With a sad heart, I recently said goodbye to my Syncro. I recently traded it in to buy a tiny (tinny?) rice-burner. After driving many cars (golf, jetta, saturn, impreza, neon, samurai, etc) I came to the conclusion that the Syncro has a most awesome suspension. It's much quieter than any of the above mentioned vehicles. Also, even though there's lots of body lean, I could corner faster in it than in either a Jetta /// or my new car, a ummm, gulp, Suzuki Swift GT.

Well, maybe corner faster isn't quite accurate. I could take certain curves on my commute and local highway off-ramps at higher speeds in the vanagon than in the above mentioned cars.

Anyway, why did I sell, instead of fixing it? Well, here's what was wrong:

Head gasket leaking leaking oil cooler (coolant) noisy water pump low (125psi) compression clutch slipping brakes soft and spongy a/c contained no freon no power with O2 sensor attached and running closed-loop helicoiled oil drain plug leaked tranny noisy 119K miles ------------ add these items up and you get Big Repair Bill

Also, the transmission did not come equipped with the differential lock. My plan is to buy a Syncro Camper in the next few years, with the diff lock and fewer miles. They seem to come up for sale fairly regularly here in the Bay Area.

I assume that the dealer will either wholesale it right away, or maybe let it sit on the lot for a while, and see if anyone bites. I doubt that the dealer will fix any of the above problems, since none of them (except the lack of freon and soft brakes) are apparent during a test drive. The clutch only slips when starting out on steep San Francisco hills. The leak from the head gasket is only visible when the engine is running, and then it's so slow, that you need to run at a fast idle for 5 minutes or so to get a drip to come out onto the pavement. At highway speeds, the coolant dribbles out a bit faster.

I didn't feel comfortable about selling it to a private individual with so many flaws. I didn't feel bad at all about trading it in, though.

So, if you happen to be looking for a Syncro, and see one at Bob Lewis VW in San Jose, CA (or any other car dealer) that fits this description, get it discounted:

1987 Vanagon GL Syncro Titian Red (burgundy) long scratch (with touch-up paint applied) on passenger side at rear No differential lock (unusual, it seems) California plates Vin #???? (I can email to those interested) No wheel covers, or non-stock wheel covers Black 3-piece carpet mat in front New michelin MXL tires (left rear is French, balance are Spanish) black dash-mat (carpety thing to protect the dashboard) Awesome kenwood stereo (pull-out am/fm cassette) graphic equalizer/amp by steering column, 6 speakers 119000+ miles

I feel really bad about getting rid of it, but not as bad as having another $3-$4000 on my visa cards...

-Jim macklow@sybase.com