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Sat Oct 18, 2008 3:00 pm

I'm looking to do a Southern California/AZ Vanagon road trip for 3 weeks, and I'm considering purchasing a westy near LA. Right now, I live in Alaska, so I'm considering buying one from the forums here or ebay so I've got one ready to go when i get there.

Bad idea? I really don't like the thought of buying one, especially a vehicle thats nearly 30 years old, without the ability to test drive it. What's a decent price for a 1980ish vanagon in good (good mechanically and no rust) but not museum condition? Both westy and non-converted models.

Also, how well do the air cooled vanagons do in southern cali, with the hot temps? Should this be a concern?

The pics of vanagons in the wilderness have sold me.

Sat Oct 18, 2008 3:18 pm

Yes, its a real bad idea unless you can travel to inspect the car in person so you know what you are bidding on. Also, unless you pay top dollar for something that has been completely gone through, I wouldn't expect to buy something and have it "ready to go." Any used Vanagon, unless expertly maintained is probably going to require some considerable work to make it ready for a long road trip.

Sat Oct 18, 2008 3:27 pm

I bought a car from ebay down in the LA area. It was a POS and nothing like the seller claimed. In fact most cars in the LA area are a POS. I went down there a few times to go get a car just to find out the owner lied and tried to pawn off a POS car. I will never buy a car from Southern Cali. Very few and hard to find honest people. Just my personal exsperence.

Sat Oct 18, 2008 4:14 pm

I sold 2 on ebay over the years. As the seller I allways give the buyer an "out" if they want to back out. Both sales went well with no complaints.
Both times the buyer asked why I would sell a restored westy.

I've allready got one.

Sat Oct 18, 2008 4:23 pm

I got mine off an ebay ad. It was a southern California rust free vehicle. & though I probably paid the high end of the price scale, it had a documented new engine, new transmission, new paint, new seals around the pop top... all verified.
all is well so far.
later,
Peter

Sat Oct 18, 2008 4:41 pm

If I were you, I would budget a few days in the area...
Between Ebay, Samba, and craigslist, get a list together and contact the sellers with the timeframe that you'll be there.

This way you'll be able to test drive them all, and really get to see what you're dealing with. I'm not against buying on Ebay, but you really never know what you're going to get when buying a vehicle on there.

Best of luck.

Sat Oct 18, 2008 5:05 pm

I had a bad experience when I bought a car off ebay in seattle - a 1976 bmw 2002 . I took the sellers word when he assured me it was in great shape and would definitely make it back to salt lake city. It ended up being one of the most epic trips I have had. lol. Anyway, I'm not saying all cars on ebay are bad but I would definitely get it inspected and maybe plan on towing it home depending on how far away it is. With an older car you never know what could go wrong or what the seller did to it. Better to have time to go over it yourself before doing a long trip.

Sat Oct 18, 2008 5:58 pm

I bid and won on a bug. the owner said it had a small dent in the driver door, but he had no picture because the camera was broken. He assured me it was small. when I arrived the door looked like it had been smacked by a car when it was open on the side of the road. Also, the car would not stay in first gear and it whined like crazy. Oops, he forgot to mention that. Needless to say I said see ya and left the car there. He had the audacity to say f#@k you as I told him I was not buying it. He was also saying but you bid on it blah, blah blah... Be careful, but also realize that if they do not fully disclose obviously known problems you can keep your money in your wallet.

on edit: i also bought a 73 bus with a known bad engine. that sale was great. $300 and I got a bus and I found Nice bag of nuggets inside :) so the bus was really more like $270

Sat Oct 18, 2008 7:47 pm

Check out craigs list in orange county. There are a few in there under 5k.

Sun Oct 19, 2008 10:16 am

I bought my Westy off ebay. It wasn't a horrible experience and I'm happy with it. I haven't had any major problems with it(don't read my other posts, you may think otherwise!).
It was obviously not exactly how to seller displayed it, but it just needed a good cleaning and some little things done to it.

Looking back, I wouldn't do it again unless I was able to go and actually inspect it before buying it. There's just too much risk.

Sun Oct 19, 2008 10:23 am

I've bought two different cars sight unseen over the internet; a 74 Alfa Romeo GTV and an 88 VW Westfalia. I was dissappointed each time even though I saw a lot of pictures and had local inspections done on each car. There's nothing like your own two eyes and ears when purchasing an older car. Everyone's idea of "good" is different I've found. It's not something I would do again. You think I would have learned the first time, but I really wanted the van. I ended up selling the internet van again when something better came along.

