Date:         Sun, 16 Nov 2003 11:32:41 -0500
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Genuine VW Sound Deadening Mats!
In-Reply-To:  <4c99654c7654.4c76544c9965@gci.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

I had mentioned these in passing on a previous post, and got some emails
about them, so I put them on my site now.

These are genuine VW sound absorbing mats, designed to sit on the engine
deck to reduce interior engine noise when driving. They were about $500
when last offered by Volkswagen as a factory-option in Germany, back
when Vanagons were still made. I found 10 of them in Germany and have
them coming here now (due in about 3 weeks), at about half of the
original price. While this price is slightly higher than I had guessed
in my last email (as I'd underestimated both their shipping weight and
the abysmal value of the U.S. dollar), the nearly 50% savings puts it in
an realistic price range (whereas at $500 it was a bit steep even for
some of the upscale German buyers for whom it was originally intended).
It's well worth considering if you find the engine noise level of your
Vanagon a bit loud (particularly if you frequently have rear passengers,
who get the worst of the engine drone since their ears are just above
rear-deck level).

You can see details and a picture at

http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=255863405P1UT

The picture is a bit misleading, by the way. Don't let its "thin-ness"
fool you; it's a heavyweight mat, not a thin piece of carpet. It is
intentionally thin so that if you have a sofabed, you can put it under
your mattress without raising the mattress so high as to interfere when
sleeping. If you don't have a rear mattress, it has a carpeted finish on
one side so it can be used freestanding.

Unfortunately, these won't work with poptop campers (with a cabinet
behind the rear seat), as they're full-width. Otherwise there would be
only 9 for sale, as I'd be keeping one for myself.

The ten I have coming are all that will ever be. They were the last
remaining in a German warehouse where they'd been sitting forgotten for
over a decade. You can reserve one online at the above link.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215)  234-VWVW

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