and selling it back to one of its top dollar
dealerships.

Ya think??

Paul