Is it just me, or is the bubble bursting?

[otiswesty]

[Zeitgeist 13]

If you bought a Vanagon in the last ten years, you probably paid too much; the Go Westy tax.
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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[E1]

While I understand comparing prices, hassles, and mileage against a modern van, the fact remains that none of them can do backroads anything like even a 2WD Vanagon. Not even close, unless you spend north of a buck-twenty on an off-road shorty Sprinter... which mostly demands it's too expensive to take the roads it was made for.

Lest we also forget that our engines are in the right end and not a single one of theirs are. Add in a long history and a perennial image of true freedom and a Sprinter's not even close. Hell, I can almost never even get them to wave while most Vanagons attract new friendships like a nuclear magnet.

We meet wide-eyed, early-20-somethings nearly every day, and not a one of them have ever mentioned a rat's worth of interest in Sprinters. That market is for an older crowd in both finances and, Ahem, style. Let's give the youngers a decade and they'll have good money for an operable Vanagon.

Markets driven by passion always come back... I see the very same with race cars... but all this said, I've yet to see any concerning correction anyway.
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‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[Sodo]

[Turbod16v]

[calo1956]

The difference is anyone can own/drive a Transit or Metris, but who looks at them as they drive by? The VW is a way of life, not just a means of transportation. If you want to cruse the country in style, buy your self a Sprinter, if you want a way of life, own a VW...
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Enjoy the ride....
72 bug
80 westfalia

[Abscate]

The mantra that internet viewership correlates to sales is flawedacross many markets and I suspect that’s true here.
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.ssS!

[vanagonjr]

[BavarianWrench]

I have not seen many screaming deals. Nice vans bring good money. I believe New Van options have impacted the market. I hope buyers are researching purchases of used Vanagons. They have always been all over the map. There is a glut of pre 86 Westy builders out there. That glut impacts the market too. Many of the sub 10K to 15K vans I have seen will quickly demand big dollars and or labor hours to make them a high quality Westy. Nice 2WD Westys are still priced very high in my opinion. I own one, love it, and have a lot invested in it.
I'm not trying to be a Syncro snob. The number of Syncros produced vs 2WD vans is a pretty small percentage. I forget the number. Syncros went crazy a few years ago. Now 2WDs have followed. Many people built wonderful 2WD vans as suspension options became available. There are a lot of 2WDs out there, and they are capable. I think that combined with new alternatives for a 4WD van have softened the Syncro market. The 2WD market will follow. In the end, a well prepared van is worth a fortune. Vanagons deliver an experience I have not found in any other vehicle yet. The Vanagon footprint has not been recreated. Its efficiency and capability were and are outstanding. When compared to newer vehicles they still triumph in many areas.
Advice, don't buy builders unless they are very cheap. If you are buying a van that is supposed to be well sorted, have a pro inspect it. Then be prepared to spend some money. It will still be valuable in five years. The new van will depreciate at a much higher rate then a Vanagon.

[Sodo]

[Abscate]

[theadventureneverends]

Last week I met a guy with a recently purchased Sprinter. He was admiring my Westfalia and mentioned he wanted one but could not find a solid one in his price range so he went Sprinter. He said nice late model Westfalias were commanding top dollar. 3 months ago while van camping on the coast we had Sprinters on each side of us one of the owners was admiring our Westfalia and said the exact same thing as the guy last week.

I have a friend with a Eurovan Westfalia and wants out he would like a Vanagon Westfalia but cannot afford the current asking prices.

When ours leaves the driveway at least 50% of the time I am stopped with questions and admiration from folks that are very interested in the vehicle. Maybe 1 out of 10 times we are asked if we would sell but they know the answer as they are asking.

I just do not see any platform currently readily available in the states that does what the Vanagon platform provides. It is the perfect vehicle for my wife and I.

If GW was still sourcing prime condition Westfalias and adding a ton of time and money into them would they be selling them for any less today?

