Date:         Sat, 8 Nov 2003 15:24:49 -0500
Reply-To:     Milo's Kitchen <sagmoore@ZOOMINTERNET.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Milo's Kitchen <sagmoore@ZOOMINTERNET.NET>
Subject:      Re: 1991 or 92 Carat Panic Sale
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hi Volks,
Just an update, went out to see this van, and test drove it,

The Good:
South African grille and round headlight mod. (original grilles still with
the van)
Tiico engine installation about 6-8 thousand miles ago
119,000 miles on the odometer
Interior in good condition except for a tear in the drivers door side panel
upper aft side (3" long)
Michelin Aguilis (sp?) on all four corners, lots of tread, standard alloys
and tire size
Fiberglass bumpers unmolested, small crunch on bottom of LH side skirt aft
of front wheel
Low price, desperate owner

The Bad:
Some squeaking (or moaning, like a small cow) from under the front end while
slow speed steering as in backing out of a parking space, (not the "A" arm
bushings).
Some bubbly seam rust starting in various places (the usual suspects) and
the drivers side step pad has a good case going on at the outer edge
Power mirrors have been replaced with VW manually adjustable mirrors, mirror
switch still in place.
Passenger side power window inop.
Engine compartment has some rusty brackets, but nothing serious. However,
the transmission case (I know its aluminum alloy) looks for all the world
like its rusting! No scientific analysis was conducted to support this
observation.
Possible auto trans issue, (low fluid perhaps). My driving impression after
just traveling 1100 miles in a stock Carat with auto trans (157000 miles),
was that it was somewhat sluggish starting out, just doesn't want to roll
from a start like the stock version. (not high RPMs like slipping observed,
either). However once underway, the forward progress is normal except that
it doesn't run out of breath. A hum occurs at @ 3900 to 4100 rpm (Tiico
brackets? Don't know, first time I've driven one). After doing some highway
and then back road driving, we came to a stop prior to pulling back out on
the highway on uphill grade. RPM came up for about half a second till the
torque converter finally jerked into motion.

The woman that owns this van met my wife a while ago at my son's music
lessons, we had not seen the van before today. My impression is that the
present owners are the type of people that buy a new car, and when it needs
a quart of oil, they buy a another new one.  Buying the Vanagon was an
aberration.  The Husband definitely thought that this was his wife's
"mistake" and hers to dispose of.

Dave Milo