Sun Oct 19, 2008 12:04 pm

Thanks for the good input, I think I'll wait to check out the rigs in person.

Sun Oct 19, 2008 2:46 pm

We live in Alaska(Anchorage) and purchased our `87 Westy Syncro from Berkeley, CA and drove it home. To do this you need to have a competent shop inspect the vehicle before you purchase it. It is called a buyers survey and shops do them all of the time for people. They must know Vanagons and their idiosyncracies, and after they report on the condition you can decide to purchase or pass. A thorough survey can cost $100.00 to $160.00 or more but is money well spent. Having a survey done does not guarantee that you will not have a problem, but it will eliminate most possible issues. Owning a Vanagon requires paying more attention to your vehicle and a bit of patience. All vehicles will break down eventually, how you handle it is what matters. The most important items to have for a trip like you are planning is a positive outlook, a resourceful mind, and a good credit card.

Mon Oct 20, 2008 9:00 am

I bought mine sight unseen off ebay in SoCal and drove it home. It wasn't perfect, but I think I got a pretty good deal. Just like everything else in life, "you rolls the dice and takes your chances".

Mon Oct 20, 2008 9:11 am

jkeller wrote: I bought mine sight unseen off ebay in SoCal and drove it home. It wasn't perfect, but I think I got a pretty good deal. Just like everything else in life, "you rolls the dice and takes your chances".

Couldn't agree more. I have never bought a car on eBay, but I've sold three. In each case, the buyer was more than satisfied with what they bought. Two of them were Fiats (one X1/9 and one Spider) that were DRIVEN away by the buyer, both made the trip with no issues, one to Akron Ohio, the other to Dearborn Michagan. :shock: I also sold a sailboat to a buyer in Australia, two years later he still sends me pictures of him sailing it in Sydney harbour.

I over-described my cars for sale, I listed everything I knew, including stuff that would not likely be noticed in a test drive. I'm too big a beleiver in KARMA to rip somebody off. :vw:

Thu Oct 30, 2008 7:56 am

I must say life is a gamble and buying a car/truck or van in any situation is somewhat of a risk. I bought a 1981 ASI GL Vanagon on Ebay a few years back. It was realivley cheap (Paid 1400.00 for it )

Ive been just looking on E bay and samba for many years at VW BUSES and was leaning towards a 1977-79 van conversion but when my 81 ASI was spotted and the bid price was low I decieded to BID ~ Much too my surprise I WON it ~ Wifes suprise was much more than mine (Were still married ) whew !

Picking it up was quite an experience ~ Driving it home was too ~ Igor the Russian guy who I bought it from gave me the chance to decline as some things were not as stated. Stupid me bought it anyway !

Long story short ~ I parked the in the driveway and when my daughter came over she told me it looked ~ HAGGARD~ so it was named !
Ive spent alot of time and money fixing ol HAGGARD up and it is now a very much part of the family ! It runs great ~ It looks fine ~ Everything works (now) and I get compliments alot of the time on it not to mention all the people remising over their Van form days past.

I have well over 5000.00 dollars in it and alot of time. I really have enjoyed my journeys with HAGGARD. Its truley been an excelent past time for me.

It depends on the type of person you are I suppose and what means you are willing to put forth into your passion ~ And a little mechical expierence wiil go a long way ... no matter what VW Van you buy !

Good Luck ~ have fun take your time and dont get discouraged !

Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:46 am

I bought mine off eBay. I did have may partner go and look it over, as it was in Atlanta. Somebody who knows cars, can turn a wrench and you won't blame if everything goes wrong, needs to look at it. Otherwise it is like a Russian Bride Catalog, pic nice, real b*tch in person, not to mention the prosthetic leg.

Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:26 am

Bought mine on ebay BUT I live in SoCal, South Orange County and only had to drive about a half hour south to ElCajon....

it was a GREAT transaction, seller was fantastic. Never pushy....we inspected it together....took a nice long test drive, very friendly. What can I say...I lucked out!

Would I buy one in Alaska and do the same thing...probably not...one of the main selling points was that it was a half hour away and that I could walk away if I had too....

good luck!

Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:27 am

PS...aircooled and no problems as of yet....it's not arizona, it's SoCal :)

Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:51 am

So mellow yellow was able to personally inspect his van which ended up in a good transaction and he was satisfied. There is a lot of good vehicles on Ebay if you are able to see them in person to decide. The original question was about purchasing sight unseen. In that scenario, there is much more to be wary about and you're at much higher risk.