Sounds like he's having second thoughts about letting the Westy go at the
agreed-upon price!!

I can't speak to the towing issue, but funny you should ask about safety -
someone just sent this URL out to the list yesterday, and I, for one, was
very impressed.

http://www.251.org/volvocrash.html

<A HREF="http://www.251.org/volvocrash.html">Volkswagens! Vanagons to GTIs</A>

The "Car Guys" on NPR recently quipped that in a front-end collision in a
Vanagon the first point of contact is your feet.   That may be true, but...I
just don't really care.  I would find it difficult to believe that a Caravan
would fare any better in a similar collision.  Actually, you can use the car
guys' site to get safety info on both of these models... WWW.cartalk.com.  I
think you can also get insurance quotes.

I have never had any issues with insuring my Vanagon.  I have a good record,
the car is paid off, and my rates are relatively low, but I guess it depends
on the state you live in, too.

Good luck with your choice.
-Lauren