TheSamba.com :: View topic - Westfalia value diff, tin top vs. pop top

Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:57 pm

TequilaSunSet wrote: Thanks for all the input... not sure if I will ever get a westy at this point. Prices around here are just stupid. Sellers are seem to think their bus is worth a mint.

They are stupid because you are looking at a stupid time. Dont look for one now when every wana-be camping-road traveling a-hole wants one. Come September the prices will start to drop, unfortunatly so will the selection. If you are in California, you should still have a decent selection to look over at a far better price.

Buy the best bus you can afford. Quit trying to use opinion from this lot as the determining factor :roll: You wont know you paid to much on a bus that you are happy with unless one of us a-holes says you paid to much. :wink:

Tue Jul 31, 2012 5:05 pm

Keep looking, you'll find "the one" soon enough. We looked for 3 months before buying ours.

Tue Jul 31, 2012 6:28 pm

Notchboy... thanks for the input asshole :wink: :lol:

Hondaslayer ... I am calming myself down on getting any type of bus right now. I will just chill and continue to watch ads, maybe I will stumble over something. I did find one about a month ago and the price was great, until the back fees came into play. One last week that I like lasted less than an hr on CL :evil:

Tue Jul 31, 2012 10:32 pm

TequilaSunSet wrote: Notchboy... thanks for the input asshole :wink: :lol:

Hondaslayer ... I am calming myself down on getting any type of bus right now. I will just chill and continue to watch ads, maybe I will stumble over something. I did find one about a month ago and the price was great, until the back fees came into play. One last week that I like lasted less than an hr on CL :evil:

craigslist has its moments, but you should really just keep your eyes open while drive thru neighborhoods of backroads...field busses, or busses that are parked in tall grass, or look like abandoned projects....thats where you will get a deal, and where you will find your favorite bus ;)

coming from the asshole that is :D

Wed Aug 01, 2012 4:18 pm

jhicken wrote: Hondaslayer wrote: Non running = no more than $1,000 (assuming the body is in good shape)

Really? A non-running Westy with a solid body and complete interior is only worth $1000??? Maybe they grow on trees in your area but in my neck of the woods $2500 isn't that bad a price (tin top or not). Considering you can pick up a rebuilt longblock for 2k, for $4500 you would have a very reliable ride.

Just flip through the classifieds and see what folks are selling westies for. The cars you are looking at might not be that bad a deal. Whenever I look at 40+ year old vehicles the drive train rarely factors into the deal. Getting something solid and complete is paramount. Motors and transmissions are relatively cheap as opposed to rust repair.

If the cars you are looking at are otherwise in great shape, maybe you can bargin with the seller a bit.

-jeffrey

-jeffrey

Here is a prime example of an owner asking 3x what it's worth.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/cto/3176682540.html

Has been in a fire, something funky going on with the roof, massive toe in on the left rear, wasted engine. Add to that a destroyed interior, the list goes on.

Sorry bub, that there's a parts car. :lol:

Wed Aug 01, 2012 5:32 pm

Hondaslayer wrote: Here is a prime example of an owner asking 3x what it's worth.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/cto/3176682540.html

Has been in a fire, something funky going on with the roof, massive toe in on the left rear, wasted engine. Add to that a destroyed interior, the list goes on.

Sorry bub, that there's a parts car. :lol:

Hmm. Ill have to look closer. That roof looks like a sunroof with a fridge poking out of it. And 1500 aint too bad really depending on how its lowered, etc. Sure the motors bad, and I dont like the wheels, but (wait, fire?) it honestly doesnt seem toobad for a sunroof 71.

Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:07 am

Take a magnet with you. If it sticks everywhwere....you are way ahead of the game. Building a tit engine is one miner speed bump, finding a 35 year old rig rust free is damn near impossible.

Thu Aug 02, 2012 9:56 am

Hondaslayer wrote: jhicken wrote: Hondaslayer wrote: Non running = no more than $1,000 (assuming the body is in good shape)

Really? A non-running Westy with a solid body and complete interior is only worth $1000??? Maybe they grow on trees in your area but in my neck of the woods $2500 isn't that bad a price (tin top or not). Considering you can pick up a rebuilt longblock for 2k, for $4500 you would have a very reliable ride.

Just flip through the classifieds and see what folks are selling westies for. The cars you are looking at might not be that bad a deal. Whenever I look at 40+ year old vehicles the drive train rarely factors into the deal. Getting something solid and complete is paramount. Motors and transmissions are relatively cheap as opposed to rust repair.

If the cars you are looking at are otherwise in great shape, maybe you can bargin with the seller a bit.

-jeffrey

-jeffrey

Here is a prime example of an owner asking 3x what it's worth.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/cto/3176682540.html

Has been in a fire, something funky going on with the roof, massive toe in on the left rear, wasted engine. Add to that a destroyed interior, the list goes on.

