SF Bay Area pre-purchase inspection/appraisals?

[Bikerjen]

I'm looking at a '90 Vanagon which (according to CARFAX) had some sort of major issue in '94. It got a salvage title which it managed to lose later in life. It looks good and seems to drive well but I'd like to have someone who seriously knows their stuff to check for signs of a wreck (frame issues), plus the usual stuff like is there a rust monster lurking and how mechanically sound it is. The seller was up front about everything and is cool with this, I just want to find the best place to take it.

Also I'd be interested in persons/places to get appraisals for insurance. I did find Go Westy does something which isn't a pure appraisal (since they are not licensed for that) but might carry some weight. Maybe the PPI and the appraisal could be all in one?

I've tried to research some of this, but would recommend some advice from this board -- which I have read way too many threads on lately! Apologies if I'm asking something for the 100th time.

Vanagon is in Menlo Park but willing to drive some distance because this is important!

[j_dirge]

Fred's Garage in Redwood City is very close to Menlo Park and has very good feedback. Might be a good place to start with a phone call.
_________________
-89 GL Westy, SVX.. finally.

-57 pan f/g buggy with a 67 pancake Type 3 "S"
"Jimi Hendrix owned one. Richard Nixon did not"
-Grand Tour, Season 1, episodes 4 and 5

[insyncro]

I applaud your direction on purchasing and information gathering.
Well done.

I do such appraisals and inspections, but am on the East Coast.

There are plenty of reputable shops in your area that can handle the task.

Good luck.

[bluebus86]

Are your sure it is an apprasial you need, rather than a pre-opurchase inspection? An apprasial is usually needed for insuring a car, to determine it value.

A Pre-purchase inspection would be one that road tests the van, maybe do a leak down test on the motor, inspect tranny fluid, brake fluid, rotors, ball joints, body and frame examination etc... It all depends on how much you ask them to look at (cost will vary)

Freds garage could do it I guess, they have a lot of vanagons there.

Car fax my friend found was wrong on a honda he bought, carfax said no crash ever, but when we went to find a interior water leak, it was caused by lack of seam sealer used on a repair (entire quarter panel replaced, rear apron replaced.) the car was hit hard, the repair looked good from the outside. Only after removing the interior and bumper were we able to detect the damage, and lack of seam sealer. Rust had started, becuase of the poor repair. even the carpets got moldy from the leak!


Since the seller is being honest with you, ask specifically where the van was hit, then make sure that area is given the once over. remove interior panels to expose the inside, and look for seam sealer, correct priming, etc....
An alignment shop should be able to tell you if the frame is badly bent or not.

The major problem I have seen with body repairs is that the may look great on the outside (that is what 99% of the customers ever see on their car) yet often the repair lacks seam sealer, lacing water proof primer inside, holes left open to water, drain holes blocked, etc.... This bad repair can cause probelm years later if rust starts to form due to poor repair.

Thus besure to examine the inside of any repair very carefully. Likely mosty mechanical shops are not too well versed in this type of inspection, so make sure that they do this, and know what too look for. One simple way to check is compare the damaged side of the van, to the undamaged, remove the interior on both sides and compair. you might even consider doing this yourself, should not be too difficult, you could even post photos here if you have concerns about what you find.

[Bikerjen]

This crash (or whatever it was) happened in 1994, long before the present owner bought it in 2007. He doesn't know what happened and those details are lost to history. Otherwise, yes, it would be nice to know. There is no obviously damaged anything, but I am no expert hence this post. It just makes me wonder what could have potentially caused a 4-year old car to be totalled. And no, I do not know what happened that is just one possibility. Maybe it was flooded. Maybe ... maybe ... maybe.

Yes, I thought I was clear I was asking about two separate things. A pre-purchase inspection that covered such things as frames, rust and mechanical wellness -- which, as you state, not everyone is good at body work and mechanicals. However the Bay Area is rather huge and I thought such a single person/shop might exist with a recommendation from a Samba member.

Secondly, the appraisal would be for insurance and/or valuation on the van. It is conceivable the same person could do both, but doubtful.

[madspaniard]

If you have pics of the van (interior and exterior), we have enough Bay Area guys here that are very familiar with market value and can estimate the value of the van, not exactly an appraisal but most likely we will give you a number closer to reality. We would not know how the engine/tranny/suspension works by looking at pics though but a place like Fred's Garage, Tassi or The Buslab in Berkeley can do that for you.
_________________
1991 Westy auto w/ Peloquin TBD

"The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad” - Salvador Dali

[juanl]

[bluebus86]

take into account the repair is near 2 decades old, If repair was done extremely bad, it likely would be failing by now, and you would see it. ask Freds garage. Also for engine ralated stuff, ask Ken Jansen Enterprises in Blemont, They are expert VW engine folks.

[vwlovr]

+1 on Fred's, you're not going to find a closer Vanagon friendly shop.

[Bikerjen]

Great, thanks for all the responses so far. I will give a call to Fred's Garage next step.

It does need (eventually) new paint, the clear coat is peeling all over but other than the rear under rust (in the photo) it looks clean. But I've seen those pictures of other vans (like behind the fridge) which freak me out a little! There is an older estimate of about 3K for paint repair in Oakland (Miracle Collision Center) which as far as I can tell does not involve window rubber replacement but does have a 5 year guarantee.

The Vanagon in question is this one:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1416119

Opinions on price are welcomed. It seems high to me but it also has had a lot of recent Go Westy work done. For the last five years it pretty much has been used to drive between Taos and Menlo Park.

[j_dirge]

The price is in the zone of reasonable given the upgrades IF, the camping interior is on working order and not molested.

The quotes on upgrades are high.. suggesting they were performed by a shop's mechanice. GW maybe? Verify that and disucss with the shop that did the work if it was recent.

A Van that has made several trips to Toas and back is likely pretty well sorted.. Thats not a trip you take with a mechanical beater..
BUT it may need a good going thru to bring it all up to a similar level.. i.e. tune, brake service, tires, FI test/service, exhauast, etc,

The paint? Yeah thats a bummer.. and it may or may not be in need of repaint SOON.. but if you can store it out of the elemnts (garaged) I'd not rush into a $3000 paint job. Wait on it and decide if the van is a keeper and that may mean an 8k paint job is worth it to you. The difference between Maaco 3k and the 8k at a shop that knows VW vans.. is not to be taken lightly.


Burningvan is this weekend BTW.. At Ocean Beach in SF (check the thread) It is a good opportuntiy for you, as a potential buyer, to see a myriad of vans.. modified and stock, clean and not so clean.. used heavily to meticuously cared for.. chit chat, get comparable values, etc.
See whats out there i one fell swoop.
_________________
-89 GL Westy, SVX.. finally.

-57 pan f/g buggy with a 67 pancake Type 3 "S"
"Jimi Hendrix owned one. Richard Nixon did not"
-Grand Tour, Season 1, episodes 4 and 5

[bluebus86]

if you were to spend the bucks on paint, get teh window rubber removed and replaced. Leaking rubber seals will often start to rust out the rubber seal's lip on the body. If you fail to replace the rubber, not only are there cosmetic concerns (tapped off rubber when painting can usually be easy to detect, a sign of a bad paint job. the chances of rust rubber the rubber could be high, and attempt to repair that after a paint job will end up costing you more in the long run.

Since this is a camper (didn't see that in the first post) you need to have a look behind the cabints, particularly the sink cabinet. pull off the interior panels, often campers had fiberglass insulation added in there, and that can hold a lot of water and cause interior rust.

Bottom line, is look behind the cabinets, and interior panels to be sure.
non campers do not have this issue as often.