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Tue Dec 21, 2004 8:59 am

http://66.34.72.138/cgi-bin/gallery-search.cgi?string=rene+mireles

Nice access hatch to the battery, must be a westfalia option

This bus is posted on the vintagebus list for sale with pics posted on vintsgebus.com, guess he doesn't know about the SAMBA

Tue Dec 21, 2004 9:50 am

No pictures of the flip seat itself...and it looks like it's going to be really expensive with all that groovy upholstery...

Tue Dec 21, 2004 9:53 am

SO35 with a lot of nice "updates".

Tue Dec 21, 2004 10:17 am

teamspatula wrote: No pictures of the flip seat itself...and it looks like it's going to be really expensive with all that groovy upholstery...

This pic looks like the seat in the horizontal position

Tue Dec 21, 2004 7:16 pm

This one is sold, coming back to Iowa. No chandelier or folding chair unfortunately... Looks like I'll have some flipseat questions to fire at you guys.

Tue Dec 21, 2004 8:20 pm

dieselnut wrote: This one is sold, coming back to Iowa. No chandelier or folding chair unfortunately... Looks like I'll have some flipseat questions to fire at you guys.

Nice score, this one didn't last on the market long

Wed Dec 22, 2004 9:12 am

dieselnut wrote: This one is sold, coming back to Iowa. No chandelier or folding chair unfortunately... Looks like I'll have some flipseat questions to fire at you guys.

Water bottles?

Wed Dec 22, 2004 9:26 am

:-k

Dieselnut, nice looking bus. can't wait to see more pics.

Wed Dec 22, 2004 9:41 am

hazetguy wrote: :-k

Dieselnut, nice looking bus. can't wait to see more pics.

Thanks for the salt in my wound..LOL

Wed Dec 22, 2004 12:26 pm

come on guys, the buyer's remorse hadn't even kicked in yet...lol

i remembered those last nite after after posting, and sheepishly, i don't know....lol a flurry of about 10 emails w/ the seller after it came up on the VB list, groaning when it popped up on here the following morning, waiting for the seller to call, etc. etc. a nice roller coaster day. i'm sure you guys can relate.

guess i'll either be pleasantly surprised or adding another flipseat hunter on their elusive chase....lol

that f'n blue has gotta go.... anybody need some deluxe trim? lol

Thu Dec 23, 2004 9:53 am

Typed this out and fired it off to the VB list, thought I'd include it here as
the sale was also discussed here.

---------------

Just wanted to share with the group my experience with Mr. Rene
Mireless ([email protected]). After a series of 10 emails or
so the night he offered his bus up for sale, he still wouldn't give me
a price that he would sell it for. He stated he would call me the following
afternoon, but did not. (No biggie, I'm flexible.) This seemed a bit odd,
but so are SO35's, right? lol I did tell him in one of my emails that he
should listen to his gut, it sounded like he was having trouble letting go of
it. After sending him an email that second evening, he agreed to sell me
the SO35 for $3900. He did call me that evening, and sent a message
out to the list saying the bus was sold.

I started making plans to come to SoCal to retrieve the bus, modifying
X-mas plans and enlisting the aid of a friend who agreed to help make
the journey. Went as far as offering to help another VB listee get a
Vespa from Sioux Falls to Phoenix, which although slightly out of the way
on both ends, seemed like a nice way to help another listee out and
defray my gas costs a bit. (Sorry Dan, it's now a no-go...)

Well, with things nearly in place, I get an email last night from Mr.
Mireless stating that "i have some bad new's, theres a problem in the
motor, today i try to turn it on and some thing is wrong. I think that is
something with the clutch, nothing big". He goes on to say "And the most
important, i think that $3,900 is too cheap, i still getting a lot of emails of
people interested in my bus. sorry but i need a better offer". Gee, what
a coincidence! The bus chooses now to break down....lol. Didja notice
the "and the most important" part????

Anyway, if you're one of the folks that are telling him this, you might
be interested in knowing the following:

It is missing the cargo door cabinet, the folding chair, the hanging light
& all of the original door/cab panels. I can't say for sure, but I'm
guessing it is missing the water bottles as well. It will need a new rear
corner (he thinks this is original...who was I to burst his bubble...) and
wheel wells, along with metal repair where the deluxe trim was added.
Additionally, there are holes on the front sides of the two forward most
rear cabinets, as well as holes on the panel below the seat which runs
along the drivers side. Little things, such as absent mirrors and wiper
arms, and crappy tires, will add up too. There is additional damage
(water) to the cabinets on one side, along with the wooden portion of the
ceiling. (But no rust, ever! lol) Needs work on the fuse box, missing a
child's cot hook and the child's cot... This is before you start on the
groovy TJ paint job and upholstery of course, but to each his own. At
least those two things are obvious, some of the other stuff isn't.

