New guy - newbie question.... Should I buy one?

[djkeev]

[Merian]

it will cost about $15k to buy a Westy or Weekender and fix it to work properly - either pay that up front or pay that over time

at the $5k level you would be buying a tintop, not a poptop of any sort

a highly knowledgeable buyer can do a lot better, assuming the have extensive DIY skills and a LOT of time to work on it - djkeev is retired - are you?
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[h00drat]

[Merian]

you are in the right place - just a bit unclear on what you were after

many use a tintop for camping - just buy a good helmet
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[h00drat]

[61Scout]

[hdenter]

Successful happy vanagon owners come in two varieties. They either have deep pockets to pay to keep them on the road or they have greasy fingers from doing it themselves. If you have the inclination to read and learn about how to take care of the van, access to the basic tools needed and the discipline to stay on top of maintenance, then you will be fine.

good luck in your search and welcome to the insanity!

Hans
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'79 triple white convertible bug
'84 sunroof vanagon
'85 weekender

[AKWesty]

Lots of good advice to weed through here. I bet that if you ask every new van owner how the first year of ownership went, you would find some common themes.

-It will break down. Is this your daily driver? Can you walk to work?

-You will fall in love with it. Your disposable income is now devoted to your van. Maintenance, break downs, or upgrades. We have all done it. We are still there.

-It will drive your wife mad. Wrenching in the driveway and the obsession with this forum and upgrades will cause some grief. It is worth it

-If you are not currently mechanically savey, don't worry. VW has been making mechanics out of owners for many many years.

I am sure I can think of more but I need to go work on my van......

-Chad
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84' Westy 2wd
EJ22 - 4spd - Peloquin TBD
GW +1.5 Springs
215/70-16's

www.CatchTheKraken.com

"Never go to Alaska as a young man because you'll never be satisfied with any other place as long as you live." -John Muir

[pnw_ski_vanagoneer]

Sounds to me like you should get it, a tin-top is excellent for camping, just figure out storage while you're camping, it's amazing how quick it gets cluttered with 2 people.

I bought myself a tin-top carat about a year ago, 255k on the odometer, but paperwork documenting a rebuild around 200k, did all the safety things, fuel lines, brake lines, oil change, pads, etc., currently in process revamping the cooling system, soon to do the clutch and transmission fluid. The in-laws were visiting this last weekend, brother-in-law was helping me and ended up leaving exclaiming he'll never buy a VW , I told him literally no car I've worked on has ever fit tools in to fix things perfectly. Just comes with experience.
IMO, unless you want to be able to stand up inside, a pop-top isn't necessary, it's heavy in an already underpowered beast, kids can be put in a side awning tent, or build character and make them sleep in a real tent.

Sounds like you have the experience and enjoy the wrenching, no reason why you shouldn't own one of these, they really are stellar for camping. I was thoroughly discouraged the first few times I posted on here about reliability, cost, etc. With a tin-top, for 15k, you could just about get one, and drop a 1.8t in. It's all relative for what a 'decent rig' is. Just make sure you do your own work, people who specialize in fixing VWs charge an arm and a leg.


My plan with mine, is to continue driving it until it's engine explodes, see where I'm at financially, and go from there.

[designer]

gotta do it. Gotta love it though. Gotta commit unless you're gonna go big bucks on a completely cherry finished one. Open your mind and open your wallet!

Don't be afraid to ask questions and post your concerns and 99% of the members here are super great to help and help and help.

When i bought my second syncro i hadn't changed so much as a fan belt. When i did that I was pumped. this past week i installed my new transmission, a new starter then uninstalled it all because i forgot to put on a throw out bearing, then reinstalled it (it took me about 10 hours to get it off the first time - about 1.5 the second) then bled the clutch, bled the coolant, broke my shifter off, had it welded, reinstalled it, adjusted my shift linkage and then went camping on Sunday afternoon with the wife and kids 100 miles away!

And on the way home, up 4th of July pass, my gas pedal slammed to the floor and my rpms went to idle. While i freaked out initially, i pulled over on I-90, uphill, blind curve and calmly fixed what i thought was wrong - and I was right! The throttle cable wiggled out of the throttle housing. Piece of Cake.

