This plea is from a friend who recently purchased an 87 Vanagon (with
pop-top).  He is trying to subscribe to the list but in the meantime...He
needs a new muffler. He can get one from The Bus Depot for about $106 and put
it on himself, or he can have The Guy At the Muffler Shop put on a "universal
muffler" for $55 (not VW of course). Since my friend is a college student, he
wants to know why he should not go the less expensive route. Will it affect
the performance of the vehicle?

TIA,  Vicki