Search results for

#VW

#1 Click this link to see Blog page --> 08/11/2006

I rounded the day off by going to pick up Tracey’s #VW Beetle from the shop. It’s only two years old and has less than 20,000 miles. This is the third time we have had it in for warranty work. That in itself wouldn’t bother me so much but those people don’t have any consideration for your time either.

I called them (while I was waiting on the timeless hygienist) at 3:00 p.m. and told them I would be there around 4:30 p.m. to pick up the bug if it was ready.

The guy says it was some temperature sensor acting up. They replaced it and there was nothing to worry about. They just had to get the paperwork done. So I talk Noah into taking me (in his new car!) when he gets home from work around 4:15 p.m..

There are two guys standing in line ahead of me and nobody at the counter. I look around the corner and see two or three guys sitting around in another area. I was just about to holler at them when this girl (she looked to be about 18 - 20 and acted like twelve) comes waltzing in from outside. (I’m thinking smoke break?).

She apologizes for making everybody wait and proceeds to giggle her way through the transactions of the two mumbling, grumblers ahead of me.

I get there, spell my name about four times slowly while she looks all over for what obviously isn’t there and proceeds into the other room and says something to the loafers sitting there. She comes back and says I will have to wait on my paperwork.

I tell her to give me the car key, she can mail me the paperwork. She insists I have to sign their papers to get my car back. Meanwhile one of the loafers gets up out of his chair walks across the room and types for about ten seconds on the keyboard and a printer starts up. He goes back to his Lazyboy and sits down.

She stands there chewing her cud a while and finally saunters in to ask about the paperwork again. (I can see it hanging out of the printer for the past couple minutes.) I have to sign three different papers basically saying they don’t know what was wrong, they don’t know that they did to fix it, and they aren’t responsible if they screwed up my car, lost it or it was stolen. Wonderful.

I ask for my key and she says it will be driven around for me. It was sitting right outside the door. I walked past it on the way in. So I’m talking to myself all the way out the door —— and no car. At least a full minute later (which seems much longer when I’m in this state) it comes wheeling around the building and stops about hundred feet farther than it was when I got there.

I could have been way down the road in the time it took me to wait for him to “bring it to me” and then walk the extra distance he caused. The guy gets out and stands next to the door like he’s expecting a tip or something. He says something about how he’s sure everything is fixed and just call if not.

I told him we were trading the damn thing off on a Honda and I hoped never to darken his door again. His mouth was still open catching flies when I drove off. I’m sure I kicked the wrong dog at that point because he was the only one there I actually saw do something other than stand around or sit on his butt (what else would he sit on?). Oh Well. That’s life too.

MjL

#2 Click this link to see Blog page --> 08/17/2006

The sun is just coming up and as I look out upon the splendor of nature I wonder —— why the heck do we have so many cars in our yard!?

We now have five (5) cars. Actually we have four and Noah has one, but still —— three of them have over 100,000 miles and we are trading the newest (the #VW Beetle) off on the new #Honda Hybrid (if it ever gets here). Here’s the logic. The #AstroVan is ancient and paid off. We use it for a bus to haul everybody everywhere and like a truck when we need building materials. We have to keep the van. The #Blazer is mine. Period. We have to keep it too. The #Taurus was Noah’s car and now it’s just a spare, but it is also paid off. It is also nearly worthless in resale value (like the van) and we have two new drivers coming along next spring. We have to keep it. That leaves us with the soon to be traded VW which is Tracey’s work car. Since we have to keep her we have to keep her car.

So I sit here and watch a beautiful sunrise. The new rays of light glistening upon the dew covering our used car lot.

MjL

#3 Click this link to see Blog page --> 09/29/2010

Tracey has been lamenting the loss of her #VW Bug. She wishes now that she hadn’t traded it in on the #Honda, especially with all the problems Noah is having. We went to the VW dealer in Peoria to take a look but they are way too expensive to buy new. I can’t believe how much the price has gone up since we bought hers. They want almost $24,000 for one of those little cars and that is without many fancy options. They aren’t willing to deal either.

Noah was waiting for us at the house when we got home. We got to visit with him for a couple hours. He is going to leave the Honda Hybrid at the airport for us to pick up later today. His visit sure seemed short and of course we didn’t get to see nearly enough of him. But that would be the case if he had spent a month with us I think.

