New to this. All help appreciated

[angelstar1007]

Hello to all. I’m new to this so I apologise if I’m not posting correctly. Many years ago I had a type 2 1972 Westy. Her name was Bella. This was in the U.K.
I moved to the USA about 5 years ago and am a little older now. I want to buy another bus and travel this huge country in a year or so.
I don’t know what to buy. Obviously I have a fondness for the type 2 bus!
I’ve been reading these forums for a few months and I hope that by becoming a member I will be lucky enough to get a wealth of knowledge and advice before I commit to buying my dream.
So far I have seen
*1971 bus not camper with an original flat 4 for $5000
* 1981 westfalia camper with 2l air cooled for $12000
* various buses/campers located in Brazil
* several Craigslist and eBay ads at varying prices.
It’s a rabbit hole. I’ve lost several days already.
Does anyone have any good advice or links to where I can find advice on what to look for and what would be a good buy? I really don’t want to get taken advantage of. I’m very easily led by pretty things and don’t know what I’m looking for. Sweet talkers and bargains are my weakness. Please help.

[rcroane]

Welcome!

First question....what's your budget?
_________________
'65 Sunroof Bug

[Abscate]

One adaptation you have to understand.

There is no MOT in the US. Each state has its own program of inspections, some states don’t inspect at all. There is little regulation on reselling cars so you can buy a manifestly unsafe vehicle and have no recourse.

There are people who change ID numbers on cars to hide that they are stolen. These numbers appear in three places on each car, if they don’t match it can be a big problem.

Basically, treat buying as a free for all of unregulated commerce compared to the UK.

Good running T2 Bay Bus will be about 10k
Good running T3 Camper about 20k
_________________
.ssS!

[vwinnovator]

If your planning on traveling the country, you might want to start with a decent "core" and have it reconditioned.

As these are now 40,50, 60 yr old vehicles, there are lots of worn, overlooked, "just getting by", components that work ok for 10-15 mile trips, but most likely will fail when put to long tests.

fresh engine, fresh trans, fresh brake(ALL components), suspension, steering, etc...

Focus your budget on the mechanicals as the cosmetics(paint, interior..)won't leave you broken down middle of nowhere

[angelstar1007]

Wow you guys are quick!! Thanks.
I have a budget of about $5-10000 depending on what needs doing. I appreciate the advice about the MOT and it’s a new concept to me that people can actually sell the vehicles that might blow up at any moment.
I am not afraid of hard work or learning new skills. I quite like the idea of spending half my waking hours tinkering around with my little dream in the garage. Of course I have no experience of anything other than changing oil and filters but you are never too old to learn right?
I think I’m more worried by rust and holes and “wobbly” vans than I am about the mechanics of it. I feel like rust could cost more to fix.
Please correct me and advise!
Do you think it’s possible to get a driveable van that’s quite nice for under $20,000? Even if I buy it at $5-10,000 and invest in repairs to make it so?

[rcroane]

Disclaimer....I know nothing about vans (I'm a bug guy), but this one caught my eye. I realize it's in CA so you'd have to factor in the cost of shipping. I would trust a Samba seller before CL, Ebay, etc. This seller seems to have good feedback, too.

Good luck!
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2438933
_________________
'65 Sunroof Bug

[Cusser]

[TDCTDI]

Good luck on your search for a $5,000-$10,000 bay worthy of any sort of road trip.


Remember, be REALLY suspicious if it’s got fresh paint.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[CanStan]

[61SNRF]

Hi and welcome to America!

The VW passion runs rampant in this site but please be aware the VW transporters of all years were/are a foreign car here. That means parts and service can be a specialty not widely available across the country. Parts are one thing but some service centers may simply refuse to work on them.

Not to discourage you at all but in harsh honesty if you just want to get in and drive happily across the country you may be better setting off in an American camper conversion van.
_________________
-Bruce

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[CanStan]

[FarmerBill]

Yep, lots of spare parts are needed on board now. Gone are the days of every FLAPS having even the most basic air-cooled VW parts. When I drove my 71 bus cross country in the mid 90s you could still get most of what you needed either off the shelf or in a day or two. I still carried a spare distributor, carb, fuel pump, assortment of seals and gaskets, one good used head, etc. The idea was to swap a failed part as quickly as possible and get back on the road.

[oprn]

Not to discourage you but on major freeways these days with the speed most people travel a Bus is going to be a source of frustration for all involved. Of course that would give you licence to take all the scenic routes...
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[angelstar1007]

I am not discouraged quite yet. I have no plans to make a plan! If i get stuck I will adventure!! So much useful advice though. I am grateful. I’ll keep looking. Perhaps my time plan is a little over hopefully perhaps I should look at a trip in 2 years. I like the idea of testing it out close to home first.

[vwinnovator]

[Blue Baron]

Here's some advice.

When you buy a bus, have some sort of temporary warranty written into the bill of sale, and signed by the seller. All used car sales are normally "as is" unless there is some form of warranty.

I was watching one of the judge shows on TV, and the buyer smartly had written in that the seller would take back the car and refund her money if repair estimates totalled more than $1,000. She took it to court, and the judge enforced it.
_________________
We are striving for perfection, to make our cars run forever, if possible.

Heinz Nordhoff

[CanStan]

[Blue Baron]

I agree, the first option is getting it inspected. In this instance, the buyer was prevented from getting the car checked out, so she added the provision to the bill of sale.

I'm looking at it from the perspective of the buyer, not the seller. All I said was it was an idea to consider. It would depend on the circumstances. You'd be surprised what a seller will sign, especially when there is cash being waved around and no other buyer in sight. If someone boasts their bus is good to drive cross country, let them back it up.

And yes, judge shows are full of asshats.
_________________
We are striving for perfection, to make our cars run forever, if possible.

Heinz Nordhoff

[Abscate]

On your timeframe I would seek out a dry west coast camper and have a inspection done out there ( cost $300-500) before finalizing the deal.

From there you can either ship back or make it leg one of your journey around the US

It’s a great time to be getting ready as we are locked down with the Covid for a few more months

Robbie here on Samba ( user airschooled) is west coast based PPI candidate.
_________________
.ssS!

[TrulyVintage]

You are not going to find a roadworthy vehicle for sale
Online for $5000 to $10,000

Your budget is unrealistic
_________________
Jim is on the road @ http://www.trulyvintagetrailers.citymax.com/trulyvintage-feedback.html