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BUS vs. Vanagon....which one to buy?
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LukeD23
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 7:59 pm    Post subject: BUS vs. Vanagon....which one to buy? Reply with quote

I am in the market for a Vanagon, but today just saw a sweeeeet bus drive by. What are the differences between these beautiful cars? MPG? Reliablity?
I am looking for a daily driver/camping machine....lead my way!!!
-Thanks
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Prinz_of_Darkness
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:22 pm    Post subject: Re: BUS vs. Vanagon....which one to buy??? Reply with quote

LukeD23 wrote:
I am in the market for a Vanagon, but today just saw a sweeeeet bus drive by. What are the differences between these beautiful cars? MPG? Reliablity?
I am looking for a daily driver/camping machine....lead my way!!!
-Thanks


Why, a Bay of course. I like the whole "Smiles per mile" factor. Everyone notices Fiona, and everyone has a story about spending time in a bus, "Why, one summer back in '74, etc, etc. Heck get about 2-5 offers a month to trade or sell her. She's family though.
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Last edited by Prinz_of_Darkness on Wed Feb 28, 2007 9:13 pm; edited 1 time in total
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LukeD23
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

haha I like the idea of smiles per gallon......
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Adventurewagen
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You ever see a vanagon driver wave to another one?

If you post that question in the bay window forum you also gotta expect to get the answer: Buy a Bay Smile

Search around, there are tons of threads on this topic.
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old DKP driver
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 9:23 pm    Post subject: Vanagon vs. Van Reply with quote

Look at the long term experience with your purchase. unless you spend $8k and up you will not get a camper that's resale will equal what a 78-79 camper will resell for. vanagon's are ok but will not have a long term value. find a nice Westy or Riviera. just my opinion. Cool
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LukeD23
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 9:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good points all around so far....
Whats the life expectancy of a Bus engine? How much are repairs? How likely is one to make it on a cross country trip?
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casey79westfalia
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 9:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bays will be easier to work on and cheaper to repair in the long run. Plus they just look better out on the open rd!
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JonMan
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 10:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

bay all the way. they are more aesthetically pleasing then a vanagon. but i would recomend a pre-68 over that. just my opinion though
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VDubTech
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 5:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

LukeD23 wrote:
Good points all around so far....
Whats the life expectancy of a Bus engine? How much are repairs? How likely is one to make it on a cross country trip?


I've owned probably 20 or so Buses ranging from 1962 to 1979 and damn near everything in between. I have also been the unfortunate owner of one 1990 Vanagon. Fairly low miles (90K) and it was absolutely the biggest hunk of shit I have ever driven. I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. I bought it to drive throgh a winter and had it just long enough to get the title back in my name to sell it off. My '74 however will fire right up no matter how cold it is and take me anywhere I want to go. I loved my Vanagon when I got it. That lasted about two days before it started breaking down with a vengence.
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dr. no
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 6:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not this question again....
Just get one of them. Check it as thoroughly as you are capable. Just as many people have gotten rid of pig Bays as Vanagons.
And ask on the Vanagon forum, too.
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Get a REAL bus, split! Razz




A fatchick will be cheaper overall. A vanagon, well, why bother! Rolling Eyes


Either way, if you are NOT into wrenching yourself AND fairly often, get a ricer minivan! Confused
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 8:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Chevy Astro. Definitely.
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This topic again?

Ok I'll bite!

The best example I can think of was the last time this queston cam around when someone said:

"Have you even seen anybody wave at a vanagon? I didn't think so!"

Bay all the Way man! Their funner and just more cooler than a vanagon! And hey do vanagons have movies about them? NO! Do they magically appear on a tropical island where people are stranded with a dead dude in them? NO! But Bays do!

Go bay! Very Happy
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LukeD23
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There obviously is alot of love for a Bay, and I can see myself loving one...but what about some numbers? How reliable are these old aircooled engines? I have a 73 super right now and the thing has broken down everytime ive tried to drive it more than 4 hours straight on a hwy....
I want to get something that will take me accross country.....

I know these vans were made for that...but can they still handle a cross country trip???

ps..are there any threads on here about MPG?? Or maybe just toss your personal MPG...thanks alot for all the feedback!!
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

dr. no wrote:
Not this question again....
Just get one of them.


I'd have to agree. You're going to get dozens of different opinions (like you have already). Just buy one.
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Vanagon owners do wave at each other, just not as much as the bay folks.

I loved my 74 camper when I had it, but it sucked in the winter up here in AK.