MjL

#4 Click this link to see Blog page --> 10/19/2011

Yesterday was quite a hectic day that turned out much differently than I had expected.

I decided to go to the #Honda dealership in Peoria to get the splash guard on the HondaHybrid fixed. They said they could work me in and I wanted to get it fixed before we drove here to Decatur. While I was waiting I decided take a look at the #VW Beetle they had on the lot.

Tracey has really been wanting one with heated leather seats and this one fit that bill. It also has low mileage for a 2007 model, only 32,000 miles.

I called Tracey and we decided to buy it. The rest of the day was a flurry of phone calls to get the money, insurance, etc. The deal was done by 5:00 and we were on our way here to Decatur in a shiny red VW bug!

I had originally thought about trading the Honda but they didn’t want to give us as much as I thought it was worth. And until we get A & B through ICC it will be nice to have another car so we aren’t always having to schedule rides, etc. Especially when one of the cars has to be worked on. I won’t have to drive Tracey to work and back just so I can have a car.

MjL

#5 Click this link to see Blog page --> 10/19/2011


#VW

MjL

#6 Click this link to see Blog page --> 10/21/2011

Tracey spent some time looking for her lost #VW key. We sure do seem to have a lot of trouble with car keys. There is still a key missing to the #Honda that Aaron or Ben lost. Tracey misplaced her VW key within five minutes of walking in the door last Tuesday. She hadn’t owned the car more than an hour and already lost the key. I expect one or both of these lost keys will turn up someday since they have to be around here somewhere.

MjL

#7 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 03/08/2012 #9

#VW

MjL

#8 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 05/03/2012 #2

Fans of Volkswagen Beetles gather in Hanover, northern Germany. About 3,000 VW Beetles from all over Europe traveled to this year’s meeting.
#VW

MjL

#9 Click this link to see Blog page --> 05/09/2012

The oil change on the #VW seemed to take forever yesterday. Fortunately they have a nice waiting room with plenty of free coffee.

Of course they tried to sell me new wiper blades, new air filters, spark plugs, rotate the tires, etc.

They tried a new one on me this time —— they wanted $113.00 (plus tax) to “flush brake lines and replace fluid”.

I know I have never done that to ANY car I own or have ever owned. New scam or necessary? I think I’ll pass whichever it is.

MjL

#10 Click this link to see Blog page --> 10/20/2012

I make a habit of going back through the blog to read each year’s blog entry and a year ago yesterday we bought the #VW.

It doesn’t seem that long ago! That thought jogged another memory I forgot to blog about. Remember me complaining how we had lost one of the VW keys the very day we bought the car? Tracey found it!

Last week when she was packing a suitcase to take with her on her visit to family in Effingham, Watson and parts south —— she found the key in an outside pocket of the suitcase! We had used that suitcase to go to Decatur the evening we bought the car.

Evidently one us put the key in there while we were sorting through the paperwork for the title, insurance, etc. and then promptly forgot about it. It is always the last place you look and in this case — we weren’t even looking anymore.

MjL

#11 Click this link to see Blog page --> 11/09/2012

I took the #VW to #Raisor in Morton to have them replace the dead headlight bulb. It was worth the $20 labor!

They had to take apart most of the drivers side to get at the bulb assembly. There were a couple plastic covers and the air cleaner to be taken off and then it took two guys to work the release and pull it apart.

I think part of their problems was our model year is different from the last one they had worked on. I was quite impressed with their mastery of profanity as they cussed it apart and back together.

I don’t think they usually have customers in the work bay, but I have taken so many cars there over the years.

MjL

#12 Click this link to see Blog page --> 02/19/2013

We had some trouble with the right front tire of the #VW holding air and a couple days ago Tracey noticed there are some cracks in the sidewall. Time to replace tires. I spent about an hour on the phone calling about prices and waiting for calls back about prices. Today I will be spending much $$$ on new tires. I hate when that happens but I also don’t want to get into an accident or stuck on the side of the road due to a bad tire. Always something.

MjL

#13 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 04/20/2013 #1

#VW

MjL

#14 Click this link to see Blog page --> 05/10/2013

Family Photos


#VW

/Pictures/2013/family/Family.php?id=125

#15 Click this link to see Blog page --> 06/25/2013

Tracey ended up taking the Escape to work this morning because the “Check Engine” light is showing on her #VW Beetle. I got an appointment to take it in tomorrow. I was supposed to take Mom to the dentist tomorrow so I had to change her appointment to next Monday. I should hope we would have the VW squared away by then.

