Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 08:21:24 -0500
Reply-To: rrecardo@WEBTV.NET
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Robert Cardo <rrecardo@WEBTV.NET>
Subject: Re: 31K for a vanagon? You must be mad -- or not.
In-Reply-To: Chris Dixon <Jahsurf@AOL.COM>'s message of Fri, 14 Oct 2005
02:20:36 EDT
Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=ISO-8859-1
And yes sport fans, again this goes to show you that here at Amigo
Motor's, there is truly an ass for every seat.
Walk in.
Drive Out.
Buy Here.
Die Here.
We sell em' to the criminally insane, blind, crippled, and crazy.
And with every purchase you get a set of genuine imitation whale bone
ginzu steak knives, or a genuine made in Taiwan Hawaiian Hula Girl for
your dash.
And remember here at Amigo Motor's, everbody is a Pal.
Home of the everyday 5 & 5 warrantee.
Subject: 31K for a vanagon? You must be mad -- or not.
Dear Curmudgeons, Blowhards, Diehards, and Defenders,
I've read some of these posts and private emails about how much I'm
selling (correction: have SOLD my van for) and found many quite amusing
and some rather insightful. Some, I'm not quite even sure what the point
is, except that the writer is royally pissed and somehow offended that a
Vanagon, of all things, could sell for so much money. Well hell, I think
it's utterly insane that a home that I rent in Laguna Beach for $2000 a
month could possibly be worth nearly $2million dollars should my
landlady ever decide to sell it, but there you go. That's why we're
moving away from Laguna. I wanna buy a house and I can't afford to do it
here. I could mitch and boan about it til I'm blue in the face, but at
the end of the day, I still can't afford a house here - so I'm going to
Charleston, SC, where I can.
And shit, a house won't even go anywhere -- unless of course, it's a
Syncro.
I've also watched with some surprise over the last few years as the
resales on Syncros continues to climb -- witness what people are driving
away from Gowesty and paying. Many curmudgeons and crusty die hards
claim that these 15-20 year old vans that people are "foolishly" paying
top dollar for are somehow not worth it. Well, it seems to me that it's
all a part of what the market will pay, what it will bear, just how bad
do you want it and is a trusted mechanic willing to stand behind what's
claimed about a van? And of course, is there anything else remotely like
it on the road?
Recently, Steve Schwenk, who is always good for a strong opinion and
with whom I have been known to respectfully disagree, asked on his
Syncro.org homepage, something to the effect of: "Is the Syncro market
being hijacked by profiteers?"
If you recall, Steve put up a picture of the red syncro westy van that
Gowesty sold for over $66 grand. Was the dude who bought it a fool
or a chump? Well, let's step back for a second here. Clearly whoever did
this work, could afford it. Clearly, he could have bought a used
Sportsmobile with more features, better safety and far worse gas mileage
(and a non-stock 4wd system) for less money. Hell, he could have bought
a nice new Land Rover for that money. I called Taylor up at Gowesty for
a part and discussed the van with him and came away thinking that Luis,
the purchaser, got a fricking bargain. Have you seen what the guys did
with this van?? We're talking $66 grand for a full, nearly frame off
restoration. Recaro seats, beautiful paint, all new drivetrain, all new
warranteed motor, all new interior. I know it aint' got airbags or
ABS or any of that crap, but man, this thing is gonna put any G-Class
Mercedes to shame. And you can cook in it or comfortably get on with
gettin' down with your significant other.
And have you guys ever seen Steve S's van? That fricking thing is
nice as hell. If he were to break down all he's spent on it, I guarantee
it's a very pretty penny. If he sold it, he could clear $25K at least.
BTW Steve, if this reaches you, I'm not trying to slam you, I'm just
using your points to make my point.
