Date: Sun, 26 Sep 1999 14:28:18 -0400
Reply-To: John <johnpatt@WARWICK.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John <johnpatt@WARWICK.NET>
Subject: Vanagon reliabillity reputation (Long)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
List members,
Following up my comments on the new Vanagon owner's spark plug blowing
out of the head, I remembered (at least) two other notable instances.
1) Two years ago I needed an engine and went shopping (I settled for a
VW Canada remanufactured long block). When I talked with engine
suppliers, I asked to talk with their head technical guy to discuss WHAT
goes into their reman motors. When I talked with the GEX tech guy, I
noticed on the list of new components, 2.1L con rod bolts were not
listed. When I asked about the absense of new con rod bolts, the GEX
tech guy asked "why should we replace them"?
People like the GEX guy are contributing to the Vanagon poor reliability
reputation while draining the purses of the Vanagon owners! Many Vanagon
owners who endure the cost of a so called remanufactured motor that
"granades" will usually sell the Vanagon as-is believing that high
mileage Vanagons are just not reliable when the engine builder's product
ignorance is the real problem. This is probably why the few competent
and professional engine builders (Boston Engine, etc.) have almost a
mythical reputation.
2) A while ago, on the advice of national VW customer relations, I
visted an authorized VW service department for some information. What I
found was wide-spread Vanagon product ignorance and a genuine distaste
for the Vanagon. One particularly negative technician openly berated the
Vanagon product in front of service advisers and other employees. When I
asked his qualifcations, I found the following:
1) He never attended any Vanagon technical training
2) He rarely works on Vanagons because "they're junk"
3) "Everybody" knows how poorly designed the Vanagon is
With an attitude like this, this dealer and other like-minded repair
facilities are UNFIT to put their hands on the Vanagon product. If they
do, either their product ignorance or their poor opinion of the Vanagon
will endanger the longevity of the repair.
Thanks for listening, JP