I currently own an 87 Syncro weekender and it is possibly my favorite vehicle I have ever owned, and it has heat!

Both had their issues, the engine in the Bay was a little easier to work on but once you get familiar with the wasserboxer it's not that complicated.

Find a Bay of Vanagon that you like and go for it.
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Quadratrückseite
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

LukeD23 wrote:
There obviously is alot of love for a Bay, and I can see myself loving one...but what about some numbers? How reliable are these old aircooled engines? I have a 73 super right now and the thing has broken down everytime ive tried to drive it more than 4 hours straight on a hwy....
I want to get something that will take me accross country.....

I know these vans were made for that...but can they still handle a cross country trip???


ps..are there any threads on here about MPG?? Or maybe just toss your personal MPG...thanks alot for all the feedback!!

Pretty much any well-maintained vehicle should be able to make a cross-country trip. Later Bays have more power for highway speeds. I would get the one you want, and make sure you go over the vehicle 100% before going anywhere. Replace the fuel lines! My goal is to drive mine all over the country. If you are super-worried about reliability, there are several manufacturers of new/rebuilt engines. And get AAA! Very Happy Any car can break down if warning signs are ignored, even the new "reliable" Hondas, Toyotas, etc. I've got a feeling due to the recent press on Bays (Little Miss Sunshine, Lost, etc.), prices will start to go up pretty quickly.
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Adventurewagen
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Funny Bay Vs. Vanagon Story (from a Bay owners point of view).

I'm a bit of a bus nut around my neighborhood and have searched every block for about a 15 block radius. My wife laughs because I'll see a bus and say "Oh, thats the bus from over on 64th and 2nd".

So I'm standing in my driveway working on my bus and these people stop down the alley and start admiring the bus. They say they've got a bus too and live down the street. So I say is yours the brown champaign or the tan bus with the funny top? They say no, so I keep going through all the buses in the area that I can think of. None of them are their buses, so I say I must not have seen it before which is odd since I know every single bus around me. The guy then says ours is the "white" bus just down at the end of the block. Still not knowing which bus it was I lied and said "oh yeah, I know your bus, its really nice".

The next day as I was parking at the end of the block I pulled up behind a white 80's Vanagon Confused There it was, the bus I had never even noticed. No worries though since I don't even consider them a bus.

Good thing I didn't almost say what I was thinking. I almost said, "Well I have no clue what bus is yours, is it a stupid vanagon or something?" Twisted Evil
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quadratrückseite wrote:
LukeD23 wrote:
There obviously is alot of love for a Bay, and I can see myself loving one...but what about some numbers? How reliable are these old aircooled engines? I have a 73 super right now and the thing has broken down everytime ive tried to drive it more than 4 hours straight on a hwy....
I want to get something that will take me accross country.....

I know these vans were made for that...but can they still handle a cross country trip???


ps..are there any threads on here about MPG?? Or maybe just toss your personal MPG...thanks alot for all the feedback!!

Pretty much any well-maintained vehicle should be able to make a cross-country trip. Later Bays have more power for highway speeds. I would get the one you want, and make sure you go over the vehicle 100% before going anywhere. Replace the fuel lines! My goal is to drive mine all over the country. If you are super-worried about reliability, there are several manufacturers of new/rebuilt engines. And get AAA! Very Happy Any car can break down if warning signs are ignored, even the new "reliable" Hondas, Toyotas, etc. I've got a feeling due to the recent press on Bays (Little Miss Sunshine, Lost, etc.), prices will start to go up pretty quickly.


Yeah, what ^he^ said! Razz


How much maintenance did you put into your stuperbeetle to be breaking down so much? Confused

Though not a fatchick, the mechanicals are pretty much the same in my Dormy. Having the Plump Truck and the wife's Jeep at my disposal, I've been driving the Dormy only to "events". These could be ANYWHERE from local cruise nights to shows and campouts in San Jose, Arizona, etc. Had been sitting in the garage for a good couple of weeks before I drove it for 3 hours straight up to Palmdale, some 200 miles. Did the photo shoot one day then drove straight back home non stop again. Absolutely no issues whatsoever. Cool

So, again the issue of how much wrenching do YOU do or if you don't, how good a mechanic do you have and do you trust him, must be vital here. Think
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dr. no
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
The best example I can think of was the last time this queston cam around when someone said:

"Have you even seen anybody wave at a vanagon? I didn't think so!"


Not true at all! We wave at all real VWs, but most of you snobs won't wave back at a Vanagon.
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'69 Karmann Ghia (the only one I miss--in nice weather, anyway...)
'91 Fox
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