In a message dated 9/29/04 10:52:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
slagskot@HOTMAIL.COM writes:

>
> > I just got a free carfax report from a friend...   Ran the VIN on my
> > van and it has the first record of the VIN in 2001.  I wonder if that
> > means it wasn't in the US prior to that date?
> >
>

im 99.99% positive your van was sold in germany, during the "foriegn
purchase" european delivery program..  vw doesnt do that anymore..but you used to be
able to fly over to europe, buy a US SPEC (MPH speedo, Cat, DOT headlights,
etc) vw over there, drive it around europe while vacationing over there, and then
VW paid to have it shipped back over as part of the purchase program....some
buyers just took an extended vacation...:<)    my ex-'86 westy was bought in
germany and driven around europe for a few yrs before being shipped to the US..
 it too, had a bunch of cool european travel club stickers on it..  it even
had a RF european turn signal lens on it..when in europe the orig owners bumped
into something and broke the US DOT spec turn signal lens..so they got a Euro
spec one as a replacement..  (the US DOT spec have a flat face and
reflectors, the Euro have a "nich" cut out of them and no reflectors)   it also had the
floor tracks for the middle seat too.   one strange thing about it  - it was
ordered with NO radio..  it didnt even have any speakers in the front
doorpanels!!!  and yes it was a GL..

chris