should i buy a 1984 vanagon gl?

[justinlandis]

my wife and i have been interested in getting a vanagon for a while, and recently came across one that we could probably get cheap. however, it's been sitting for several years. the owner said she stopped driving it because it made a noise at 45mph, which could obviously be a number of things.

i don't now much about vw vanagons. is this a decent year/model to buy for a project? it would need a lot of cleaning up, and has 173k miles on it, and i don't know what condition the engine's in. would it be worth $500? less? more?

any advice would be appreciated. thanks

[allsierra123]

the thing with cheap vanagons is you usually have to put as much money into them as expensive vanagons cost to make them reliable. I bought a cheap one and I bought as a daily driver. It hasnt ran in almost a year and i am many thousand dollars in the hole. I still love the van a look forward to the day I can drive it again,
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95 GMC Yukon 6.5 TD 2 Door Tow pig/ Daily driver.
91 Vanagon GL. 1.9TD Conversion Sold
81 Vw rabbit 1.6 Diesel. Sold

[tikibus]

This is the time of year when "Spring"cleaning/ get that "XXXX" outta here happens.
Before you do anything, get over there and see if you can turn the engine by hand. Don't mess with putting a key into it and seeing if the starter pulls, just ease into it. Look for funkiness. I know your looking into a foreign land, but put your eyes to it.
Sitting for 7 years poses a host of Gremlins. Be good and wise to you and your Family that you might/will be spending time underneath the beast. Which is okay, if funds allow.

Most important: it is a an agreement between you and your better half. Be honest to each other in the process. You might have stumbled on a find or a lemon, so that needs to be put forth.
_________________
Happy Trails!
Mark
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Founding member of the Empire State VW Camping Club.
http://www.empirevwcamping.org/
1984 Westy - Tiki
1997 Honda Civic -The Green Hornet
1971 Volvo P-1800E- needs TLC

[allsierra123]

yes make sure she is on board or you'll be sailing the uss blamesville with me.
_________________
95 GMC Yukon 6.5 TD 2 Door Tow pig/ Daily driver.
91 Vanagon GL. 1.9TD Conversion Sold
81 Vw rabbit 1.6 Diesel. Sold

[Texxxxx]

[Mr. Electric Wizard]

[Wildthings]

If the body is in good shape go for it. A used tranny could be had for $500 and other noise sources like wheel bearings could even be cheaper. The engine would be the worse but at $3500 is not a killer.

Don't try and do what all too many do which is to pay on $500 for a van and then get upset when repairs exceed the purchase price. Few would give up on a $30,000 vehicle if it needed $3500 in repairs a few years down the road, but people often won't put the same kind of money into a $500 vehicle cause "It ain't worth anything".

I paid $400 for my 83 1/2 and have put maybe $2000 into it over the last 60,000 miles. A deal in my book.

[justinlandis]

great points and great wisdom. the part about my wife being on board is solid gold, and i need to confirm before doing anything.

as for the pre-purchase check, i met a guy here who knows air-cooled vw's very well, and he's gonna at least look at it with me and let me know what he thinks. he also has a good friend who knows vanagons, so with their help, and yours, i ought to be able to make a good decision.

thanks again.

[allsierra123]

for what its worth aircooled may not have as much power. but they seem so much simpler to me.
_________________
95 GMC Yukon 6.5 TD 2 Door Tow pig/ Daily driver.
91 Vanagon GL. 1.9TD Conversion Sold
81 Vw rabbit 1.6 Diesel. Sold