TheSamba.com :: View topic - Really? Seriously is anyone actually buying at these prices

Mon Oct 13, 2008 4:46 pm

here is an ad I saw recently "1990 VW Syncro Westfalia - Must Sell !!! Price: $50000" really is this a "must" sell price and is anyone buying vanagons at this price. Here is another one "87 SVX Syncro Vanagon Price: $40,000" So it is a tintop camper with a $5000 conversion in it, Big deal there is no way that anyone can justify 40k, anyway did I see this same van on here last year. Did someone buy it and trying to get there money back or did it never sell?

BTW, to the owners of the ads I qouted I love your vans and wish i could afford one like that but these prices are inflated IMHO but G/L with the sale.

Mon Oct 13, 2008 4:54 pm

kind of like $285.00 connecting links?

Mon Oct 13, 2008 4:56 pm

I think it's like the housing market, alot of houses sold for way more then they were actually worth, so now your seeing a correction.
Unless you got that much sitting around in cash, you sure are not going to be able to use a Vanagon as colateral for a $50,000 loan now.
I would never pay that much, never.
If anybody watches the speed channel, they have car auctions on there from time to time.
I saw a blue splity that was supposidly the first Westfalia Camper, looked on TV to be in pristine condition.
I was amazed that it only sold for $33,000.00 :shock:
Hell I would have paid that for it, I thought it would go for way more.

Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:07 pm

I think houses are now selling for what they are really worth. I was just wondering if anyone on here is actually buying any vans at this price, So if anyone has bought one for over lets say $25k feel free to chime in.

I am not trying to be an ass. I am just trying to find out real pricing that will make it eaiser on me and anyone else buying a van.

one of my good friends wanted me to help him find a camper that was 4 wheel drive with a subie conversion. I had to inform him that most likely this would not happen because syncro camper conversions were just way to expensive.

Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:17 pm

fastwagens wrote: here is an ad I saw recently "1990 VW Syncro Westfalia - Must Sell !!! Price: $50000" really is this a "must" sell price and is anyone buying vanagons at this price. Here is another one "87 SVX Syncro Vanagon Price: $40,000" So it is a tintop camper with a $5000 conversion in it, Big deal there is no way that anyone can justify 40k, anyway did I see this same van on here last year. Did someone buy it and trying to get there money back or did it never sell?

BTW, to the owners of the ads I quoted I love your vans and wish i could afford one like that but these prices are inflated IMHO but G/L with the sale.

I think they are just fishing for a sucker with too much money (no offense intended anyone). I often check Craigs List and am amazed at some of the prices that are asked (for non-syncros and syncro Westies). The real high priced ads stay on for a long time. One guy has been trying to sell a Westy (non-syncro) for at least a year and 1/2 for $18,000. Price never goes down, so obviously he is in no hurry to sell it, and is trolling for a bite. I have never seen a syncro Westy offered for less than $16,000, but I have seen them offered for $50,000. Since the banks cut off the home-equity ATM machine, I am sure the prices will come to a reasonable level in the near future. Just my $.02

Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:55 pm

I have been thinking the exact thing recently and even started typing out a thread but I am not online enough to defend myself.

But maybe folks are moving out of their houses and need a cheap place to stay :shock:

A 50k house with wheels in Santa Cruz might be a pretty nice setup.

You could ask Go Westy if they are still selling them. You would know the market must be ok for the top 1% of the population.

Now, check out this thread and ask yourself do I really need a syncro?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=316914

I don't, so I am selling my syncro double cab and will be going back to splitties, yep very over priced as well :cry:

how many of you really use your syncro on tougher roads than these guys? I know the guys at syncro de mayo do but I doubt there are many like that group.

cheers

peter

Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:52 pm

One thing I learned with buying real estate is to make a low ball offer in a market such as this. Way less than you think you might get it for. You can then come back in a couple of weeks and up your offer by 10 or 20% and it will look really good in comparison.

The same applies to many things like gasoline. If you are paying $2.25 a gallon the idea of paying $3.15 seems ridiculous, but after paying $4.50 for a while $3.15 looks pretty sweet.

Asking $50K for a Westy today and being willing to settle for $35K tomorrow will make someone think they got a deal.

Mon Oct 13, 2008 7:31 pm

First let me defend the Syncro Westy in question, Tom Sinclair put this thing together sparing no expense. It features a 5cyl TDI. The repaint is flawless, in my opinion it has $50k worth of stuff on it.
Is somebody going to pay that amount? hard to tell.

Here's the real question, I've got a very resonably priced Syncro Tristar for sale, and it's still sitting in my driveway... 6 months ago it wouldn't have lasted an hour in the classifieds.

