Jack said:
>My friend is talking with a dealer in the SF Bay area about a '89 Westy. 
>The van has about 70K miles and is imaculate - Power steering, brakes, 
>Air <needs service - no cooling>, automatic, but otherwise seems a very 
>nice van. They are sticking with a price of $17.1K and are quoting a 
>"Blue Book" of nearly $21.
>What say you all - They have refused $16K saying they paid more <doubt 
>it, but maybe>.

That seems to be *very* expensive. There are many "blue books." The
dealers quote different ones depending on whether they are buying or
selling. Go to your local library and check out a pro-consumer "blue
books," Edmunds or other. My November '94 "NADA official used car guide
(retail consumer edition)" (that's from the dealer association!) quotes
$11,675 for low retail and $15,775 for high retail for the '89 Westy as
described above. Off the cuff, I'd say you should be able to find a
similar van for $10,000 -12,000 from private. Don't buy from a dealer,
especially if you know your way around cars.

Sami

-- 
Sami Dakhlia
Dept. of Economics
Washington-University-in-St.Louis	
dakhlia@wuecona.wustl.edu