Sorry bub, that there's a parts car. :lol:

In my area they would be asking $2,500-$3,500... efn stupid.

Thu Aug 02, 2012 10:10 am

But it's hella flush bro, with a shoddily rebuilt racing engine yo!

Thu Aug 02, 2012 10:24 am

If you are willing to go with a Tin top, and you are a handy Guy, There is the option of looking for a Trasnporter for less $$ and making your own interior items, like Bed and cabinets.
Just depends if you are just looking for a fun functional vehicle, or if you are a "Purest" looking for a factory spec. Westy.

Thu Aug 02, 2012 12:45 pm

TequilaSunSet wrote: Notchboy... thanks for the input asshole :wink: :lol:

Hondaslayer ... I am calming myself down on getting any type of bus right now. I will just chill and continue to watch ads, maybe I will stumble over something. I did find one about a month ago and the price was great, until the back fees came into play. One last week that I like lasted less than an hr on CL :evil:

:lol: =D>

I cant let VDTech take all the heat :wink:

Since I have both-pop and not, Im spoiled I guess :roll:

We (my girlfriend actually) paid $2000 for our 74 auto hard top westy. It did not run and looked like ass when we got it. Check out the thread in my sig. But It was real solid and super complete, inside and out. It didn't run, had title issues and I had to spend a day and a half pulling that f-er out of a yard that had 5 other froze up VWs in my way. Most would of paid $500-$1000 for such a pain "supposedly" according to banter here in the forums. But I was able to see beyond the banter, access what I knew I could fix, obtain a restored value in my head and move forward.

Its a 53,ooo mile bus in good original shape, has almost everything on it that it came with from the factory-in good restorable-cleanable shape, its an auto-not every ones cup'a but appealing to other non vw people should I sell. Has the full wood headliner that I think looks awesome. Its rare in our circles since pop tops are king and its a true westfalia. Being a 74 it has the wide bed but has the pass side cab right in the way of the slider-but its still there and hasnt been taken out for more room. It just ticked all the right boxes for me so I was willing to pay the higher price and dont think that I wont be able to get it back if I sell it once restored.

Now the 77 pop top is everything the hard top is not. More room, sweet upper bunk tent that every one loves. Bigger motor, maual, FI, ready to drive, captains chair, clean body with lots of good OG paint. I added some deluxe elements like the center box and stove\sink combo.

When it comes down to it, I have later buses for a reason. The pops are better to live in than the earlies. More room and an actual pop top that is usable space rather than a hole for you to stand up in. The 74 has the full bed and better cab arrangements as opposed to the earlies. Bigger motors to get around with.

If you go with early pop vrs tin top- the only benefit is being able to stand up. So you will need to make a personal call there. And be happy with 1600cc's.

I think the market-should you sell is strong for eithor early and late hard or pop campers. These are just actual conversions done by Rivi-Westfalia-Sun and so on. There is a whole other market for regular buses that have been converted by individuals-and that can range based on the quality of conversion. As well as miss matched tops and interiors.

I think its a personal call based off of what you want and why once you understand the poss-neg of all the different kinds of bus out there.

Clear as muddddd :lol: :?:

Just my two cents plus about another $1.62

Thu Aug 02, 2012 2:48 pm

[/quote]

folks here think busses are gold....i paid 300 for mine, and it came with a BWM, so 150 each really, and drove both home. dad paid 850 for his 2 months ago, and we towed him home, and got it running this last weekend with a set of dual carbs instead of the poorly running single it had before. i paid 300 for my first transporter 3 years ago.

usually, people think a rusted out engine-less bus round here is worth about 2500, and they never get more than 1k from a VW person...usually they trick the less educated into paying too much. they are on nearly every block almost anywhere in western WA, so you could say we have a few to choose from.

also, i swear VDubTech only pays less than 500 for what he gets, and if you see what he comes out with, they are with many times more when hes done with them.

also got a buddy round seattle that buys late bays for 500 and below and parts them out....all summer long. like lots of busses.

so its not totally in-probable.[/quote]

Stuartzickefoose,

You ain't kidding. Didn’t always used to be that way though. I once bought a 71 Westy from a guy in Kent for $500. The camper interior was mint, and there was only minimal rust on the rockers. Had Maaco do the Bondo and a two tone paint job for another $1200, followed by a new, Mexican 1600 dp long block for another $1200, then foolishly sold it for $5,000.

This latest go around, I purchased my current bus from a guy up in Lynnhood for $1700. There was some rust that necessitated new body panels, but the mechanicals were Okay… or so I thought. Had a stumbly idle. I thought it was just a vacuum leak in the FI. However, I have replaced every component in the FI system and the idle is now worse. I am beginning to think a head might be cracked. In any event, I will have to drop the engine and tear into it.

Anyhow, look forward to running into you at the various VW events around western Washington.

Thu Aug 02, 2012 10:50 pm

definately! pm me lets meet up somewhere for burgers or something in the busses...where you at?