Date:         Friday, September 01, 1995 7:56PM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         vanagon
Subject:      I put some money down on an '84!!!

Well, we did it.  As a family that owns 3 VW's already, we knew we had to
stay with the "type" when it came time to get a bigger family car (our third
child is on the way, and we love our '79 Westy).  We really like the
vanagons for how quiet they are and how nice the interiors are.  Well
anyway, on to the important stuff...

It's an '84 GL model with 7 seats.  The interior is very close to perfect
(small tear in the headliner by the back window.  All the seatbelts are
there, and in perfect working order.  The seats look like no-one has ever
sat in them.  The carpets look original, with light wear in traffic areas.
The outside is two tone brown/tan.  The paint is original with few scratches
(it'll get more...) there are NO dents, except the back bumper.  The tires
are good, with very even wear on them.  Steel rims with hoky plastic "wire
spoke" hubcaps (my apologies if I'm buying your old car).  It doesn't have
any rust.  It doesn't have air conditioning.  It does have an aftermarket
glass sunroof over the front seats, looks to be well installed.

My wife had called earlier in the day to tell me about the ad she had found.
When I called, he told me that it was a 5 speed.  This didn't sound right
but hey, it's friday...   Of course it turned out to be a four speed, (but I
do know what the "ultra rare" five speed is if any of you can stomach the
answer.  Hint:  they are easy to find.)  Anyway, the motor is very clean,
and doesn't leak anything (Usually on a VW that means there's nothing in it
:)   ).

At first I thought that it wasn't a liquid cooled car when I popped under
the back.  "Hell", I thought "That's my BUS motor!".  I had to go up front
to see the second grill and verify that there was plumbing up there.  This
motor was not like the one I looked at in a '90 a few weeks ago.  It
definitely shares parts with my '79.  Anyway, the coolant is blue (and 
clean).

There has been no ham fisted son of a bitch with duct tape and vise grips
working on this car (you people know who you are).  Everything is factory,
and everything is in place.  When I had asked over the phone what the miles
were, he said 178,000 but added that it ran really sweet and had obviously
had engine work recently done.  He said that he had taken it on vacation to
Oregon about a month earlier and it ran fine (what ever that's worth).

Well.  I did the Muir trick of sitting in the car, scrunching my but down in
the seat and really "getting in to" the car.  It felt great.  I was about to
burst.  I asked the salesman if I could hear it run.  He gave me the keys,
said it had plenty of gas and that I should just feel free to drive it for a
while.  My kids already had their seatbelts on (Anybody know if kids ever
decide on a single seat?).  I started it and let it idle for a minute.  Very
smooth, very quiet.  Almost identical to the '90 we checked out (which was
admitedly a very sweet vanagon, but I couldn't afford it).

It had very good power, very good brakes, drove hands of on rutted pavement,
over bumpy roads (I mean BUMPY roads that I should have probably driven
slowly down).  Doesn't clunk, rattle, smoke, die, grind gears, jump for the
weeds when a truck flies by...
I realised why he just let me drive away.  He didn't have to say anything,
or tell me any lies.  It was perfect.  My four year old informed me that we
were in the Magic School Bus.  Sold.

I gave him $250 dollars  (It's going to cost me $4500).  He's going to hold
it for a month while I get rid on my Rabbit convertible and come up with the
rest of the money.  I know, I'm supposed to get a mechanic to check it out.
I am my mechanic.  I have bought pieces of crap before, one of lifes
important lessons.

I figure it this way.  The car was obviously impeccably (sp?) maintained.
Most aren't, they are just fixed as needed.  I could have found an '84 for
less, I could have bought a later model water cooled for the same.  We
learned something when we bought our '79 Westy.  When you look for a good
"bus" you are competing with others who know what they want.  The good ones
go right away, there are lots of lame ones.  This one is a gem, and I
couldn't pass it up.

Wish me luck

'79 Westy
'80 Rabbit convertible (for sale)
'75 Rabbit four door (for sale)