I still see prime Syncro Westfalias with near asking prices as GW but without the warranty that GW had. I see ones with rust not selling. A friend bought a mint 90 Syncro Westfalia all oem less than two years ago asking price was $40 think he paid $39k without hesitation, the sellers phone was ringing non-stop and it was in the Midwest.

Looks to me as if nice late model 2wd Westfalias are still listed in the $20- to mid 30s. No idea what they are selling for though.

Maybe prices are dropping in the last ten or maybe 10 more years of mileage, dents, and rust have caught up with the vehicle and owner?

Seems there is just as much interest in the Vanagon platform as ever at least ones in nice shape. We owned a Syncro tintop in about 2005. The Syncro tintops seem to have higher then ever asking prices.

[childofthewind]

Geez, such snobbery. I've met so many different people in their different vans and we all have the same connection with them weather it's a Vanagon, Ford, Dodge.

I've spent more time than most people I know traveling up and down the west coast and can say I see a lot fewer Vanagons than I used to and lots more Transits, Sprinters, contractor vans. I've talked to some of those people and like me used to own a Vanagon. If I had the money to get something more modern with more space would I? Probably. But this is what I have right now and just like those people, I'm fully into it and fully in love with it.

https://youtu.be/HH3ruuml-R4
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1987.5 wolfsburg hardtop; 2.1

“As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote." - Melville

[joetiger]

[SCM]

Since buying my van about 8 years ago, I think I've looked at sales prices 2 or 3 times.

What did I miss?
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'91 Westfalia GL Automatic (GTA "Turbo" Rebuild w/Peloquin) and 2.3L GoWesty Engine

[childofthewind]

[iliketowalk]

Great discussion continues -- thanks all!

I agree that there is nothing (readily) available that does what a Vanagon does, how a Vanagon does it. (Forward control, small footprint, well thought out)

If you start to look at it a little more objectively (van, camper, sleeps 4) you can get an awful lot for your money under $20k, and it's usually newer, lower miles, more power and more features (hot water heater, furnace, etc).

The Vanagon has cachet, and depending on where you are in the country it either gets a lot of attention or hardly any at all.

Let's say you want to travel the 50 states over the next year. Your total budget for the trip is $50k. Syncro is out. Are you going to spend $25-30k on a mint 2WD Westy, or would you spend $10-20k on a conversion van?

I feel the vanlife movement initially caused a big spike in prices, but as the prices went up, more and more people we forced to consider the above. More money on van = less money for rest of trip.

Also a lot of people are talking about $20-30k Vanagons for sale, but a lot of those vans have been for sale for a long time and will continue to be for sale. Realistically how many people have paid over $20k for a 2WD with a stock motor? Not many. The sweet spot right now for a 2WD with stock motor I would guess is around the $13-17k on the west coast. This would represent something in very good (but not museum / collector) condition.
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1986 Weekender "Birch"

[Abscate]

There is no 'van life movement'

A couple of people with either trust funds or family backing driving around to experience the world isn't a movement. Taking some vacation time to drive around the country is just doing what Mom and Pop 1950s did in the Biscayne station wagon, only with more verve and élan.

Much like how Sail magazines sell a concept lifestyle, very few buyers of sailboats ever do what the magazine sells as the 'lifestyle'
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.ssS!

[Zeitgeist 13]

When I bought my current Vanagon in '04, I did so simply because I regretted selling my '88 GL a year and a half before, and I'm nothing if not a creature of habit. At the time I was happily oblivious about GW, #vanlife and the whole Vanagon "community". I paid what I thought was a reasonable price ($4300) for a highly optioned fifteen year old model with all the features I liked. After I drove it home from LA I signed up for the Vanagon listserv, and was a bit shocked at how into these vans folks on there were. Vans were just utility trucks to me, so I wasn't all that passionate, and still can't quite muster the same level of starry-eyed obsession of most folks around here. I just like my Vanagon. I'm way more passionate about our EV, but that's because we go on adventures in it, and it's less truck-like in demeanor and performance. I can't imagine selling the Vanagon, 'cause...well, I just like my Vanagon. No bubbles for me, thanks.
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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[SCM]