Anyway, I live in an apartment now, = it's hard to give the Vanagon the attention it needs in this environment. I = don't need two cars. I'm posting it for sale her on the list and nowhere else.

The van now has 218,000 miles. At = 142,000 I had a new VW remanufactured engine installed and I've found this engine = to be as reliable as any engine in any car I've ever had. The engine was = installed in March 1996. I have performed synthetic oil changes and filter = changes using OEM Bosch filters at 5,000 mile intervals. There is a = K&N air filter installed. All of the engine compartment fuel lines have = been replaced. The engine has Bosch 4-prong platinum plugs = installed. Many parts of the cooling system have been replaced over the years = including all new heater hoses, new radiator, new rear heater heat exchanger, new = expansion tank, new bleeder valve fitting (large hose junction in the back) and = several other minor hoses. In 1996 new shocks were installed. In 1997 I = had remanufactured axles installed.

The van consistently gets an honest 19 = MPG in combination urban/highway driving and has gotten as high as 23 MPG on = long highway trips. The van suffers from occasional erratic idle and = always has--it never seems to get any worse.

The air conditioning functions probably = as well as it ever did in any '85 Vanagon. I had a new compressor installed = in Summer 1995 and a new valve installed a couple of years ago. The system = is tight and leak free. The windows have an additional tint = applied.

in late '97 I had a new set of = Bridgestone RD603s installed, my second set. I really like these tires and the first = set lasted a good 45,000 miles. These have been on for 26,000 miles now.

Physically the van is sound. = Cosmetically, the interior is almost perfect, it's clean, it rattles very = little. I've added insulation in body cavities and my mechanic says it's the quietest = Vanagon he's ever driven. Exterior is average, with a few bumps here and there--nothing major. Both front and rear bumper are perfect--the rear = bumper is new (aftermarket). The interior color is blue and the exterior is silver. There is a very small area of rust in one corner of a back = window--no rust elsewhere at all. One of the neighbor kids drilled = wooden match slivers into the door locks--I've been able to fix all of the = cylinders but the driver door. That cylinder will probably have to be = removed to get the sliver out.

I'm sure there's a lot I'm leaving out = here even with this rambing message. I'm not in a huge hurry to part with it = and I would love to sell it to someone on the West Coast so I could drive it = across country before it gets really hot (the engine will cool--my problem is = that I won't).

I'm asking $3000 (firm, plus my = transportation costs back to Atlanta) for a van that's ready for cosmetic = restoration. I can't think of anything it really need right now aside from an oil = change if it hits 210,000 miles before I sell it. I'll even put a new = alternator on (I put an aftermarket remanufactured one on and they seem to last two = years with lifetime warranties--they give me a bit of advance notice that = they're failing and I just take the thing back and pop a new free one = on).