vanjoe is back after 5 years please help!! auto or stick

[vanjoe]

Hello everyone,
So like my headline said I am back. A lot has happened. I lost my last Vanagon 5 years ago while going through a nasty divorce. My ex screwed me bad and have not been able to get the Vanagon out of my head. It really is a crazy addiction. In the past 5 years it just hasnt been in the cards for me to get another one. BUT!!!! now is the time and I am excited to start my new adventure on planning to get one. I am very happily remarried and have a great wife. We have 3 kids that are 3 years old, 18 months, and 2 months. So the Vanagon is going to be a perfect little rig for me to take my adventures with them. My wife has a Ford Expedition which is very boring lol. I have a Mercedes which is pretty hard having 3 car seats in. The Vanagon will be pretty much be mine and my wife will drive it sometimes. Here is my question and dilemma. My wife doesn't know how to drive a stick shift and doesn't really care to learn. She said she could if she had to. So I am debating on a stick or Automatic. It really doesn't matter to me but I want to know if the automatics are decent? reliable? or are they junk? Also can you do a Suburu conversion with the automatic. This is just something I might consider in the future.
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1990 VW Vanagon tin top weekender Carat
1998 Mercedes S420

"Why is there never time to do it right the first time, but there is always time to do it twice?"

"Back to the basics!"

[IdahoDoug]

I've had both and the auto matches the cruising personality much better. You can hold a c0nversation and wave a coffee cup around. Lots of other situations you will enjoy time passng by more deeply with.
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[jimf909]

[vanjoe]

It was just a discussuion we had and she didnt really care either way because she isn't going to be driving it much. I just had a bad experience with a automatic in a 1985 Jetta 25 years ago and never really had problems with VW standard trannys. I know the biggest thing for any automatic is to keep the fluid changed and pink. I am specifically looking for a Carat becauee I want all the PL, PW, and cruise control oprions. So the automatic will make it a lot nicer. Its just fun to drive sticks sometimes lol. Fortunately my wife now is extremely easy going. So you guys pretty much answered it for me and the automatic it is. Thanks a lot for the input. Hopefully I will have a new one in the next few weeks.
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1990 VW Vanagon tin top weekender Carat
1998 Mercedes S420

"Why is there never time to do it right the first time, but there is always time to do it twice?"

"Back to the basics!"

[danfromsyr]

the vanagon automatic is a stout and easy to drive experience.
though it is in fact the same AT section as your 85 VW was.. the differentials are different though..
and fwiw the MK-IIs + did still have issues on occasion even with standards..
it's the 93+ VW Automatics that have really bad reliability issues. so stay away from an EV with an Automatic. they're smaller inside anyways..

and YES you can definitely do a engine swap with an automatic.
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[cmayna]

vanjoe,
Before we bought our Westy, we rented from a local Vanagon rental place for our camping trips. Each year I insisted on a stick.....then during 2014 the wife insisted that we rent one with an automatic just so that she can try it while we drove through the streets of San Francisco. "No Way!!" I said to myself. Me own an automatic vw camper? Hah! You should have seen the smile on her face as she sat behind the steering wheel cruising through the Redwoods of NorCal.

Now I can steer with one hand and wave to all the pretty hippie chicks with the other hand....er I mean text with the other hand....er I mean drink my coffee with the other hand.

So when it came for us to buy our own camper, it was already decided. Best decision made. Go for it.
_________________
'90 Westy / automatic.
If I'm not working on the camper or my '50 Chebbie truck, I'm either fishing with the wife or smoking Salmon.


Craig

[SCM]

I've been very happy with my auto (although it's acting up right now). Like others have said, do a search if you want more info. They're supposedly pretty stout units, maybe even more than the manuals. The sprag "whine" sound in first gear makes the van feel even more like a toy than it already does.

That said, here's the few downsides I've learned about...

- can't push start (which I've never needed to do in any vehicle anyway),

- if you ever need to be towed, it has to be on a flatbed (this can be a hassle during the "shakedown period" etc.),

- driver's side axle is shorter than the passenger's side and either side on the manuals (that may be a consideration when shopping for parts later on),

- apparently the stock ATF cooler is no longer available so you'll have to go aftermarket when/if you decide to replace it. The stock style was failure prone and would cause ATF to contaminate your coolant - and thus cooling system and engine.

- you do take a hit on mileage. I get about 14 mpg on the highways doing 75 mph. It goes up to about 17 mpg if cruising at 65 mph. Couple that with the small gas tank and you find yourself really wanting to see a gas station after 200 miles.
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'91 Westfalia GL Automatic (GTA "Turbo" Rebuild w/Peloquin) and 2.3L GoWesty Engine

[djkeev]

"My wife doesn't know how to drive a stick shift and doesn't really care to learn. She said she could if she had to. "

Why is this even a question?

