Date:         Fri, 6 Jun 1997 17:00:30 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         mholser@Adobe.COM (Malcolm Holser)
Subject:      VIN numbers...

Well, I'm going down in the morning to pick up my new Doublecab in
LA.  We are going to take a train ride from San Jose along the coast,
and make a bit of a vacation with the trip. My wife has been pestering
me for years to take a train ride, and the California coastal route is
supposed to be one of the prettiest.  Last time I rode this train was
in 1962.  Just after we sold our 23-window 1953.

So about the subject.  I will now have two Syncro Transporters.  Odd thing
is that they are only 40 vehicles apart in sequence,

   WV2XB0256GG054732  Kombi
   WV2VB0240GG054692  Doublecab
                 ___
                  40

I have heard there were about 25,000 Syncros built over the 5 years of 
production.  About 5 thousand a year, or an average of 20 per day.  I
don't know, but suspect the production rates were highest the first
year, and fell dramatically afterwards, though, so it is really probable
that these two trucks were actually produced on the same day -- February
7th, 1986 (this is the day the Kombi was built).  Kinda cool to think that
they started off in the same place, on the same day, and Sunday will be
a reunion for these two trucks.

Now if I can snag the Syncro Westy I looked at...  Advice is apprciated!
The Syncro westy is *also* an '86.  It appears to be in pristine condition,
except for severe checking on the padded dashboard as a result of too much
Baja sun.  The downside is that the engine is reputed to be very tired --
the owner claims it won't hold oil pressure, and was diagnosed as needing
a new engine.  It has a new front diff, new trans, all new C/V's and 
driveshaft.  I'm sure it needed them, too, as it has over 200,000 miles
(over 320,000 km) on it, travelling the beaches of Baja.  Of course, 
there is not a single speck of rust!  I ran this through Edmund's and
Kelly Blue Book.  Edmunds gives a value of $6670, minus $4000 for the high
mileage, for a value of $2670 (I'll buy it for that!).  Kelly does not seem
to dink it on the mileage so much, giving a book value of about $7500.
Kelly claims a "dealer" book of nearly $14,000 (Edmunds is $6,005 in the same
measure -- dealer retail.  Edmunds only goes back ten years, to 1987, so
the figures are for an '87).  Most of the Syncro Westies we see advertised
at high prices don't seem to sell -- the two I've looked at in the San Jose
area were both pulled from the market because of lack of interest, one
at $14k and one at $11k, both '87's.  Neither seller wanted to drop the
price at all, and nobody seemed interested in them at this price. The ones
advertised on the list have not sold, either.  In fact, the only recent sale
I'm aware of was Joe Ernest (maybe?) getting that '89 pristine red one in
LA off the EPages for $5,700.  So can I get a poll of what anybody would
be willing to actually pay for one of these, what somebody *has* paid recently,
or what somebody has sold one for recently?

Apparently, this one has been for sale for *months* already, and I'm the first
person who has called.  It was parked in Newport Beach, on the coast highway,
surfboard racks and all, so at least a bazillion folks have passed it by.
The owners said they saw many lookie-loo's, but nobody ever called.  Asking
price was $11,500, but they are getting desparate (moving to Baja, where they
are currently).  They are retiring it because parts are impossible to get in
Mexico.  I commented that the "proper" Mexican Baja rig was a Ford F250.
Their reply was that they need to sell this to help pay for the Ford F350
they bought.  Great minds...

malcolm

We are thinking of reducing our fleet and consolidating on mechanically 
identical vans -- 1986 Syncros, although we are not thinking of losing
the 1986 GL, but six Vanagons plus two other cars is getting excessive
even for me.  Can only drive two or three at a time, you know.