Niece and Husband want a Vanagon

[djkeev]

We had a family gathering at my Nieces house here in NJ yesterday.

Her husband, knowing I'm a VW guy (but apparently not what models I'm involved in) says "we are looking to buy a Vanagon, you know that older ugly model"

I told him that I didn't know if I should be excited for him or insulted!

Her parents are moving to Colorado Springs next week, hence the family gathering, and they would like to make a family camping trip out and fly back home selling their unit while out in Colorado.

This became quite the conversation about the realities of the Vanagon, the costs involved in ownership, how hard it will be to locate an affordable unit that is ready to roll and then the prospects of reselling it to get most if not all of your money back at the end of the journey.

We talked various engine conversions, road side problems, rust and how Western folk don't want to pay prime dollars for Eastern rust, etc etc etc.
we talked years, engines, interior layout and color changes through the production run.
He asked about 4 wheel drive units, after talking he let go of that idea.

I stressed to them that stock units are not a Western Freeways travelers dream travel machine with 80/85 mph speed limits common.

I did suggest a Chevy conversion van might be a better option but they are stuck on Vanagon right now.

I showed him this site and we will arrange a visit for them to come up and test drive mine to see if their statements of "we don't need a lot of power" are actually true. They drive a late model Volvo and a newer Toyota Land Cruiser.

While he doesn't want to waste money, that isn't a stumbling block for a well sorted reliable and resellable unit. I did tell him that finding a buyer for the upper priced units will take a bit of time in most cases.

While he is a great guy, he isn't a wrench. That limits his options somewhat.

We shall see ......... Maybe I'll end up,with a side job making a unit road worthy!

Dave
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Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[Wildthings]

His vision of car ownership seems to be about as far from mine as it is possible to be.

[jlrftype7]

Have they never seen or read of your EPIC battles against Rust and Mice....
Apparently not....
We’ll wait to hear how that first test drive went.....

[campism]

Good on your for trying to provide a realistic look at Vanagons. It's interesting that folks don't see the connction between the questions, "Do you want a Vanagon?" and "Do you want to deal with the reality of living with a 30-year-old vehicle?"
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'87 Westy in Wolfram Grey Metallic

[bobbyblack]

I'm rather confused. This was about a niece. Then its about a guy, Then its about a Vanagon being ugly AND selling it as if it's a flipper. Super super confusing.

Was he just playing you? The family must already know you are VanagonNutz, and just messing with you.

If your niece IS actually wanting this, and her husband is actually interested, I'd have to say she would want to keep it, not flip it. Women aren't as fickle as often portrayed.

-bobby
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[kamzcab86]

[Wildthings]

We occasionally will get a medium duty truck here that someone moving from the east coast used to haul their stuff. Once they get here they park it in plain site with a for sale sign and it sits for years as no one is interested because of the salt bleached paint and of course any rust.

They would do way better to fly to Colorado, buy a van, tour around, and then drive it back east, where it would bring a premium.

[AZ Landshaper]

Rent one. If your gonna loose money and you dont own any wrenches.....
Just pitch the cash into a rental you dont need wrenches for.
Oh the misunderstandings people operate with. And from my experience one drive isnt enough to rid them of the desire to be free-wheeling Americas byways. They need to be stuck behind a logging truck on a steep highway mountain pass, blood boiling and kids complaining, AC on the fritz and the breakdown lane full of debris while being passed by newer gas guzzling character free American models, all the passengers flashing peace signs on their way by.
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85 Weekender w/ EJ22
Previously
64, 71, 72, 73, 76, 81, 84, 85 & 87 Campmobiles and Westfalias
and a 67 bug.

[djkeev]

Yeah, good point Kam!
They may be thinking backwards on the driving portion of the trip!

Dave
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Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[sanchius]

[Ahwahnee]

[Zeitgeist 13]

I always steer friends and relations toward vehicles I'm happily ignorant of, and/or refuse to work on. Always. It works on the "fences make better neighbors" principle.
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Casey--

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

[Wasted youth]

The theme sounds a bit whimsical... but he is very lucky to be able to talk with you about it. You’ve got YEARS of experience; let’s see if he is listening.

Not clear about exactly who wants this... niece or otherwise... but at any rate the suggestion to rent one seems best to me. Get a non-committed view of what the experience can be driving and living in one.

Finding a trustworthy, well sorted one? Good luck! Ours is super dependable, operates swiftly in San Francisco and LA area traffic, everything works (yes, truly!) and is extremely clean. Attractive white on grey with good canvas and even a grey water holding tank. You’d never know the final drive has a LOT of slop in it, and I just found adjusting the valves three days ago that the No. 4 exhaust valve is recessing. I could clean up the ATF shaft seal leak and probably sell this quickly for $12-15,000

Rent one, then if they are still all hot and bothered about, test their listening skills.

[Abscate]

[B.O.B.Wanders]

I came in to Vanagondom with eyes wide open and a good bit of experience with older vehicles ('77 MGB, '68 Mustang) and I'm still a little surprised at the time and money involved in keeping our Westy operational. Roadside repairs aren't anything new, so that wasn't a big issue. I only second-guess my decision occasionally; usually when laying underneath the van on the driveway fighting with a stuck bolt or something. Overall I am thoroughly enjoying Vanagon ownership.

I always emphasize the need for at least basic mechanical skills or a fat wallet (or both!) to anyone who claims they want to get one. 90% of the time it is just a passing fancy anyway.

As long as they understand what they are getting in to, maybe an old ornery van is just the "vehicle" to spark the transformation to becoming more mechanically savvy. Everyone starts somewhere. On the other hand, some folks have trouble figuring out which end of a screwdriver to use and have no desire to learn. I would hate to send someone down the road of frustration and disappointment.

Agree with the "rent" logic in this case.
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83.5 WBX 2WD Assuan Brown Westy, B.O.B.

"It feels good to be lost in the right direction” - unknown

[9.5isCanadian]

[jimf909]

[llilibel03]

Maybe I've been really lucky, but I've owned 3 vanagons, am definitely not a "wrench" and have not suffered inordinately from mechanical problems. The three times I've had to call AAA were for- broken throttle cable, dead battery and master brake cylinder. The last one could have been bad but luckily it happened on flat terrain and the emergency brake worked. The first thing my present van got was an overhaul of the braking system. I think most Sambanistas could have rigged the throttle cable and now I travel with a jump start battery pack. Learn from mistakes.

They own a Volvo. We owned two Volvos. One, a 2001 V70 was a nightmare. We spent more repairing that POS than all my vans put together.

Now if only I could get the V70's acceleration in the van....one can dream....


PS and then there are those moments- when we pulled up to the Sequoia NP entrance gate, the young ranger wished us a nice visit and added, "...and that's a super cool van!"
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87 syncro tintop
90 gl tin top
85 westy 2.0 tiico automatic (present)

[Eric_Taylor]

As expected, good thoughts from all. The thing that really strikes me weird about it is the fact that they just want to buy it to drive it out to Colorado. I get wanting to drive one on a road trip, but as many others have said, a rental is the way to go here.

If they really want one, and they want to keep it and start dealing with it, then go nuts and see what happens. Owning one of these is a long term relationship in my opinion. The short game is going to be really tough, as the learning curve of the whole thing is going to be step, and then your just going to sell it and walk away. When you keep it long term all the irritations , bumps in the road, and wrenching knowledge start to even out and it makes it a much more fun process.

Rent it, call AAA when it breaks and have the rental company pay to get it sorted. That will be a fun trip and worth the cost.

[IdahoDoug]