Both burgundy?� No problem!� I knew a fellow who only bought blue motorcycles.� He had one when he got married and he claimed his wife never knew when he got a different one because (he thought) she paid scant attention to his hobby.� Whether this actually works or not I can't say, but there's always the "His & Hers" aspect of matching vans and this approach might work. So cute!� Surely your wife is as tasteful, discriminating, adventurous and enthusiastic as you are, so convincing her should be easy.

Stephen

--- On Mon, 5/25/09, Mark A Kippert <vanagon@KIPPERT.COM> wrote:

From: Mark A Kippert <vanagon@KIPPERT.COM>
Subject: Torn between two Carats
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Date: Monday, May 25, 2009, 9:56 AM

I went to look at 1990 Vanagon Carat someone is selling for parts or
to restore. Mainly it has engine trouble. The owner says that after
about 10 minutes you get the low oil pressure alarm and it looses
power (won't accelerate). It has other minor issues and a pretty
decent body. They want $500.

Here's the thing. While looking at it (at a local VW repair shop) I
spotted 1988 Carat! It was in pretty much the same condition. The shop
owner is selling this one. He said the engine knocks. He bought it
from the original owner and has an extra engine. Unfortunately he
doesn't have time to work on it and wants about $500. This one is a
Wolfsburg edition.

Both are burgundy. Both have a full set of Carat Wheels with caps.
Both bodies are decent although the '88 has some minor seam rust. The
'90 has an rough rear bumper and needs a rear window. Both are
automatic (lie my parts van).

I have my '86 GL and an '87 GL for parts.

I like the '90 just a little better but wonder if I should consider
the '88 since I have an '87 parts van.

Heck I'd like to buy both but my wife will likely kill me for showing
up with just one of them.

Is there an advantage to buying the '90 over the '88 in terms parts
availability or ease of repair?

Is one more valuable than the other?

Thanks for any input.

Mark K
1986 GL/2WD/4SPD