Date:         19 Sep 1995 00:26:10 U
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Steve Hoge" <steve_hoge@qmmac.emu.com>
Subject:      My Syncro Obsession Sated?

                       Subject:                               Time:11:40 PM
  OFFICE MEMO          My Syncro Obsession Sated?             Date:9/18/95

*** WARNING *** NEWBIE POSTING *** WARNING ***

Howdy folks...

After reading out-of-town classifieds and browsing the web for months I may
have found the Syncro-of-my-dreams just a few miles from my house here in
S.Cruz.  The lady wants $10.5K for a (cosmetically, at least) mint '87 with
80K miles, always garaged, maintained by the book at the dealer's, a few trips
to the snow, never been off-road. It's a CA car.  It's also the only Syncro
I've ever seen that didn't have A/C - instead, there's a huge,
mechanically-cranked sunroof that runs lengthwise amidships.   Also, the only
Vanagon I've seen without the pullout bed over the engine hatch :(. 

Although it looks great, as soon as I climbed underneath I was nearly hit in
the face by a big fat drop of coolant dripping from the rear skid plate, and
the reservoir was below MIN.  I felt some uneveness in the acceleration and
they claimed that although they've experienced the infamous intermittent FI
cutout problem, it hasn't shown up for along time.  The idle is terribly
uneven but they also claim it's been that way from day one, that the dealer
tried and failed to cure it, and that it hasn't led to anything worse.  

My guys here at the Volks Cafe are going to give it the fine-tooth-comb
treatment, but I thought I'd solicit input from the greater community of
experts in the group.  Does this sound like a reasonable deal?  The owners
said they specifically chose high Blue Book because of the low mileage/hi
cosmetics, but the price still seemed high to me, especially after looking in
other used-car price guides (Edmunds on-line and N.A.D.A Mt. States edition). 
 And unquestionably, the price is out-of-whack if I'm looking at a head gasket
replacement,  not to mention the heinous, dreaded "ghost harness" (ooh - gives
me shivvers just thinking about it).  I'm also wondering if there should be a
price hit for the lack of A/C and pullout bed?

So, am I blowing it if I pay over $10K for a car like this?  All my rational
senses are screaming "Toyota LE", but some more primal urge (is it
testosterone-based?) is whispering "a VW van with 4WD? TOO COOL, dude". 
Whaddaya think?


Steve Hoge
'77 Type II
'87 Vanagon Syncro (coming soon?)


PS: Did Don Lancaster's Electronics Now article describing his fix for the
"bucking Vanagon" phenomenon (resoldering a cold joint on an ECU resistor)
ever get posted anywhere? Recent budget cuts preclude our local library from
carrying this periodical...