Date:         Mon, 12 Feb 2001 22:10:11 -0500
Reply-To:     Liz Maher <maher@MAHERCONSULTING.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Liz Maher <maher@MAHERCONSULTING.COM>
Subject:      '85 Vanagon Westy - to buy or not to buy?
In-Reply-To:  <64.b30298f.27b9b938@aol.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Hi all,

I'm just about to buy an '85 Vanagon Westy with no fridge or stove or
sink but it does have a popup and sleeps 4.  Some small dings and a
tiny bit of rust.  New Vanagon engine 26K ago, 228K on the bus.  No
radio but does have heat and A/C. Interior and pop-up are in very good
shape.  Appears to be a leak in the skylight seal - there's a bit of water
on the linoleum floor, seems like more than we could have tracked in
(it's snowy here).

Curtains and such are in good shape.  We drove it for about an hour, in
winter.  It started right up and ran wonderfully, stayed warm. There is a
crack in the windshield - not sure if that has to be replaced right away or
not and I can't find any on the online parts sites.  The outside handle on
the sliding door is broken but working - the thinner end of it is gone.

Would you pay $1600 for it?  Would you make sure to go out of your
way (OK, about an hour) to see a VW mechanic to check it out first?
I've been reading about Westies all day and I'm concerned aobut the
head gasket thing though there's no visible leak or anything under the
bus.  We looked at several Westies - from '72 up to this one and this is
by far the nicest, at least as far as we can tell.  We plan to use it for
camping and longer car trips - it will be a third car so we won't commute
in it.  The price is just what we wanted to spend.

We're in Ohio if that matters.

Thanks in advance to anyone with any thoughts or advice.

:) Liz