Just face it, it's not the time to sell anything. Buying maybe... :wink:

Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:01 pm

2Dokas wrote: I have been thinking the exact thing recently and even started typing out a thread but I am not online enough to defend myself.

But maybe folks are moving out of their houses and need a cheap place to stay :shock:

A 50k house with wheels in Santa Cruz might be a pretty nice setup.

You could ask Go Westy if they are still selling them. You would know the market must be ok for the top 1% of the population.

Now, check out this thread and ask yourself do I really need a syncro?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=316914

I don't, so I am selling my syncro double cab and will be going back to splitties, yep very over priced as well :cry:

how many of you really use your syncro on tougher roads than these guys? I know the guys at syncro de mayo do but I doubt there are many like that group.

cheers

peter

nice! I don't even own a splitty and that is my new favorite thread.

Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:15 pm

woggs1 wrote:

I think they are just fishing for a sucker with too much money (no offense intended anyone). I often check Craigs List and am amazed at some of the prices that are asked (for non-syncros and syncro Westies). The real high priced ads stay on for a long time. One guy has been trying to sell a Westy (non-syncro) for at least a year and 1/2 for $18,000. Price never goes down, so obviously he is in no hurry to sell it, and is trolling for a bite. I have never seen a syncro Westy offered for less than $16,000, but I have seen them offered for $50,000. Since the banks cut off the home-equity ATM machine, I am sure the prices will come to a reasonable level in the near future. Just my $.02
When I was shopping for my current Westy in 2002, I came across an 88 Syncro Westy (maroon).. I had gone to see a white 1990 MV poptop (Weekender) in San Francisco. Same guy had the Syncro.. wanted $8500 for it. High miles on an original engine, 165k. A little bit of body work needed.. lots of small dings, bent up rain gutters, cracked windshield.. tires in lousy shape.. but over all in pretty good shape. No obvious rust.

I had decided I did not want the Syncro well before, however.. would have no need.

He told me he was selling which ever went first, (altough the Syncro was not listed). It was gone a few weeks later.

It might have been the last such "deal" in THIS area.. stumbled upon by chance. But I'd wager that they can still be found for $10k or less in other corners.

As far as $40-50k for one thats been completely redone? I'd consider if:
a. I had the coin
b. I was going to use it for 4WD.. not just to look cool around town.
c. I had a great deal of confidence in the restoration (my standards are only getting higher however)
d. It had the engine swap I'd prefer.

I have seen some beautifully restored vehicles out there.. all types. If its the car/van/truck you have your heart set on? Why not?

Its only money.

Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:58 pm

I too was/ am in still in the market for a syncro even though my wallet and my wife instills reality to my day dreams. It wasn't long ago (less than three years) that non-westy syncros were selling for less than 4K on average and you could get a decent westy syncro for about 15k.

More recently, every grease monkey with a few of these laying around seem to think they can profit from the high demand. They even mention or hyper link their own ad to Gowesty recent sales as if they somehow gain the reputation by just owning one and by cleaning the grease and coolant from the leaky head gasket on the underside.. There was one discussion on the samba that put a few of these issues (gowesty high prices vs build your own) into perspective.

Reno has an annual Hot Aug. Night car show every year and at their auctions, you might see an old Camaro sell for 80K and in the crowd you'll see others with tearing eyes dreaming of reliving their mullet years in a t-top w/ mag wheels. As these become more popular and the disposable income increases, you'll see more of these go for 20-50k. But right now as Mighty Art pointed out, the housing market is making folks prioritize their holdings and adjust the selling price. With this comes opportunity to buy one at a more reasonable price. What most sellers haven't realized yet, is most people don't have 30-50K in cash and the banks won't provide a loan for that amount. It wasn't long ago that 30K could put a decent down payment on a 3bd 2bath house..

Mon Oct 13, 2008 9:10 pm

Sheesh... I drove my 73 auto bay window all over western Oregon, up logging roads, fishing etc. Narrow wheels, good weight on the rears and low gears can get you most anywhere you wanna go.

And as others have said, 4WD ain't no panacea for getting stuck. Jeepin' taught me that ~ cockiness can cost ya.

Buy a 2WD unless you have a highly specific need for 4WD. Typically I think hunting and skiing as two things that recommend 4WD but I've done plenty of both in 2WD.

Best,

Lanval

Mon Oct 13, 2008 9:18 pm

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=673922

I sold this one today for the full asking price of $4750. I had 4 or 5 buyers lined up at that price. But it's a long ways away from the 20's and 30's. The buyer mentioned he was going to do a TDI swap and do some of the common upgrades; wheels, couplink, etc..
I won't disclose the price I paid for it 2 months ago but be assured that there are still people out there that don't know the current market values are.

