I learned to work on them myself and even completely overhauled two engines in the 70's. I could almost alway get us back up and running when we had a breakdown on the road, because I carried so many tools, parts, manuals and stuff to keep them running. I could write a book full of stories, adventures and scrapes we used to get into traveling cross country in the VW van. I loved them and wished I'd have kept my last one just for a second car.
I'm starting to get tears in my eyes from the nostalgia.
There was a lot of DIY involved with those vehicles, for one you could and for another you had to, lol. Another friend had one of those 914 Porsches with the VW air-cooled four. Great car, like a go-kart, felt a lot faster than it really was, it was a blast. The persistent problem with those was a cable in the shift linkage fraying on some portion of the underbody. A spare cable and the tools to replace it were kept in the vehicle at all times.