A good friend a neighbor recently had his '88 Vanagon (Wolfsburg Edition)
totaled in a crash in North Seattle.  He was driving to work (on a quiet
residential street) about 6:30 in the morning when a guy - fleeing from an
earlier collision, just a few blocks away (with the original victim in
pursuit!) - rounded the corner at high speed and hit my friend's van head
on.  (You may have seen pictures of the accident on the local news last
week; it was fairly spectacular).   Fortunately, while the perp also fled
this accident, the damage to his vehicle was sufficiently severe that the
car died a couple of blocks away (after leaving a trail of ATF and coolant
down the street) where he was arrested.   Amazingly, my friend was not
seriously injured, but the van was completely totaled.

My friend is now in a battle with the insurance agency to determine 'fair
market value' for his loss.  As you NW'ers know, Vanagons are highly prized
in this area, and bluebook values vastly understate the true (i.e. fair
market) value of these vehicles.

If anyone in the Seattle area has copies of recent adds for '88 Vanagons or
other information about recent offers to sell or actual purchases that could
be useful in establishing a fair insurance settlement price, or indeed any
information or suggestions about how to proceed, it would be much
appreciated.

Here are the particulars for my friends Vanagon (ex-Vanagon):

'88 Vanagon Wolfsburg Edition
2 WD.  Approximately 250K.  Recently rebuilt transmission and new heads,
radiator and water pump.
Custom alloy wheels
The body and vehicle in general were in impeccable condition (my friend owns
a body shop specializing in high-end European autos and is an excellent
mechanic)

Feel free to email me with any info directly:  wneuetc@gmail.com

Again, many thanks!

-Wes