Date:         Tue, 27 Jun 1995 23:26:40 -0500 (CDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Irl Carter <icarter@maroon.tc.umn.edu>
Subject:      My late VWs

Please show me as a former owner, most recently of an '85 VW Camper
automatic.  I traded it in at approximately 175,000 miles; the odometer
quit at 150,000 and I kept meticulous track of my miles in a notebook
from then on.  It overheated regularly; I took it to a guy who runs an
Audi/VW shop here in Minneapolis, who fixed it on Friday, handed it over
to me and left for the weekend.  Three blocks away, entering the freeway,
it overheated again. I nursed it toward home, stopped every couple of
miles to let it cool again.  I stopped after about 20 miles to put in new
coolant, and the cap blew off in my face, scalding my hand and forearm.
My own fault: I had put on a replacement cap, supposedly equal to the
original, but it did not have the grooves down the cap threads to vent
the pressure.  So the cap came off explosively.  Fortunately, the burns
weren't bad, and I was wearing glasses, so no great harm done.  But I
decided I'd invested enough in it and traded it in.  Though I miss it
greatly, it was the best decision.
   Many problems with it, but never once did it strand me in a bad spot,
except that last time.  A major hose went out once, in Madison, WI, in
the parking lot of the only motel in town with an empty room, within
sight of a VW dealer, completely by accident.  Two days later, it was
fixed; we completed our business, and were on our way.
   I bought it with 30,000 miles on it (an elderly couple drove it to
Arizona for three winters, supposedly; seems true), and headed West.  Got
to the Black Hills (500 miles) and heard a click in the rear wheels.  A
garage didn't know what it was.  I stopped in Cody, WY; still no idea from
a mechanic there.  Same in Oregon.  Never got any worse.  Got back to
Minneapolis, to the original dealer, Burnsville VW, and it cost me $700 to
replace both CV joints.  I asked why.  Because they all wear out at 30,000
miles, he said.  Because VW ships them with bad grease in the bearings,
he said.  I felt I had little choice, so didn't argue; maybe I should
have told him it was a crock.  Had to have a head planed once, when it
warped from overheating.  Cost $1200 once for serious brake work.  Just a
lot of little piddly things that got more frequent.  But 175,000!  What a
car, what fun we had!  If I could get a similar deal today for a similar
price, I'd take it; I'd just be smarter about service.
   Incidentally, I think the automatic transmission was easy on the
engine; that was the least trouble I've ever had with a VW engine; and
the only automatic.  I doubt I'd buy another VW without automatic.
   My first was a used '59 grocery delivery van that I put an aluminum
storm window (small) in the side of and used city bus seats in.  Second, a
67 Bug that got totalled without hurting any of my family!  Third, a red
'69 Bus that went to Washington to protest the Vietnam War.  Then after a
lapse, an orange '75 Camper that I bought when a deer totalled a station
wagon.  Then finally the '85 that went to both coasts, Canada to Texas.
Had lots of difficulties with each of them, but loved them just like my
kids!  Lots of fond memories, such as pushing the '59 out of a muddy
meadow in the Black Hills, inch by inch for an hour and a half.
   VW's; the machines you love to hate and hate to love.

PS--I haven't figured out how to send this to the whole newsgroup yet.
Can you do that for me this time?  Thanks, if so.