Phil:

This sounds high, unless you live here in = California.  I assume you are talking US Dollars? My personal = opinion is that $1 extra spent for a really clean vehicle is $5 saved = in parts, frustration, and pain down the road, so it may be a good = investment.  However, I have seen plenty of clean late Westies FS = in other parts of the country for around $10k or a little = less.

OTH, here in Santa Barbara (and coastal California in = general) I spent two years looking at Westies and Syncro Westies in the = $10,000 to $20,000 range, and I was always astounded at the poor = condition of most that were under $13,000 or so.  (I even looked = at one that had been tipped over TWICE and repainted with an "Earl = Sheib" type $199 paint job - the owner was asking $12,000 for it, = and it was in TERRIBLE condition with oil dripping from the engine and = mud all over the interior)

Good luck on your search,

Brent Christensen
'89 GL Syncro Westy (paid $18,000)
Santa Barbara, CA

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.C= OM]On Behalf Of Phil Walker
Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2000 8:12 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Found an 89 Westy - Need Advice on = Value

I found a 89 Westy in my same town. I took it for a = test drive last night. The van is in really good condition. Everything = works, it runs well, I let it idle for a while in the driveway, no = change in engine temperature. The heads were done by a local shop not = too long ago....it has 130K. It is a manual. Clean body, clean = inside.

Now for the kicker. The asking price is about 13K. I = get the feeling that the price of these vans is very arbitrary, (just = my feeling). Kelly blue book puts the value at about 14K, NADA and = Edmuson at about 8K. What is up? Part of me tells me to buy the best = van I can afford because they are no longer around, duh, and chances = are I'll be keeping it a while. I just didn't want to spend so much on = my first van especially when, with the mileage, things can still go = wrong (clutch, suspension, etc.)

Also, there is a small bubbling of paint behind and = below the gas cap on the right hand side in the seam. I'm sure others = have seen this bubbling. The question is how much metal needs to be = removed (if any) to stop the rusting. My experience with older cars and = rust is that the rust usually is worse than it looks. Any advice would = be helpful.

 
Thanks in advance for the help, and thanks to all of = the people who responded to my last post.

Phil Walker
-hoping to have a Westy soon-