How long did you shop for your Westy?

[YosemiteBound]

My wife and I are happy to report that we are officially shopping for our first Westy. I've spent years pouring through posts here... dreaming, first, of a bay window. And the last few years of a vanagon.

We had a baby and then decided it wasn't the time. But we kept our Westy fund going. Now our kiddo is a year and a half and we just don't want to deprive her of the open road anymore.

We've now looked at about twelve vanagons. Thanks to this site I believe I know exactly what to look for. However, neither one of us believes we've seen "the one" yet.

One will just handle terribly, another one will drip too much oil, another with too much seam rust... maybe one will stink to high heaven and have suspect chew marks all over it. Of course some will have owners asking too much.

We're looking for a water-cooled 83.5 plus in the SoCal area. We've driven 1.9 and 2.1 offerings. I should say we love the mountains so 2.1 would be great - but I've been impressed with a well rebuilt 1.9 and love the vintage stylings.

I'm not creating a post to compare the difference or discuss what we should get (I've been reading a ton of these posts with the search function). I was just hoping to hear any stories about Westy shopping... how long it took you and any "vanagon that got away" stories? How did you find yours and how did you know it was the one?

We're looking at two more on Saturday and one more on Sunday. Fingers crossed and thanks for helping me kill time as I wait!

This forum is fantastic. Oh and post a pic!

[campism]

I began doing research in '02 and bought in '06.
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'87 Westy in Wolfram Grey Metallic

[E1]

Welcome to the Busylum!

(Okay, too scary, try…)

Welcome to the Nuthouse!

(could be misinterpreted, something smooth, something warm…)

Welcome!

(Man that's boring…)


We looked about a year, then got serious and looked… about another year. That first year we considered lotsa stuff, as we were about to full-time travel as a specific and only remedy to going broke from a couple malpracticing doctors. I still hate them.

(too harsh, just say you despise them and wouldn't extend a hand if they were Cary Grant in North by Northwest).

We had to vacate our place on April 30 and had not found a van in mid-February. We gave up and accepted that we had to live in our Jetta for a while.

Then by sheer fluke I missed looking at buses one night — on the way to the can, no less — after two weeks and for giggles I looked again… and there it was, an '84 in the color we wanted, the price we had to live with, and 12 miles away! I, too wanted the round headlights, Dammit.

We bought it the next day, after a complete inspection. The VW-specific dealer in Denver, and then a mechanic "friend" entrusted to prep it all for travel by first of May at the latest, turned out to both be lying bastards and should have pursued medicine.

But in the end it was okay… we lost about $6 avoidable Grand in the first two months via connivery and crookery, but as you can tell I'm clearly over all that baggage now.

We have found some very trusted mechanics on the road since. And by and large, to obvious and undeniable proportions, the fellow owners have been great and we have more owner friends than we can properly keep up with.

I bring this all up for one reason. I got into this picturing the parts and service community to all own Hendrix albums, be super-adept at Frazz, and walk about with flowers in their hair. I was dead wrong, so just know going in that the odds of misappropriations are as high or higher than I'd ever experienced in the prior 36 years of car ownership before this.

But fear not, there's great suppliers out there but they're not necessarily the ones with big names.

All bitterness said, I wouldn't have had it any other way. We've been out five years and eight days, and it's the greatest rig in the world for drawing only good people to you at campsites, and really everywhere else you go. The uncools sneer, doing us a favor in essence, and I snowball them as they drive away. Sometimes it's pre-packed into iceballs.

I have concluded it was meant to end that way after 33 years of loving life in Denver, maybe as it was no longer sad to book it out. I think a tissue was needed atop Genesee, then a hose blew an hour later from said idiot mechanic leaving it resting on the header. I no longer send him Christmas cards.

You will need to be a good mechanic, or take up bank robbery (male prostitution seems a conflict for a family man). The issues can be frequent or not, quite unpredictable actually, but so far none of them have been too expensive once we left the two major Denver issues behind. Most breakdowns have been far more comical than scary.

As time's gone by we've been able to fix more and more ourselves, but there is a Big Black Mystery period to endure. But we'll all help when we can here, provided you don't mind parting with a Titanic-load of beer, and not just the cheap stuff. Buy a trailer for individual favor paybacks.

The above is all true, perhaps humorized (or not) as a welcome to a good group of people. If you are, too, you'll fit right in.

SHOP SLOWLY, it's good practice for what happens upon full throttle..


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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

[11BC2]

I spend about 48 seconds deciding to buy my 85 Joker...on a whim...I wasn't even looking to buy a Westie.

