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Be careful what you ask for,,,,

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 6:13 pm
by fishesfromtupperware
Hello all!
<paste T.Low's introduction here> Well, almost.

I'm a former North-wet-ner that's been relocated south. Moved to Jacksonville FL 2 years ago from PDX and left my beloved '86 VW Westy there. It'd been parked for 7 years waiting for me to put the 2nd engine I'd built for it in the 5 years before that. Wonderful vehicle, not so wonderful powerplant.

Like T.Low and many others, I've eyeballed the Sportmobile as being what the westy wanted to be. The perfect kayak hauler/RV that fits in a normal parking space.
Then a fellow I work with said he was selling his '94 Astro AWD Ext w/74k miles on it because it burned too much gas and he sold the boat that he used it to pull. Visions of Syncro danced through my head (except waaay more reliable and worst gas milage).
So before I plunked down the $1500 he was asking (ok price? <its immaculate>), I figured I'd check the electronic oracle to see who's already BTDT.

And here y'all are! WOW! You really gotta be careful what you ask for. Waay too much good stuff here. I have not sealed the deal yet, but I've already been in contact with GTRV and cruising craigslist for a S-10 transfer case.

I'll post a "before" pic next week sometime. I know I'll have plenty of questions and hopefully something to contribute. I'm just glad I stumbled in. :D

Re: Be careful what you ask for,,,,

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 7:40 pm
by snapple
Welcome! Let me be the first to say.... WE LOVE PICS! :cheers:

Re: Be careful what you ask for,,,,

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 8:42 pm
by mdmead
Welcome! :bounce: :bounce:

Re: Be careful what you ask for,,,,

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 8:55 pm
by Bubbathegimp
mdmead wrote:Welcome! :bounce: :bounce:
Yeah!! What he said :cheers:

Re: Be careful what you ask for,,,,

Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 3:35 am
by ihatemybike
Welcome to the site.

$1500 for that van isn't bad for those miles if it's clean.

I just compared your 1994 Astro AWD and your 1986 VW Westy on http://www.fueleconomy.gov. The Astro's MPGs beats all listed Vanagons, except the manual trans, which it tied.

So you now have better reliability, more power, more space, and most likely better gas mileage. Love these vans. \:D/

Re: Be careful what you ask for,,,,

Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 5:49 am
by Smiliesafari
$1500 and only 74k........that's a no brainer. These days you don't get much for that money. If you are serious about a van you better jump on that one. \:D/

Re: Be careful what you ask for,,,,

Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 9:21 am
by Herbie
Welcome. As a relative newbie myself I can say that this is a great bunch of folks here. Looks like T.Low is the pied piper bringing in adventure-minded wannabe Van owners from all over the internet. I, too, bought my 2003 AWD based on seeing what could be done after stumbling across Tom's van.

I'm copying him so much I even have the same color van! (Don't worry Tom, it was just the first low-miles van I found, I'm not going Single White Male on you, yet.)

GTRV has had the lock on pop-tops for Astros in the last few years, and their pricing reflects that (more $$ even than Sportsmobile), but there are some new options in the works, so stay tuned to this forum.

As the others have said, welcome and PICS PICS PICS!! :bounce:

Re: Be careful what you ask for,,,,

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:16 am
by fishesfromtupperware
Thanks for the welcome guys!

Herbie: Your poptop album is VERY motivational. Those detail pics are the lick! Thanks!