Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 03:00:49 -0500
Reply-To: Stpehen J Fry <naiu@MEDIAONE.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stpehen J Fry <naiu@MEDIAONE.NET>
Subject: Re: '85 Vanagon Westy - to buy or not to buy?
In-Reply-To: <3A885F43.21944.1A68AF7@localhost>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Take ot to the mechanic. I would by far be more concerned with a vehicle
that was in good shape as far as the body compared to most mechanicals. You
would need to check a vehicle of that age for things such as leaky rear
wheel cylinders, main and slave clutch cylinder, brake condition, steering
rack condition, leaky coolant hoses, rusted coolant hoses. Add what you are
willing to put into a vehicle and add well I would say gracefully add about
1000 to for unknowns that come up. Once you own it a bit that 1000 will go
up perhaps a bit lol if you are anything like me and see visions of grandure
with a new paint job and engine conversion whilst redoing all of your
cabinets.. perhaps one day.. most likely sooner lol .. It really is an
addiction. Be more prepared for it to take up your spare time with day
dreams of traveling while at work. Surfing the internet while at the same
work looking to see where to go next. And also looking for those parts from
the great guys and gals on this list.. Mechanical things can be fixed and
for a vehicle that is that old well expect it to. It is much cheaper to have
a sound vehicle and put money into it than a trashed one in good mechanical
shape that will not outlast the parts. In the end do the math. What do you
want? What are you willing to spend? Then add about a grand for misc part
and accessories..
Off the soapbox. This is what happens when you work for an internet company
and you do not get home until very late.. I have another addiction and well
kinda nice one but I need to get off the internet much too many hours spent
here lol..
Namaste
Stephen
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
Of Liz Maher
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2001 10:10 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: '85 Vanagon Westy - to buy or not to buy?
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
