Date: Wed, 4 Mar 1998 09:31:49 -0500
Reply-To: Dave Mancuso <Mancuso@MTWP.K12.PA.US>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Dave Mancuso <Mancuso@MTWP.K12.PA.US>
Subject: Re: Selling the van....my stupid, stupid coolant accident
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
On 3/3/98 8:41 PM EST, NACHTAIN 7 said:
>what kind of van is it?
It's an '87 Westy--white, just waxed up last month. Looks nice, dealers
have complimented it.
It has 172K miles.
All the camping equipment works great, including the sink, stove, and
refrig (propane usually lights up within first couple of tries). Have
both tables, of course.
New pieces I've replaced in the last 70K:
--Battery. Diehard International. 650 CCA, 6 year warranty. The plastic
handle on top of the battery pushes up the cover plate a bit--I haven't
remedied that. Two weeks ago.
--Exhaust, except CAT. Exhaust pieces replaced at various times over the
last 60K miles.
(Will put new muffler on car for sale)
--Water pump. 4K ago.
--KYB gas shocks. 30K ago (?--I think it was about that long ago)
--Starter. 50K ago.
--Michelin MXT 205s. 10 K ago.
--Transmission. 2 years, 50K ago (I put a lot of highway miles on the
car--drove down to Columbia MD for classes for the last two years)
--A/C expansion valve. 90K ago (had to get the A/C working when I bought
the car).
--New front rotors/discs. 50K ago or so. Also various routine brake work
over the last 90K.
--Of course new heads by the dealer. 31K ago. I should find out this week
if the heads or gaskets have gone bad again.
--had the van gone over by the autobody shop last year and touched up any
and all paint dings. (Note: this was in conjunction with replacing a rear
left wheel well panel that had been klunked by another car).
--new left fender panel and bumper (totally new piece from top rear vent
to bumper, welded in) from weird hit and run accident that hooked the
left rear wheel well and ripped it out. I'm lucky no frame damage was
sustained. I have slide pictures of the damage).
--new skylight hatch (smoked plexi, looks nice). Got last fall and
installed it in October.
--new Eclipse speakers in front. Less than 2 years ago, can't remember
the exact time. The van needs $18 window crank extensions to freely clear
the speakers--I have the info on where to get them. Same old VW speakers
in back. Still have the old two front ones, will go with van.
--new water cover plate on side of van (I didn't have a key for the old
one). Also new city water cover. 70K ago, I think.
--New windshield, twice (rock hit it on the highway). The current
windshield has PPG glass, fits real well w/no leaks (the first
replacement leaked). Man, um, 45K ago, I think.
--New alternator. Can't remember how long ago. Summer '96, I think.
--new poptop seal a year or two ago.
--new antenna from VW a while ago, but now I'm getting into piddly stuff.
Probably a couple of other things I haven't thought of yet.
I've never had to replace the clutch--I'm pretty easy on it, and I drive
mostly highway miles. They said it looked good when they replaced the
tranny, didn't need replacing. If the engine needs replacing, I will have
them look at all clutch components.
Oh, I have had the clutch slave cylinder replaced.
Extras:
--rear facing jump seat, back up to passenger seat. Originally from a
weekender, grey velour matches rest of van. Pops out for more space.
--I have an extra new fuel pump I bought on a trip when I thought mine
was going bad 3 years ago. Turned out to be a bad tank of gas. I kept the
pump just in case.
Drawbacks:
--The tent screen is split--I haven't repaired it yet (I have a new
screen to sew in and replace the old one. The tent itself is in great
shape. I also have the windshield privacy curtain, the skylight curtain,
and the back hatch screen.
--the rear heater core leaks when open--I've just kept it shut. I had a
price of $125 for a new core at one time. I think that the existing core
already had the new metal bleeder screw in it, but I'm not sure.
Finally:
I'm not sure if I want to part with my Alpine CD stereo, but if it's
important to a sale, I'll consider it. I have another Aiwa cassette deck
AM/FM stereo I can couple with my Sony amplifier to make up a nice system
for a new owner.
Frankly, this sale may be for the best. Money from the van will help me
with a downpayment on a new house the SO is pushing for. Once I'm in the
new house, I'll be looking for another van...the '95 Winnies should be
dropping in price eventually.... :-)
BTW, I'm in York, PA.
--Dave
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