Date:         Wed, 18 Oct 95 15:18:09 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: Best Dealer To Buy Parts From (Don't Skip This Post)

On Wed, 18 Oct 1995 14:58:10 -0500 Trace Choulat said:
>Questions:  Can I get parts fiches from the dealer?
>            How much do they cost?
>            Is there multiple fiches per model and year?

my experience has been that SOME (and only some) dealers save the microfiche,
and even fewer of them are willing to give you the old ones. my dealer in
atlanta made the mistake of telling me i could have as many as i wanted (he
had a large computer-paper box of old fiche). so i took all the vanagon ones.
:)  and a few eurovan ones.

over the last year, i've mailed those fiche out to some of you, and just
about run out now ... about all i have left are Syncro fiche for 1986-1989.

anyway, the dealer CAN order the fiche ... but what they do is give you their
old one and keep the new one that came in. :(  since i haven't been charged
for them doing this, i don't know how much the new fiche would be. i recall
the neighborhood of $20-25 was mentioned.

the fiche are apparently put out several times each year ... at the bottom of
the fiche, in human-readable (i.e., without the fiche-machine) form, is the
year and model and the "series" ... like this:

VANAGON 86 > (G-K)  1- 1989

what i am told this means is:
All Vanagons from 1986 onward, specifically 1986 (G) THROUGH 1989 (K). the
fiche was the FIRST fiche series released in calendar year 1989. the G & K
are references to the year-code in your VIN (the letter just before the
H99999 at the end). A=1980, B=1981, and so on (skipping I and O).

the fiche are very handy in looking to see how things come apart (or go back
together!), and it is interesting sometimes to see how many non-bus things
are used ... example: the grab-straps that hang down for the rear passengers
of the campers. i decided i wanted to install some of these in my non-camper
bus, so i ordered them. the part number is the same as the grab-straps in the
beetles!! (and, of course, so were the parts). another example is the window
crank handles in the vanagons. you can use the ones from a rabbit, if you
don't want the little chrome ring in the middle.

one thing for us east-of-the-rockies folks to consider about this dealer
in AZ: he closes AFTER we get off work!! so we can get home, call his 800-
number, and he'll still be open.  this has always been a problem with me
calling the guy in Atlanta (who closes an hour before i get off work).

joel