I'm a newbie, but have been reading the archives for over a year.  I finally
found my Westy (good) but bought it without having it checked out first (very
stupid, but the PO seemed so honest.) It's an 85 with 116K and the clincher
for me was that I was told it had an 87 rebuilt engine with only 10K .

So it died on the way home, of course, and I barely managed to get it to the
dealer (yes, I know, another stupid).  The dealer supposedly checked things
out, had to put in a new starter and rear brakes and cylinders (you don't want
to know how much that cost) and did a compression test.  The engine is an 87 I
guess, because the number starts with MV.  However, the number one cylinder
only had 50 psi (the others were okay.)  Head gaskets were okay, water pump
too.  I took her to the mountains this week and she drank over two quarts of
oil !

This is not good, I know.  For one thing, we have annual safety inspections
here that involve emissions testing and she probably won't pass, right?  The
dealer offered to put a new engine in for $2,500.  I said, "Hmmmm," and drove
off with occasional burps of black smoke.

I love this vehicle already.  I looked for her for over two years, and I want
to take good care of her, but I am not a mechanic and am frantically looking
for one within a 30 mile radius of Charlotte, NC who will have compassion for
a monetarily poor (but emotionally rich) schoolteacher.  If anyone out there
knows of such a VW superhero, please let me know.

My number one question right now is, should I be driving this oil burner?  Am
I hurting her?  And most of all, do I really need a new engine?

Vicki Derrer
85 Westy  (just barely)