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Date:         Mon, 3 Apr 2000 20:42:12 -0700
Reply-To:     Shawn Wright <swright@MAIL.SLS.BC.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Shawn Wright <swright@MAIL.SLS.BC.CA>
Subject:      Syncro: To buy or not to buy....
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Hello again to the folks here... I've been off list for a while now, being busy with two little ones, with the poor Westy retired for the past two winters... And just as I was ready to put the plates back on our '88 Westy, (I just out fresh synthetic oil in on the weekend), I was told about a Syncro in the paper today. It's an '86, with 117k kms on it, asking $11K CDN, which sounds too good to not at least *look* at. (It's rare to see a Syncro Westy below $16K in these parts)

So tonight we looked and drove. At first glance, it doesn't look as nice as our '88, but closer inspection reveals some seam rust, but no serious rot, certainly much less than our current Westy.

It has a left front CV joint knock. It's had new head gaskets last year. Trans rebuild at 76k km (which seems awfully early doesn't it?). New Muffler. Tires are not great, could last a season maybe. It has a Webasto gas heater in the engine compartment, with a digital control on the driver's side dash, which appear to be plumbed into the coolant system, very slick. The interior is mostly in quite good shape with the low mileage.

By contrast, our '88 has 350k km, rebuilt trans last year, new water pump, runs very well (started first crank after being stored since Sept) on engine rebuilt at 166k. Body *looks* great, but has some significant rust in the foot wells. Interior is quite good, even though well used.

So now my dilemma: Do we spend $10-11K on this Syncro that we don't have, and hope to sell our '88 for $8-9K (maybe less, I don't really know), and end up with a low mileage Syncro that I've always wanted... Or do I forget that I even saw the ad, and go on enjoying our wonderful Westy for another 5-10 years? (garage kept, driven only 5-10k per year, I fully expect it to last this long)

I'd love any advice on this one, along with tips on what else to look at if i decide to get more serious (ie: what to check on the diff lock, other syncro specific stuff). If you could send replies to me directly please; I'm still off list at the moment...

Thanks.

Shawn Wright, I.T. Manager Shawnigan Lake School swright@SLS.bc.ca http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright http://www.sls.bc.ca


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