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Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:31 pm

I've been out of the bug world for many decades. And of course the first car I came across while looking was an all original 1966 sedan with 23k original miles for $8900. And I passed on it. It was in what I would call garaged/perfect shape. And it was also very close to the color I am wanting.

Am I stoned to think another deal like that will come along?

I've seen some non-original resto's in less than that price bracket. But after looking for several weeks now. It seems like I passed on what I should have jumped on.

This is the second time this has happened to me. I looked for a bus a few decades ago. And of course the first one out of the gate was perfect for a great price. I passed cause I didn't know any better. Never saw another one like it. And never ended up buying a bus. I hope that isn't the case now.

Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:47 pm

Keep checking the Samba classifieds......and craigslist

OH YEA !!........don't forget to always check craigslist spellings VolkswagEn and VolkswagOn ... I know a guy who got a great deal on a Volkswagen cuz no one else saw it !!!

Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:49 pm

So you don't think I'm searching for "to good" of a deal? An all original bug with low miles for less than 9k?

Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:59 pm

There was a one owner sold in Florida for that a couple of months ago...Tampa craigslist
AND your in California !!...that's better

Sun Oct 12, 2014 3:02 pm

No, but if you want an all-original car for $9k, be willing to buy an "almost all-original" car for $7k and put the remaining $2k into fixing whatever is wrong. :wink:

Same end result, but Option #2 is going to give you a LOT more possibilities.

Sun Oct 12, 2014 3:08 pm

Thanks guys. Glad to hear I'm not out to lunch on my prices. I know I'm not going to find the exact color combination - paint/interior. So I plan on doing an interior job at the very least. I would also like the engine to be upgraded to a 1600cc. Although alot of the cars I see have already been upgraded to 1600cc.

And I don't mind buying "almost" original. It's just that I trust the original factory assemblage to be of higher quality than whoever did the restoration. Who I won't know.

What should you look for in an engine that has been upgraded to a 1600cc? And who are the better VW garages in Socal?

Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:22 pm

Read up on " dog house oil coolers " and make shure your new engine has one..
Be wary of too much chrome ; chrome retains heat ; heat destroys VW s
If you have a choice ; an external oill cooler is a plus
I can refer you to a good mechanic in south Clearwater Florida :)

Mon Oct 13, 2014 3:28 am

I can't say if it's a good deal or not (or whether you're stoned :wink:)....
What I I do know is that low mileage is very hard to confirm regarding an old Volkswagen, so that should only in rare occasions be your best argument for a calling it a deal, unless you have the car's history meticulously documented by the owner(s).

Good luck!

Mon Oct 13, 2014 3:50 am

I can't stand that common advice to never go for the first car that comes along. Sometime the right car just pops up, and you just got to go for it. When looking for a veteran car, the selection is limited. I passed on a Berül green 1961 vert (how common is that) 15 years ago and still hit my head every morning.

What's done is done, good luck and follow your gut next time!

Mon Oct 13, 2014 6:10 am

allsidius wrote: I can't stand that common advice to never go for the first car that comes along. Sometime the right car just pops up, and you just got to go for it. When looking for a veteran car, the selection is limited. I passed on a Berül green 1961 vert (how common is that) 15 years ago and still hit my head every morning.

What's done is done, good luck and follow your gut next time!
I'll bet you would have bought it if it had been a Cabriolet instead of just a 'vert. :D

Mon Oct 13, 2014 7:05 am

Moab At least you know what you are wanting. You must be willing to Pay Up for those cars. They are worth it. I found what I wanted also and yes had to pay up for it. In the long run glad I did.
Like I say original unmolested not ever been wrecked vehicles are getting farther apart and the more they crush them the more the value goes up.

Mon Oct 13, 2014 11:32 am

Mileage - unless you have service records to back up the claimed mileage, you cant believe it. Dont forget that back in the day, turning back odometers was the norm.

As far as assembly quality or a resto - I have seen plenty of restored cars that are better than factory.

And yeah - if you found exactly what you wanted and the price was fair - you blew it. Dont forget that a proper color change is gonna require the car to be pretty much all blown apart - aint gonna be cheap.

Mon Oct 13, 2014 1:07 pm

I have been in the habit of paying the premium to buy cars that have not been wrecked or rusted. It has been worth it. What you passed on sounds like a very nice car for a reasonable price.

For the most part, I would prefer a car like the one you passed on to a car that has been restored even if it has photo albums, videos and other "documentation" on the restoration. And, that's not because it's only original once. It is because I want to drive them...for years to come and the original paint seems to last well and repair patches seem to show rust pretty quickly if not kept inside most of the time.

If you think about it in terms, not of a classic or collectable car, but just a good used car, ten grand is pretty good for a car with that few miles. I figure you can pretty much tell if the mileage is accurate if you look closely.

Gene Berg said "Buy the best and cry once." With a bit of license, that applies to this situation as well.

Chuey

Mon Oct 13, 2014 2:37 pm

iowegian wrote: allsidius wrote: I can't stand that common advice to never go for the first car that comes along. Sometime the right car just pops up, and you just got to go for it. When looking for a veteran car, the selection is limited. I passed on a Berül green 1961 vert (how common is that) 15 years ago and still hit my head every morning.

What's done is done, good luck and follow your gut next time!
I'll bet you would have bought it if it had been a Cabriolet instead of just a 'vert. :D

Sure thing. At the time I had a nice 78, which I had sunk a ton of money in, now I had to sell it, losing money and start all over again. In retrospect it would have been the right thing to do!

Mon Oct 13, 2014 2:42 pm

everyone wants a premium for their rust buckets now a days. Im also in California and it seems even worse out here.

You need to be aggressive and jump on what catches your eye otherwise think twice and its gone.

Mon Oct 13, 2014 3:28 pm

halchka99

You need to be aggressive and jump on what catches your eye otherwise think twice and its gone.

That is very true. However sometimes better cars are not advertised. Only word of mouth.

Mon Oct 13, 2014 4:01 pm

gt1953 wrote: halchka99

That is very true. However sometimes better cars are not advertised. Only word of mouth.

I totally agree but i also feel like being in California, specially socal we are at a disadvantage. We dont have those open field/bar finds that the rest of the country does.

Tue Oct 14, 2014 6:40 am

halchka99 wrote: gt1953 wrote: halchka99

That is very true. However sometimes better cars are not advertised. Only word of mouth.

I totally agree but i also feel like being in California, specially socal we are at a disadvantage. We dont have those open field/bar finds that the rest of the country does.
The problem with the "bar finds" is that they all get prettier at closing time. :wink:

Tue Oct 14, 2014 9:07 am

iowegian wrote: halchka99 wrote: gt1953 wrote: halchka99

That is very true. However sometimes better cars are not advertised. Only word of mouth.

I totally agree but i also feel like being in California, specially socal we are at a disadvantage. We dont have those open field/bar finds that the rest of the country does.
The problem with the "bar finds" is that they all get prettier at closing time. :wink:

doh! hate typing on this Microsoft Surface