Bottom line: The Internet has created a market and interest group that
was once too thinly spread to have any buying power or cohesion. And
these vans that are selling for these "outrageous" amounts of money
because there are enough people using the Internet to create viable
markets for products from Steves' springs to Tom's decouplers to Gowesty
and Bus Depot's bewildering myriad of parts. These vans that are selling
for top dollar are not stock and there is nothing else like them
available for purchase new or used in 2005. Typically they have been
made far better than stock with additions like lift kits, OME shocks,
bigger brakes, bigger wheels, decouplers, front diff locks, bigger
motors, beefier tranny's, bull bumpers and the list goes on. Man oh man,
you should see some of the rigs in the parking lot at Europro in Costa
Mesa right now. D-rrroooool.
I'll admit it: I paid a lot for Veronica Fraga's van. Way more than it
went for brand new. But here's what I got in return: A
once-in-a-lifetime trip across America with my wife during the summer of
2004 in a fun, safe, reliable Adventurefalia. We went all up along the
Lost Coast and when we got tired of the winding pavement, took a side
trip along a stunningly beautiful portion of the hairball dirt road that
goes to Shelter Cove. We climbed endless grades at 60MPH with my
hi-output waterboxer. Reaching the great plains, we once effortlessly
passed a poor canadian dude in a stock Westy that was huffing to
maintain 50MPH against the 20knot headwinds . At a gas station later, he
rolled in and simply asked me, "that thing doesn't have a stock motor
does it?"
We bounced along the sandy beaches of Long Island and North Carolina and
back through the desert southwest in the middle of the summer. Outside
temps were around 110. Inside, a cool 75 degrees. On that whole long
trip, I replaced an o2 sensor and a catalytic converter. Oh, I hit a
rock on the road too and put a hole in a brake line that was easily
replaced. That was the extent of my repairs in around 6000 miles of
driving.
In that reliable van, that I paid insane money for, I've also reported
on a gutwrenching police shooting in Watts, so-cal wildfires, and once,
laid low with a bad cold, I slept in it in a parking lot across from the
Santa Maria courthouse while awaiting the Michael Jackson verdict.
Feeling better later that afternoon with no decision in, I drove out to
Pismo Dunes, aired down my tires, actuated the decoupler and the diff
lock and proceeded to positively drop jaws and elicit smiles and waves
while bounding through the sand. Far down the beach, I found a nice spot
next to the bird refuge, slid open the hatch and fixed myself a cup of
coffee while I watched he sun set.
What's the dollar value of those experiences? Was it worth what I paid
not to have to worry that my radiator was going to blow, if a bearing
was going to seize, or my motor was going to throw a rod as my wife
slept soundly in the back seat. Every fricking cent. And then some.
Down here in Orange County, a fully dialed and pimped 60's era pickup
truck body VW will fetch $40grand easy. I met a dude who had a beautiful
'66 not too long ago -- helped him jump start the thing in a BOFA
parking lot because his 40K machine had a bad generator. He wasnt'
unhappy. He loved it. It was a collector's item. Which is what a Syncro
is -- especially one that is luxurious, pimped and capable. One time Ron
Lussier said to me of his Syncro: 'I don't believe in mollycoddling it.
You've got to use it. Otherwise, what's the point in having it?''
I agree.
Per Syncro.org's opening copy, here's why these fricking vans are going
for so much money, and why you can bitch all you want, but these vans
have now gone from being relatively unknown curiosities to true,
appreciating-in-value collector's items: The 4wd Vanagon Syncro
Westfalia: a UNIQUE and WONDERFUL vehicle made in LIMITED NUMBERS from
1985 to 1991 by Volkswagen, STEYR PUCH and WESTFALIA Werke. The Syncro
Westfalia PERFORMS WELL OFF ROAD, offers COMFORTABLE LIVING QUARTERS and
has GREAT CHARACTER. Can you say ADVENTURE!
Hell yes I can say adventure, and I can spell it too: S-Y-N-C-R-O.
And I hope that Eric LeMoine, his wife and two kids will get at least
half the enjoyment out of "Pound Puppy" as my wife and I have. And I
hope I'll be able to continue to read entertaining posts on these lists
as I covertly seek out my next Syncro investment opportunity.
Chris Dixon
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