There are so many scenarios where it would be foolish to venture away from civilization with another person WHO CANNOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE.

I won't even get into the possibilities......

Dave
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Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[Wildthings]

I own both and have no great preference either way, nor does the wife. The van with the auto now has a 2.2 Subaru in it and the engine and tranny seem well matched.

[bluebus86]

a stick shift van would be a good opertunity for the wife to learn, seems she seems willing to learn, so let her learn, it aint that difficult to learn. I prefer stick shift vehicles.

if you do go the automatic route, make sure the wife understands to down shift on down hill grades. so many folks with automatics just put it in drive and never down shift on down hills, they burn up the brakes fast, and that can cost money and lives.

I think if you drive a stick, your more intuned to shifting so down shifting on the down hills is more natural.

so teach her to drive a stick, she might even prefer it once mastered.

good luck with the purchase.
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Help Prevent VW Engine Fires, see this link.....Engine safety wire information

Stop introducing dirt into your oil when adjusting valves ... https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=683022

[rubbachicken]

i'm an avid hater of automatics, it's not driving, i come from the other side of the pond, where automatic transmissions are as rare as manual cars are here.
mrs rubbachicken doesn't drive stick, so her carat is an "old lady" transmission, i hate it, but drive it when we are out as a family, the times i reach for the clutch, and gear lever, i hate it, hate it, hate it.
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lucy our westy

lucy's BIG adventure

meet 'burni'


markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.

619 201 0310 or 617 935 4182

[WLD*WSTY]

I read last week that only 18% of American drivers know how to drive a stick. Maybe owning a standard shift Vanagon is somewhat its own theft deterrent?
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'82 SyncroWesty, the first ever conversion.'06 Subaru 2.5L

[Colorado Yeti]

I am with Rubba Chicken. I would rather cut off my eyelids with a rusty coke can than own any vehicle with an automatic. But I respect the opinion of those who feel the opposite. I just enjoy the driving experience much more when I have complete control over the power curve of the engine. Plus I live in an area with mountains, so the advantages of a stick far outweigh the disadvantages. Also, before I installed my dual battery set-up I had to push start Chewey on more than a few occasions when I had the fridge going all day & night when camping in a remote location. I would have been completely hosed with a slushbox.

[TheArmand]

Be forewarned, a low mileage van does NOT mean the auto tranny is in good shape. I purchased an 86,000 mile passenger Vanagon (miles verified), and had to rebuild the tranny after a few thousand miles ($$$!). I was a fool and didn't get the van checked out by a mechanic before I bought it. Drive seals were leaking and the tranny was low on ATF. Check ALL fluid levels before you buy a Vanagon.

I normally prefer manual vs auto, but it has matched the lazy driving nature of the Vanagon quite well. Plus, other people can drive on road trips. If you drive 55 on the highways I can still get 18mpg on road trips.

One thing I hate is how stagnant your legs get on long drives. With a manual at least you're forced to move your legs and get some blood flowing, instead of just sitting on your a$$ pushing a single pedal.

[the joker]

auto VW are for the Americanized market , stick to the stick , it was the way it was meant to be plus the thief deterrent helps

my wife once owned a semi auto bug 70'ish I smashed it into a tree on a winter nite on icy roads mistakenly rested my hand on the stick

[vanjoe]

Thanks for everyone's input. We decided that we were going to get either one depending on what we could find. So after looking for a little over a week we finally got a new(used) Vanagon. We ended up finding a 1990 with 186,000 on the clock automatic weekender. The interior is in very good condition and the body straight and rust freee. We got a sweet price of $2,950 in Delano CA just north of Bakersfield. It sat for 4 years. The guy I got it from it was his dad's van who passed away 4 years ago. It starts up and runs nice. He smogged it and it was only putting out 2 hydrocarbons at idle and at 2500 RPMs. I got real lucky getting it because he had a lot of enquiries.
_________________
1990 VW Vanagon tin top weekender Carat
1998 Mercedes S420

"Why is there never time to do it right the first time, but there is always time to do it twice?"

"Back to the basics!"

[bluebus86]

[Colorado Yeti]

Good on 'ya mate! I wish you many happy miles!

[pablum]

Pics please... Any amount of city driving will make you love your automatic. And it really is strong. vag put it in everything. Plus even I can take it apart, replace the wearables, and put it back together again good as new.
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The wise man learns from history, the fool from experience.
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I see [a cat] in the street and i aim for the pest with my car. -- bluebus86

[rubbachicken]

nah, i lived in london 11 years, with aircooled and water cooled vanagons, no power steering, only manual transmission, i like the 4 button golf steering wheels also, just to make low speed turns more fun
an the parking spaces there are tiny, compared to here.
in all my years there, i don't think i ever saw an automatic vanagon, or bus.