Date: Sat, 02 Dec 95 18:35:53 CST
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject: 1988 bus reaches 100,000 miles!!! film at eleven.
well, i'm in the six-digit realm now ... only trouble is, it's my bus's
odometer, not my salary. :( so i thought i'd entertain you folks with
some retentive statistics and such about the long and winding road to
the first hundred thousand. actually, it was kinda odd ... i didn't plan
it this way, but today is exactly the 7th year, to the day, since i bought
the bus. :)
bus purchased new on 12/02/1988 (from a crooked dealer in Jackson, MS).
odometer cost ($US) ...... item ................................
15,159 (warranty) water pump replaced.
26,881 (warranty) idle stabilizer valve replaced.
29,050 30.00 coolant tank replaced (leaking)
39,358 70.00 battery died. replaced.
47,533 1100.00 engine fuel injection wiring harness melted
(cause i pinched a wire when changing an air
filter!). :( replaced harness, power relay,
pump relay, brain, and idle stabilizer. :(
49,234 15.00 replaced coolant temp sender for temp gauge.
49,778 27.00 replaced small fuel hose section & clamps
(fuel leak, up above starter).
56,800 337.00 replaced shock absorbers (got Koni's).
57,617 15.00 replaced coolant temp sensor (for ECU).
57,839 10.00 replaced accelerator cable rubber boot
(yes, that's ONE tiny little rubber boot!!!)
61,810 314.00 replaced four tires. new Michelin XZX.
62,065 n/c replaced another small section of fuel hose
(another leak!).
62,246 30.00 replaced ALL fuel hoses & clamps.
45.00 replaced all v-belts (screwed up two of them
while testing the new fuel hoses). :(
175.00 replaced right side power mirror (broke it
while messing around replacing fuel hoses!
don't ask!) :(
62,335 25.00 replaced horn.
65,007 60.00 replaced driver's seat belt.
67,321 90.00 replaced one tire (tread starting separating).
69,929 5.00 replaced hand brake cover (broke).
3.00 replaced hand brake switch (broke).
1.00 replaced rear suspension nut cover (lost).
n/c greased speedo cable.
71,375 1470.00 transmission rebuild. 3rd/4th gear syncronizer
cracked. :(
75,640 100.00 replaced all four cv joint boots; cleaned and
regreased all cv joints.
2.00 replaced right front brake bleeder valve (rusted)
77,230 50.00 replaced coolant tank & sensor (leaking again).
83,914 300.00 replaced front outer wheel bearings, rear wheel
bearings, rear brake cylinders (leaking), rear
brake shoes.
90,550 40.00 replaced clutch slave cylinder
92,125 175.00 alternator died. replaced with rebuilt.
92,473 15.00 replaced coolant temp sensor (for ECU) & o-ring.
102,510 4504.00 ** total ** on 12/02/1995 (7 years).
gasoline used:
Tanks Gallons Cost Miles mpg $pg mp$
-Total 385 5,064.1 5,754.55 100,142.7 19.78 1.136 17.40
Per Tank Avg 13.2 14.95 260.1 19.78
so we have
14,645 miles/year (about average).
$645 unplanned repair stuff per year (mostly those two big ticket
items, only one of which was really vw's "fault" (the trans)).
(if not for the melting of the wiring harness and the
transmission repair, it would have been only $1934 total, or
about $20/month for non-maintenance repairs).
maintenance items are probably excessive ... i change the oil and
oil filter every 2500 miles.
overall, not tooo bad. :) i'm pretty pleased with the bus.
oh, yeah. and $8,000.00 (at least) for "accessories". :) power radio
antenna, space shuttle landing lights, rear anti-collision fog lights,
$200 worth of reflective tape (inside, of course), cb radios, aircraft
compass, syncro "mud guards", camper rear hangie-straps, window tint,
driving computer, switches, tools, and assorted "maybe i can do
something with this!" stuff. :)
and i have no idea how much on toy buses. :)
joel
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