Oh yea, there is bondo on one of the sides, he's not sure how much BUT
he did just have it painted...lol. All the pictures show the bus in Mexico,
he claims the bus is registered in Cali, with a title in his name - but he
can only be reached at a number in Mexico... He claims that he's owned
the bus for 5 years, and that he's currently 20 years old...

I don't know, you make the call. I should have figured this was going
to happen, and halfway did. If you're close enough to the bus to check
it out, it might be a good deal for you. I wouldn't drive across my own
state to see it after seeing how he works, and certainly wouldn't drive
half way across the country... So like the subject says, CAVEOT
EMPTOR (let the buyer beware)!

Oh yea, in case you've read this far - it does have the full length
blue/white privty tent style awning. (Had to throw in a positive here.)
No sides and no poles... (And Rene, if you're reading this, that isn't an
OG roof rack for this type of vehicle, you're mistaken once again...)

Perhaps I'll return the favor and send him an offer (that he can't
refuse) from another email address....lol. But I'll make sure the
latest "high bidder" has sufficient time to make transport plans, etc.
before I do.... (just kidding...lol) But I DO feel better now that I've
hammered on the keys a little bit. *You BLEEPING little EXPLETIVE
EXPLETIVE* lol

Easy come, easy go. (Shortest case of buyer's remorse ever, thanks
guys!)

Thu Dec 23, 2004 10:21 am

Blue and white awning?

Considering the problems I don't think what you offered is that far off the mark.

Thu Dec 23, 2004 10:24 am

Yea, there's a picture of a blue and white one archived in the forums IIRC. (Which was the first time I'd heard or seen of one...) Weird yet very very cool. Somebody had a complete one I guess. (In that post)

I don't think the offer was bad either, I'm no wood worker but fixing that pearwood to look OG seems like a real pain in the ass (or impossible). Holes in cabinets suck!

Thu Dec 23, 2004 10:43 am

dieselnut wrote: Yea, there's a picture of a blue and white one archived in the forums IIRC. (Which was the first time I'd heard or seen of one...) Weird yet very very cool. Somebody had a complete one I guess. (In that post)

I don't think the offer was bad either, I'm no wood worker but fixing that pearwood to look OG seems like a real pain in the ass (or impossible). Holes in cabinets suck!

I've never seen a B/W awning for a westy before. So you don't think Home Depot stocks pear wood panels? LOL

I bought a Flipseat back in March that has a better interior than that one (it is a SO34 and not a 35 though) but needs a fair amount of rust repair, no motor, but unmolested as far as body mods are for about $1500 less. It did have a little more rust than I was led to believe but when you have to have it, you gotta have it.

I don't suppose the Vespa was Ricky's was it? Just a guess.

Thu Dec 23, 2004 11:56 am

You bought the flipseat John? Cool! I wish I hadn't sold mine.

Thu Dec 23, 2004 2:14 pm

I had planned on it Jeremy, but I got punk'd on the deal. Perhaps I can help breathe life into the old '58 in the other thread in here instead. One of your Hursts would look only too good on that bus!

Thu Dec 23, 2004 3:00 pm

Dieselnut,
Just to clarify.
You say he agreed to sell you the bus for $3900.
What form did that agreement take?
Did he put it in an email?
Did you send him a deposit?

Sounds like the seller's being an A**hole, but the details would help us tell how big a one he is.

Thu Dec 23, 2004 3:33 pm

We had an agreement in email, and this was confirmed over the telephone. Luckily, no deposit was required, offered or sent. I usually offer, even if one's not required, but I had a weird vibe here...

Thu Dec 23, 2004 3:38 pm

Am I seeing things or is that a fat (pre 1963) front dogleg and a icepick (pre-early 1964) front door in the first pic?

It also has outward rear vents and it looks like the wheel wells might have been flat too, 1962.

It looks like someone put a crankstart apron (through 1959) on it, too.

Thu Dec 23, 2004 4:05 pm

BUCIOBATISTI wrote: Am I seeing things or is that a fat (pre 1963) front dogleg and a icepick (pre-early 1964) front door in the first pic?

It also has outward rear vents and it looks like the wheel wells might have been flat too, 1962.

It looks like someone put a crankstart apron (through 1959) on it, too.

Its a 62. My So-34 was the same. Early everything except for the tailights and fright signals.