Bottom line - if you commit, it'll bring you tons of pleasure. With each problem you solve your confidence will improve and you'll love your van more and more.
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87 Syncro Westy : 2.5l

"It is that annoying, accelerating downhill so I can make it up the next hill in the same gear. Foot to floor hoping I can get out of the way of other cars getting onto the highway." - somebody on here around 2013.

[christopherlayton]

Hi, welcome to the forum! I'm local, and in the middle of a suspension rebuild on my Westy. If you want to come by and poke around (the van!), let me know. My experience so far is similar to most here; it takes a fair amount of money and time to keep these vans on the road, but they're great fun. My family prefers the van to our Subaru (what can I say, we're local) for any trip. While there's lots of vanagons in and passing through Hood River, there is also a vibrant community of Vanagon owners out of Portland who have been really helpful.
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1982 Vanagon Westfalia, EJ22, Subarugears w/LSD, all the usual Mods
IG: christopherlayton

[h00drat]

Again, thanks for all of the advice and input.

What do you guys think a VW mechanic in the Portland/Vancouver area will try to charge me to take a look at the van before bringing it home?

[dobryan]

[Ahwahnee]

For many years when someone would admire my van and ask about getting one I would talk up the virtues & delights of this great machine.

Eventually I accepted this is not for everyone and enthusiasm is not the same as commitment. I no longer offer such encouragement.

A famous pianist (I think it was Rubenstein) said people often remarked 'I would give anything to be able to play like you'. He assured them they probably would not. Admirers saw only the result - not the years of hard work, sacrifice, daily practice etc that made that result possible.

[h00drat]

Surprised it's only 8 - 5 on the poll....but I imagine you guys see a lot of people pop up on here who aren't right for the vehicle. I feel like I am...but only time will tell I suppose.

[joetiger]

[Tom Powell]

[pnw_ski_vanagoneer]

It really comes down to how much you are willing to spend on one of these. IMO, they aren't necessarily more expensive than any other VW of their age to own. BUT, many of them have not been taken care of up to VW standard maintenance expectations, which is where expenses come in. Since mine was well maintained, I've really probably only put about 1-1.5k into it.

It doesn't really matter what everyone's opinion on here is on this. Someone who said go for it, could be a retired, trust fund baby, who enjoys wrenching/paying someone to do the work and in return they get their hippie nostalgia and easy camping. ( I promise I have no one in mind when I say this ). If YOU feel it will fit into your life, go for it.

A short story from my slightly younger years: I bought a Vanagon living in Hawaii, from a local (they have somewhat of a reputation for screwing over us mainlanders, which I was unaware of at the time.) I bought it for $1800 knowing nothing other than it needed a new power steering pump. Within the first month, I was easily 3k into repairs (clutch, wheel bearings, fuel tank reseal, ball joints, shocks etc.), realizing the extent of it's paint covering rust issues, etc., it was still a great surfboard hauler. I sold it when I moved to Washington, and a year or so after getting up here, I bought a different one, well taken care of and I've still put a fair amount of money into it, but it's a much more relaxed pace with me doing all of the work.

I have always dreamed of making it into a family road-trip/camping vehicle, but I realized a few weeks ago that I'm not sure I'd ever trust something this old with my wife and baby, over long distance. Although I'm on the fence about it, I can't justify my feeling, neither of my vans have ever let me down in a major way before, but it is stressful to notice an oil leak the day you're leaving on a 2.5 hour road trip, filling up at the gas station and having the vent lines leak, and then hope you make it without seizing the engine/bursting into flames I did meet some excellent ex-VW mechanics who happened to have the exact size of fuel line I was looking for on my way and did some campsite repairs that night.

I had originally bought it prior to new baby, for a leave after work, camp at the trail head, get an early start without all the driving type of vehicle, along with ski resort camping. I am now unfortunately weighing my options.

So you need to ask yourself, will you feel comfortable with the financial investment and time getting it up to snuff for doing what you want to in it? If yes, then go for it.
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"If a problem can be solved there is no use worrying about it. If it can't be solved, worrying will do no good."

91 Tornado Red Carat

[Tom Powell]

[WestyBob]

So is it my understanding everyone on this thread is a vanagon enthusiast ?