A Bit Overwhelmed Here

[olehere]

You all have given me a lot of help already and I thank you. I have not spent a great deal of time, I admit that, but there is so much info here, it is a bit confusing.

 

I bought a 1998 Galaxy with 145,000 miles, it is Gas with the 2.3 Engine. I have a few issues and I want to efficiently use this forum to deal with them.

I am a US citizen working in Kaiserslautern, Germany, living with my US Army stationed daughter & SIL. (Grandbaby calls me Papa, I love it...)

 

I went through the dealer section and did not see any German dealers mentioned in this area.

Is there anyone in the forum that lives near K-Town that has good luck with a dealer?

Perhaps there are very few German living folks on this site, I am here because I understand most of your English words... (joke in there somewhere)

 

For example, how would I go about finding a manual on-line so that I can reference it. The one that I have is in German.

I have seen reference to a on-line english language manual here but can someone help me out by stating how to get to it?

 

A general dealer question. Since my van is part VW and part Ford (part Seat, I do not know what that means?), has anyone found that a VW dealer is better prepared to work on the car than a Ford dealer. Just curious, I know that the quality of the dealer depends on the local owner and quality of the mechanics, etc.

 

Is there a FAQ button somewhere that I have not noticed? I see reference to the FAQ but have not figured out how to get to it effectively.

 

If I had a problem with a specific thing, I assume I could search the FAQ. Will I need to specifically search my model or are there enough similarities in the new and old models that both should be searched?

 

Sorry for the deluge of questions, I have a feeling that you have seen newbies before and perhaps can point me to the most efficient way to learn to get around.

 

Best regards,

Olehere

[Mirez]

Hi Oiehere, welcome to the site!

 

The FAQ is here: http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?showtopic=7886 it covers the common issues for both Mk1 and 2 so you'll have to search specifically for the problem rather then the model.

 

The Galaxy is a joint venture between Ford, VW and another manufacturer called SEAT. VW and SEAT are part of the same group known as VAG (VwAudiGroup) so the parts on the car will either be VAG or Ford. Sinec the engine in yours (the 2.3) is the Ford designed one then the dealer most prepared for your car will probably be a Ford dealer.

 

There is a large german forum for the Galaxy / Sharan hence why there arn't many German chaps on here so I think you might struggle to find someone with local dealer knowledge.

 

Good luck!