Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 17:32:53 -0500
Reply-To: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject: Re: super cheap 88k orig mi. '87 westy for sale $4000
In-Reply-To: <9a925.22dc89d2.41c86ee4@aol.com>
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> not mine but local to me.. a friend of mine looked at this morning.. this
> one wont last long at this price.. the westy is from florida.. no rust..
> straight body.. 88k orig mi. only $4k van runs and drives.. just has
> head leak.
> http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/4813862462.html
I am not particularly looking for another Westy, but it happened that I was
about 20 minutes away from this van on another matter so I decided to give
it a look in case it was an absolute bargain that I couldn't refuse. I ended
up passing on it but thought I'd provide some info for anyone who is
considering it (assuming it's still available).
The camper is on a rollback and can't be driven. Therefore it's impossible
to know if the odometer works, but if the 88k miles it shows are accurate
then I'd have to say they were really hard miles. This Westy looks like it's
seen a lot of use by an owner who hasn't treated it particularly gently.
There are numerous scrapes and scratches but no major dents. However the
previous owner went crazy with spray paint cans and spray painted the lower
half of the driver side (starting directly below the inlets, which are
covered with electrical tape). I presume this was to cover seam rust but
it's hard to know what is under it. He also painted the metal trim that goes
across the front of the sink cabinet and holds the instrument panel with
silver spray paint for some reason. He did not bother to neatly tape things
off before wielding the spray can. The driver side turn signal lens and
mirror are damaged and the driver side headlight is loose. All four tires
and the poptop canvas are severely dry-rotted. The poptop skylight is badly
cracked. Both tables are present, as is the windshield curtain (although it
is ripped and patched). The battery was dead and I did not bother to charge
it and start the engine. Since it is strapped to a rollback there is no way
to confirm whether the auto trans shifts properly. The seller is an
unlicensed "curbside dealer" who said he bought it in an estate sale. It
drove onto his rollback under its own power and that's all he knows about
it. A plaque on the side of the camper indicates that it was originally sold
in Florida, but the last inspection sticker is from 2012 and is from
Pennsylvania so I don't know how long it's been since it was actually in
Florida. The seller says he will not have the title for about two weeks.
I don't really need another Westy and would have had to be "wowed" to bother
with this one. It didn't "wow" me. When I see a Westy that's been cobbled
together with spray paint and electrical tape, it makes me wonder whether it
was serviced and maintained in a similar manner. Coupled with the inability
to test drive it and the known issues just from a cursory look, I felt that
$4000 was a gamble. Not a rip-off, but not a steal either. I offered him
$3000 knowing he'd say no, and he did. He said he's gotten a lot of calls
and is pretty sure someone will pay him $4000 for it in no time. He's
probably right.
Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot, Inc.
www.busdepot.com