I missed a call from the Uftring service manager yesterday so I called back this morning. He wanted to know if all my troubles were over with the #FordEscape. I laughed and told him NO, they didn’t just magically fix themselves. I’m having almost all of the same issues I had that they couldn’t fix. I’m thinking he was regretting the “courtesy call” by the time I got done explaining all the flaws Ford built into my new car. If nothing else maybe he won’t call again since I don’t think they can or will fix the problems anyway.

MjL

#16 Click this link to see Blog page --> 06/27/2013

It turned out to be time consuming and expensive to find out the check engine light on the #VW was caused by the gas cap not being fully tight. $50 and almost three hours wasted on that particular escapade.

MjL

#17 Click this link to see Blog page --> 07/03/2013

I noticed a small puddle of oil on the garage floor where the #VW is parked. I took a picture of it and called to see if the service shop would look to see if they had maybe not tightened the oil filter or the plug. They said they would —— no charge.

Tracey got home from work shortly after and I went to Pekin with her car. I gave them the picture I had printed in the hope it might help them find the origin of the leak. They took the VW right in and put it up on the lift. I was told the plug was not quite tight enough and it had been tightened. I was in and out within about twenty minutes and mildly surprised.

Now let us hope that was that all that needed to be done. I will have to clean up the garage floor and watch to see if the drip if fixed.

MjL

#18 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 07/31/2013 #1

#VW

MjL

#19 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 09/15/2013 #4

#VW

MjL

#20 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 09/30/2013 #2

#VW

MjL

#21 Click this link to see Blog page --> 10/24/2013

Tracey left about a half-hour ago to drive up to Westchester, IL, for a full day of long and boring meetings. The temperature light on her #VW Beetle was flashing so she took the Ford. It is more comfortable for long trips anyway. So I get to figure out what is going on with the VW —— I am hoping it is just low on coolant, otherwise I don’t think the red light would have been flashing but completely on. We shall see when the sun comes up.

MjL

#22 Click this link to see Blog page --> 10/24/2013

#VW
After some searching on the Internets I discovered that the flashing red temperature light means the coolant level is low. So I went out and checked —— voila! The only place to get G12 pink antifreeze is, of course, from Volkswagen. I added a cup of distilled water and we will see what happens.

As I am typing this I see small snow flakes floating from the sky. Can’t amount to anything but I think winter is here!

MjL

#23 Click this link to see Blog page --> 01/08/2014

I managed to get Tracey’s #VW bug through the drift in front of the garage and out to Mom’s trailer. It was touch and go a couple of times.

Still no water so I called the #OakLawn office and Mark came out to look things over. He removed the panel to the water heater in the front closet and also the side skirting to get to the shut off valve. He couldn’t shut the water off as the valve is frozen open but couldn’t see any leaks under the trailer.

He told me the flexible plastic pipes don’t “usually” freeze but it could still happen. He told me to come back and check every day and he would let me know if they had any calls of water running out from under the trailer.

I told him to shut the water off if that happened and let me know. I even managed to get the VW back into the garage when I got home —— but just barely.

MjL

#24 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 02/07/2014 #1

#VW

MjL

#25 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 04/17/2014 #4

Alan and I drove to Colorado in a #VW bug just like this.

MjL

#26 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 06/10/2014 #3

#VW

MjL

#27 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 08/28/2014 #4

#VW

MjL

#28 Click this link to see Blog page --> 11/14/2014

The right front tire on Tracey’s #VW Bug went flat on her way home from work yesterday afternoon. She was almost home and left it at the end of the lane down by the mailboxes.

I called our towing insurance and burned one of our “free” tows to get it hauled to the garage in Pekin where we got our tires last year. Now I’m glad I let them talk me into buying the road hazard insurance. I just hope she got the car stopped before the sidewalls were damaged on the flat tire.

It didn’t look too bad but you never know until you can get it off the car and look at it all the way around. We are supposed to go pick it up later today.

MjL

#29 Click this link to see Blog page --> 11/15/2014

We got a call from the repair shop around mid-morning yesterday. The tire on Tracey’s #VW bug was not repairable. It had a large gash in the sidewall.

