1984 Volkswagen Vanagon GL review from North America

You name it:

The van had 5 coolant leaks. The rad blew while on on a trip. The rad cap failed while on another trip (a simple fix, but 2 hours of down time to find one then repair).

3 fuel leaks. One leak was never resolved (the fuel tank was resealed, but still leaked fuel when filling up to full).

1 oil leak (valve cover gasket). Repaired.

Many other misc. costs that were not normal wear and tear. Some parts are not available from the dealer.

The total cost of repairs and general maintenance until I got fed up and sold it recently: $3000CDN. I owned the van for 6 months!!!

A few good things about it. Lots of room. I had all the seats out and slept in it while on trips. There is 200 cubic feet of storage space inside. If I am correct, there is still not a van on the market today that has this much space.

Very comfortable to drive. The seats are good, and you sit up high. The arm rest are too low, so I pulled them off.

Overall ride is good. Slow down on big curves and make sure you have the right tires (6 ply sidewall min.).

Fuel consumption is very bad. Sucks fuel like a Chev 350. No power up steep hills. You would be lucky if you were able to top 80kph. Don't try to pass other cars/trucks unless you are on a long straight stretch of road and going downhill.

It also has a great turning radius. Easy to park. Lots of clearance underneath too.