Christopher Boucher, author of How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, begins his cross-country book-tour roadtrip today. In his first blog-post from the road he finally got to “meet” the little black Volkswagen Beetle that will, in theory, carry him and his wife LIsa to bookstores across the country.

However, as the previous owner explained, there are a few things that could go wrong. Chris writes:

• The car burns a lot of oil, so I should add oil every time I stop for gas.
• The fan belt can break, so Rick gave us a spare.
• The wires connected to the coil can fall off, and need to be checked frequently.
• The throttle cable or clutch cable can break, and the garage we take it to might not have them in stock, so we bought a spare of each.
• The tiny pin in the aftermarket fuel filter can fall out, and then the fuel filter needs to be replaced.

The first time Chris tried to start the car alone it took 15 minutes!

The banjo music in the background, by the way, is an original song written and performed by Chris and Lisa. The title: “The Volkswagen Breakdown.”