Date: Wed, 20 May 2020 21:18:04 -0500
Reply-To: Abel Longoria <houstonphotog@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Abel Longoria <houstonphotog@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Heads-Up - Potential Odometer Fraud
In-Reply-To: <A9A3CDAD-3764-4739-AB5B-89F059262A67@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Damn. Ouch.
I was thinking $9k
On Wed, May 20, 2020, 7:58 PM Vanagon Man <t3vanagon@gmail.com> wrote:
> $17k-ish
>
> On May 20, 2020, at 6:11 PM, Abel Longoria <houstonphotog@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
> Yea... Not cool. Pass.
>
> How were their prices? If they're low enough maybe someone looking to get
> into a van relatively inexpensively will take a chance on them.
>
> On Wed, May 20, 2020, 6:52 PM VW Vanagon <t3vanagon@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Yeah, Peacevans would be a no-brainer.
>> I've been following them for a while and am consistently impressed by how
>> well they maintain their fleet.
>>
>> This on the other hand, was *clearly* a van that was not properly cared
>> for.
>> They have no idea what service or maintenance has been done on any
>> of their rigs. Period.
>> And again, wouldn't even let me hear it run.
>> I would ask and there was no acknowledgement that I'd even asked a
>> question.
>>
>> And for the sake of perspective, here are some of the odometer readings:
>> 7/12/2003 - 168,172
>> 3/15/2005 - 103,974
>> 3/9/2007 - 87,851
>> 3/10/2009 - 71,890
>> 4/2/2011 - 98,749
>> 4/18/2019 - 189,072
>>
>> Last night I was told it has 189,073 miles on it, which (all things being
>> equal) would tell me that it hasn't moved in over a year.
>> Today on the call that went down to 145,000 and I was told that she
>> mistakenly gave me the miles of a different van. . .
>>
>> But to then tell me it's simply not important and that it's someone
>> else's fault without hesitation or any other consideration tells me that
>> I'm not the first to bring it up...
>>
>> This surpassed "red flag" stage and went straight into "traffic flares on
>> an interstate overpass train derailment" stage in the span of about 3
>> minutes.
>>
>> But if this process was simple, it wouldn't feel like a rewarding
>> accomplishment on the other side, would it?
>>
>> Onward!!!
>>
>> On Wed, May 20, 2020 at 5:26 PM Abel Longoria <houstonphotog@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> What's probably true in this case is they have so many vans they don't
>>> know the history or story on all of them.... I know when I rented. It
>>> wasn't necessarily the best kept van mechanically. It was a money maker so
>>> maintenance was probably minimal.
>>>
>>> All the more reason not to purchase a van that's been used as a rental
>>> vehicle.
>>>
>>> Although... I've rented from Peacevans as well and those vans are
>>> awesome. I'd purchase one from them in a heartbeat.
>>>
>>> Good luck with your search
>>>
>>> On Wed, May 20, 2020, 6:21 PM VW Vanagon <t3vanagon@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Valid argument. Fine for others, but that ain't my jam.
>>>> Like I said, there were other red flags - like "I don't know how to
>>>> drive a manual transmission, so I can't let it idle."
>>>> And telling me different mileage today than she did less than 12 hours
>>>> ago, by 40k+.
>>>> And the list goes on and on.
>>>>
>>>> Bottom line is that f I can't trust the seller to tell me basic
>>>> information, I can't trust that the van is ANYTHING they say it is.
>>>>
>>>> Caveat emptor. . .
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, May 20, 2020 at 5:16 PM Abel Longoria <houstonphotog@gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Really not important in my mind either. I bought my van with a broken
>>>>> speedo/odometer. I replaced it with a new speedo that was zeroed out
>>>>> mileage wise.
>>>>>
>>>>> If the van is in good shape and it looks good mechanically then I
>>>>> wouldn't worry about it too much. These are 30 year old vehicles. They're
>>>>> gonna have a lot of miles on them... That's just how it is.
>>>>>
>>>>> Abel.
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, May 20, 2020, 6:13 PM VW Vanagon <t3vanagon@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Howdy all-
>>>>>> I'm in the process of finding an 86+ Westy to start taking my family
>>>>>> on
>>>>>> some Montana adventures.
>>>>>> (side note: if you have a lead on a solid one, hit me up).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> In the process of the search, I came across a listing for an '89 in
>>>>>> Maui
>>>>>> (turned out to be a damaged, spray painted and rust-eaten can on
>>>>>> wheels)
>>>>>> and that, in turn, turned me on to some folks down in CA who are
>>>>>> selling
>>>>>> the last few of their rental fleet.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I texted back and forth with the seller last night and arranged for a
>>>>>> video
>>>>>> call today to check things out.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Throughout the very short call, there were red flags *ALL OVER THE
>>>>>> PLACE*!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I won't go into the gory details, but I ran the CarFax report and
>>>>>> immediately saw that the odometer has clearly been rolled back
>>>>>> multiple
>>>>>> times over the course of the past 10-14 years.
>>>>>> I asked her about it, and got all kinds of excuses and reasons why it
>>>>>> wasn't important.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This will be my 3rd Vanagon, and with the previous two I learned to
>>>>>> follow
>>>>>> my gut and *always* to run a CarFax report!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Moral of the story:
>>>>>> THAT REPORT IS GOLD!
>>>>>> GET IT EVERY TIME! :)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The search goes on!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> -Drew
>>>>>> Missoula, MT
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> *Drew*
>>>> Missoula, MT
>>>>
>>>> Searching for our next Westy!
>>>>
>>>
>>
>> --
>> *Drew*
>> Missoula, MT
>>
>> Searching for our next Westy!
>>
>
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