Terry,
The Carat you're looking at sounds suspicious, at best.  Take it from a
person who's looked at quite a few Vanagons over the last four or six
months.  Wait till you find one that really makes you drool, or one with
problems you know you can fix.

I've been looking at a '91 Carat myself, with 90k miles on it.  The price
is great - $3500 - but I still may hedge on this one.  Tranny's toast, no
rear bumper, big ole dent drivers side rear, interior a 7 out of 10.  The
tranny's not the problem, but the body work spooks me.

If you are the least bit suspicious with what the odometer says, or the
integrity of the seller, wait.  There's one out there with your name on
sure as there's one with mine.  We just gotta find 'em, that's all.

Alan Bosch, aka Ever the Wannabus
Presently:  '92 Passat CL
Formerly:  '69, '71, '73 Bugs, '82 Rabbit L, '82 Rabbit Diesel, '83 GTi,
'88 Fox GL Sport, '94 Jetta III
"...fahn, fahn, fahn, auf der autobahn..."