I am one of those people that use the 4wd option. And I am one of those people that properly used the rear locker, and there were 2 or 3 trails I wanted to go up that I didn't try because I didn't have a front locker. There a lot of places you can go in 2wd, my baja and my buggy are testimonials to that. But there are a lot of places a full sized van can't go around here without 4wd. But again, not everybody lives next door to slickrock trails and high altitude adventures.

Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:07 am

An item's value--be it a house or a Syncro Westy--is determined by how much a willing buyer is willing to pay for it and a willing seller is willing to sell it for. Go Westy has devoted an entire part of their business to selling $30,000 and up vans. These vans generally cannot be financed, so the only people who can afford them are the elite of this new gilded age or upper middle class professionals who could use the equity in their homes to buy them. Now with that equity mostly gone, this segment of the market is almost assuredly going to dry up, so prices may come down some. But there are probably still enough gilded age elites who want that authentic experience of hauling their kayak around in a 25 year old $40,000 VW van that GoWesty will stay in business. :x

Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:36 am

Gauche1968 wrote: But there are probably still enough gilded age elites who want that authentic experience of hauling their kayak around in a 25 year old $40,000 VW van that GoWesty will stay in business. :x "gilded elites"
Love it!

Seriously though. I know lots of people who have $40-50k into thier pet project car/van/truck/jeep... particularly when you factor in the time spent.

My own money pit is a sailboat, and I could EASILY pour $50k into it over a period of 5 yrs or so. And have done so with a prior boat... which I sold for more than paid.. but NOwhere near the total spent over the time I had it.

Its all how you look at it. Spend $50k over 5yrs doing the work yourself (which some people really enjoy as part of the "experience").. or buy one upfront where most of the work has been done, (where some of us have run out of time to do the project work ourselves)

I won't likely spend $50k in one shot on a Westy... but more power to GoWesty if they can command these prices. Doesn't hurt that it helps keep the value of my own $10k van up.

Tue Oct 14, 2008 7:22 am

RCWesty wrote: What most sellers haven't realized yet, is most people don't have 30-50K in cash and the banks won't provide a loan for that amount. It wasn't long ago that 30K could put a decent down payment on a 3bd 2bath house..

I understood that 2 years ago and i agree, that is why i stop restoring westy that i bought but instead restoring the one people already own. But still! Some people have money and we can't judge how they spend it.

I have refused many offer for my van, even high one. After a bit of analyzing / parts / time spent i found out that my van cost me more than 40K if you include labour.

Some told me was plain stupid to refused 40K, well, i love westy so that mean i would have to built another one that will end up costing me about the same or more. I paid this van 1500$, invested 20K, work on it for 2 months.

Even if i pay 8k for a better shape van... it's still gonna end up around 40K. But of course i want a perfect running machine!

And I'm not here to ask for help or question on how to cheaply fix my van!!!!!! :-) Even if i'm a mechanic, my van dosn't need fixing, all is fixed on it! (30k miles already)

You all need to understand that there is all kinds of westy owner.

So maybe YOU won't pay that kind of money, but someone may.

Ben

Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:20 am

SO FAR IT LOOKS LIKE NO ONE HERE IS PAYING 25K. LETS LOWER IT A LITTLE HAS ANYONE PAID OVER 15K FOR THERE VANAGON? I THINK THIS IS GETTING TO MORE OF A REASONABLE PRICE FOR A SYNCRO WESTY.

Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:23 am

[/quote]nice! I don't even own a splitty and that is my new favorite thread.[/quote]

DITTO THAT

Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:34 am

fastwagens wrote: SO FAR IT LOOKS LIKE NO ONE HERE IS PAYING 25K. LETS LOWER IT A LITTLE HAS ANYONE PAID OVER 15K FOR THERE VANAGON? I THINK THIS IS GETTING TO MORE OF A REASONABLE PRICE FOR A SYNCRO WESTY.
I have seen 4 Gowesty Westys driving around in San Francisco within the last couple months. One, a Syncro.

But then again there's more than a dozen Westys within a 4 or 5 block radius of me.. More of them than Priuses.

SOMEone is paying the money.. it just isn't you.

Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:00 am

fastwagens wrote: SO FAR IT LOOKS LIKE NO ONE HERE IS PAYING 25K. LETS LOWER IT A LITTLE HAS ANYONE PAID OVER 15K FOR THERE VANAGON? I THINK THIS IS GETTING TO MORE OF A REASONABLE PRICE FOR A SYNCRO WESTY.

I just paid $17,500 for an 89 Syncro Westy with 216K which I think was a very good deal. Especially since it was less than the amount I received from the insurance company for the Syncro I wrecked earlier this summer. If an insurance company can be convinced it is worth X amount, then it must be, right?!?