Hello -

I saw a 1987 Westy on a VW dealer's lot yesterday so I checked it out.
Body is in excellent condition, interior is a bit worn, but not bad.
It's the motor I have some reservations about.  First of all the coolant
is green.  Is this a bad sign or do non-phosphate coolants come in all
variety of colors?   Next, the oil filter is Firestone brand.  I thought
generic filters are not good for engine life, and is this a sign of
"uninformed" vanagon owners?  Power mirrors don't work.  More importantly
the muffler looks pretty shot, thoroughly rusted with barely any exhaust
pipe left.  The cat looks pretty rusted too.  No leaks around the heads
as far as I can tell.  I started it up cold, sounded ok, test drove, and
brakes seem pretty ineffective, so some work needs to be done.  Otherwise
it cruised smoothly.

Odometer reads 78,000 miles. Automatic trans, no a/c,   Asking price
$12,000.  Ouch!  I think that's really steep for a 15 year old camper
that's not in pristine condition.

I am currently without a westy, but I want to wait for the right one, and
I have hesitations here especially with respect to the price!  It's there
on consignment.  I'm thinking around $8,000 as a bid.  Does that sound
fair?

Thanks for your input.

Les
Trek 800

________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.