Felicia,
I think you should be able to do better than 7500 for that many miles,
especially without recent work on the heads.  If you're willing to wait a
little while (and drive 200 miles), you should be able to find something for
a thou or two less.

My advice to someone buying a vanagon (or any car, I guess) is to spend a
month aggressively looking, but NOT buying anything.  That way you'll get a
better feel for what's out there, so that when the really good deal comes
along, you'll know it.

-Wes

On Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 3:00 PM, Felicia <Felicia@brazenserpent.org> wrote:

> Greetings,
>
> First post, here.  I've been lurking, reading the archives and current
> discussions.
> Used to drive a plain jane Mitsubishi L300 with a futon & camping gear
> tossed in back and was sorry to see her go when she developed
> electrical problems.
>
> Nothing like the 85 Westy I'm about to drive 200 miles roundtrip to go
> check out.
> This Westy's got 211,000 miles on the original engine and tranny.
> For comparision, another Westy in the vicinity just sold for $6500 with
> 155,000 miles on the original engine and tranny.
>
> I'm in NorCal near Chico and would like to drive her out to the coastal
> redwoods (4 hr drive)
> and then up through Oregon along the Columbia river gorge.  That means
> going East to West across mountain passes, and then some.  But, it
> seems to me that's taking an awful chance...
> at 211,000 miles, isn't it waaaaay overdue for a new tranny/engine
> overhaul/replacement/blown head gasket?
> Also, the a/c doesn't work. Could be all it needs is freon recharge...
> or new seals.
>
> Other questions:
> What can I reasonably expect to pay a good VW mechanic for engine
> overhaul & transmission work when needed?
> Would you pay $7500 for a Westy with 211,000 miles on the engine if
> everything else (not the ac) looks and sounds good?  What's a
> reasonable offer in California?
>
> thanks a million,
>
> Felicia - rank noOb
>