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Date:         
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         David Lamitie
Subject:      1985 Vanagon

Is $1,250 a good deal for a 1985 Vanagon w/ 115,000 miles?  Is it too =
good
of a price, that is should I expect a major problem?

I have an '85 GL, and I paid around $3400, but it has a newly rebuilt =
motor and clutch, and the interior is "schweeet".  The book value was =
around $3700.

One thing I did was take the vehicle to my local VW dealership before =
finalizing the purchase.  I basically offered them some bux to look it =
over, and give me an assessment.  When they blessed it, I included that =
info in my decision.  That might help you make yours, but...from my own =
limited and recent experience, unless the CV joints have been replaced =
or greased religiously about every 30k miles, I would think you should =
save up the approx 200 a side for that job.

Being a typical used vehicle, I had to turn the rotors and drums, =
probably replace left side CVs, flush and fill the coolant sys with =
phosphate free antifreeze, replace back tires, thrust angle alignment, =
and balance all wheels.

All of these steps were pretty much necessary, and provided the CV job =
works out right, this puppy should be reasonably stable (given proper =
maintenance, and staying in the green band on the tach) for years.

If the body and interior on your intended are in lovely shape, and you =
have enough budget to start laying bux aside for the inevitable ( =
probably ) engine rebuild and CV replacement, then if the dealer blesses =
the vehicle, I would seriously consider it.

-=3DChris=3D-