So we have to wait until they can get a replacement tire. Hopefully they will get it done today. It is always something.

MjL

#30 Click this link to see Blog page --> 11/16/2014

I think the episode of the #VW Beetle flat tire is finally over. We eventually got a call around 4:15 yesterday afternoon to tell us the tire had arrived and had been mounted.

Tracey went in to take care of the paper work and pay the bill and it was good thing it was her and not me. She had the opportunity to train a new guy how to ring it up.

He had never done a transaction with a tire warranty before and screwed it up a few times. Finally a co-worker wandered over to help him out. Tracey has far more patience than I do in these situations.

I sat out in the car but I could see them through the front door and I could see the body language of frustration going on with the clerk. I’ve taken less time to buy a used car much less pay for a tire.

MjL

#31 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 11/30/2014 #1

Visitors look at a Volkswagen from 1950 at the Essen Motor Show in Essen, Germany.
#VW

MjL

#32 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 01/26/2015 #3

Visitors attend a Volkswagen Beetle owners’ meeting in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Sunday. Around 1,000 Volkswagen Beetle cars took part in this event as part of celebrations marking Brazil’s annual National Volkswagen Beetle day, which falls on January 20th.
#VW

MjL

#33 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 06/07/2015 #1

#JohnDeere #VW

MjL

#34 Click this link to see Blog page --> 08/29/2015

Photo Du Jour


#VW

/Pictures/2015/FunPhotos/FunPhotos.php?id=241

#35 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 09/30/2015 #1

#VW

MjL

#36 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 11/19/2015 #5

#VW

MjL

#37 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 05/04/2016 #3

#VW #BernieOrBust

MjL

#38 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 08/23/2016 #4

A Volkswagen Beetle car, reconstructed like a police car, is seen at the “Sunshinetour 2016” in Travemuende at the Baltic Sea.
#VW

MjL

#39 Click this link to see Historic Photos page --> 05/11/2017 #3

#VW

MjL

#40 Click this link to see Historic Photos page --> 05/12/2017 #3

#FerdinandPorsche #VW

MjL

#41 Click this link to see Historic Photos page --> 09/28/2017 #3

#VW

MjL

#42 Click this link to see Blog page --> 02/17/2018


#43 Click this link to see Twitter Roundup page --> 09/15/2018 #4

I think #VW killed the Beetle when they redesigned and attempted to make it look like a sports car. The old look sold it and the new look killed it.

MjL

#44 Click this link to see Historic Photos page --> 04/15/2019 #3

#VW

MjL

#45 Click this link to see Historic Photos page --> 06/09/2019 #5

My Mom’s 1968 #VW beetle had to have been one of those.

MjL

#46 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 06/11/2019 #5

#VW

MjL

#47 Click this link to see Political Cartoons page --> 07/11/2019 #17

The end of the #VW beetle began when they sent production to Mexico
and was finished with the squashed bug look that killed the cute
image. It was no longer a chick car and too cute for a guy.

MjL

#48 Click this link to see Historic Photos page --> 11/10/2019 #1

#VW

MjL

#49 Click this link to see Historic Photos page --> 01/09/2020 #4

#VW

MjL

#50 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 03/02/2021 #4

#VW

MjL

#51 Click this link to see Blog page --> 06/16/2021

Nature Reclaims


#VW

/Pictures/2021/naturereclaims/naturereclaims.php?id=1

#52 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 08/22/2021 #4

#VW

MjL

#53 Click this link to see Historic Photos page --> 02/17/2022 #7

In 1972, Trickie Dickie (Richard Milhous Nixon) departed the White House with his wife, Pat, on a historic trip to China. #TrickieDickie #China
#VW #Volkswagen

MjL

#54 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 09/24/2022 #2

#VW

MjL

#55 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 04/27/2023 #3

#VW

MjL

#56 Click this link to see News Photos page --> 06/26/2023 #1

La Paz, Bolivia • People take part in a parade to celebrate Worldwide VW Beetle Day.
#VW

MjL

#57 Click this link to see Assorted Stuff page --> 08/18/2024 #2

#VW

MjL

#58 Click this link to see Historic Photos page --> 01/19/2025 #10

In 1978, Production in Germany of the iconic Volkswagen Beetle ended in Emden. The VW Beetle is one of the most popular cars in history, with over 22 million cars sold worldwide. #VW
#VW

MjL