[elizer]

Became interested in 2010.
Got serious 2015.
Imported one from Belgium in 2015.
It never felt like the one and I kept browsing around.
Bought the One in 2016.

I think there is a reason why the "should I buy this van" threads get a lot of posts and views. It brings back that feeling and excitement of buying a vanagon in a lot of us.

Post pictures when you get it!

[Pinetops]

I didn't. I've been driving old buses for years and was offered the vanagon.
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"A rolling bus gathers no rust."

[dlb154]

Not sure "shopping" ever ends... Even after buying; the sickness goes on.

[Dampcamper]

[Abscate]

My wife agreed for me to prostitute my self for the college fund one year. First night was a little slow, I only made $20.25

She asked , who paid you the quarter?

I said, “All of them.”
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.ssS!

[Ahwahnee]

Only looked at one... on a whim when I saw this ad in the local Trader:

Only took a moment to decide - had to have it.

[E1]

[YosemiteBound]

Geez, I love this place. You guys are awesome.

And I should clarify: we're not giving up the house yet. My wife and I both work two full time jobs and the kiddo is in a daycare she loves during the week. For now, at least, we're weekend and holiday warriors. But I'm a surfer by heart and see us driving to Malibu Friday evening and being the first ones to paddle out at sunrise. Maybe one night in the westy a week

And as many Yosemite and Colorado trips as possible.

I've already bought the perfect Grateful Dead sticker for the rear window. I just need the bus to stick it to.

Money could be a problem. We're only looking to spend around $12k. But I've seen a couple of beautiful 83 and 84s for that price and a few ugly but nice running 85+.

My wife thinks that a clean and cute 84 in Temecula is going to be the one and I think a sun faded and dashboard cracked 85 in Ventura will be. But we've thought this before....

And, Cary Grant's "I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders that depend upon me..." is my favorite line from NxNW

Love the reads so far!

[E1]

[sphet]

We looked at 5 or 6 campers of all kinds, a halfdozen Eurovans and then impulsively bought the first vanagon we saw - the slowest and rarest to boot. But the roominess and joyfulness of our yellow block of butter trumped everything we've seen. We probably paid too much for it but in Vancouver vans are expensive. So far have not put a tonne of money into it. We looked for three months but have wanted a westy forever. I wish we'd bought one years ago.
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1982 Diesel Westfalia 1.6 NA - The Shellakabuukiee

[kamzcab86]

Daydreamed about one when I was a kid and got one in ca. 1982:

Continued to daydream as an adult, and this forum's photo threads didn't help. Fast forward to December 2009... wasn't seriously looking, but happened to open TheSamba Classifieds one day and there it was in a featured ad at the top. Conversed with the seller via email a bunch and finally went to see the van at the end of January 2010. Long story short, I prefer to think that that CA van found me. It was the only van I physically looked at and drove... all the way back to AZ.

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~Kamz
1986 Cabriolet: www.Cabby-Info.com
1990 Vanagon Westfalia: Old Blue's Blog
2016 Golf GTI S
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." - 孔子

[Multiman mv]

I had been looking at, reading up on and dreaming for about twenty years but like you, when my first child was born we started looking seriously for a van. We narrowed our search to a low mileage multivan. It took us almost two years to find the right candidate and when we finally found it, we didn’t hesitate and pounced on it. Best decision we’ve ever made. It’s been a wonderful addition to the family and quite the memory maker so far. I still peruse the samba classifieds almost every day, just in case I find a pile of gold coins somewhere. As I’m sure you already know, these vans are worse than boats in terms of being money pits. Good luck with your search and let us know when you find the right one.

[E1]

[shagginwagon83]

My Westy chose me. Best grandma ever.
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Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan

[Marshj]

I cut the lawn around it as it sat in its former home decaying into the dirt for 10 years.. we got insipired in 2015 when we saw Crepeattack / Boxeer in Patagonia and then OurOpenRoad ... we rented a ML 300 in Chile for 2,500 km.. then the dream was on..

We started talking, I wrote a 4 page note to my neighbor and included pics from our Van travels. And shared how I wanted to restore her late husbands and make our own memories... 6 months later she agreed. We’re making memories and continuously improving on the van..

Over all .. from dream to the first road trip was 3 years. From dream to owning 2 years. One year of 600 mile trips home to make her road worthy. We love this thing.

Good luck in your quest. You’ll know what Van is yours. Oh... and like most of us you may own more than one before you know it...

[E1]

^^^
_________________
‘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