1974 VW Bay Window Campervan

[tux]

I would agree more with Wozzaaah, they are worth a surprising amount of cash even in very rough condition. Personally I would be expecting to pay somewhere between £500-£1000, assuming its all there. But again, its difficult to judge from a single photo.
Having said that, as said above, make a silly bid and see what happens, you have nothing to lose after all.

Expect to replace the entire bottom 8 inches and most of that above too! they really do rot like you wouldn't believe.

 

[rkde]

That is a whole lot of work there, as above it looks shot from the waist down so be aware its a huge project and they are bigger when your under one!

I'd be saying try and get it for £500 to £1500 but the cost of one of them in that condition is normally between £2000 and £3000 if it was a split that condition now seams to be anywhere up to £8K

Good luck I hope you get a bargain

 

[Chickenjohn]

Offer him £200, if he laughs up it to £300. That is all you really want to pay for a project classic vehicle considering the amount of welding work ahead of you. Not to mention the £1,000's needed on new panels, parts and paint etc etc...

Tell him that it will cost him far more for him to have it taken away to the scrap yard and there is a recession on etc and people are selling their classics now not buying.
Someone recently offered me a scrap Mercedes van for nowt, so I don't see how a non split screen rusty VW should be all that valuable.
It has been on his drive for five years, he is dreaming if he thinks it is worth more than a few hundred quid and you are doing him a favour by taking it for as much as £200. Then write your phone number and the price on a piece of paper and walk away.
People will always try it on by asking a silly price for a V5 and a pile of rusty metal.

Don't let them!

 

[Stereophoney]

I hearyou John sadly the demand for these buses out weighs the amount for sale so people know they are easy money

 

[Chickenjohn]

Stick to your guns. He has not sold the van for five years. Don't talk yourself into spending a huge amount of money needlessly!

£200.

 

[Wozzaaah]

John, I think you're in la-la land, there's no way on this earth he'll sell that for £200!
How can you possibly compare a scrap Mercedes van to an increasingly rare (and fast appreciating) classic vehicle?

 

[Stereophoney]

I agree with that totally !

I'm not planning to spent much more than that on it really because the idea was to save for a half tidy one and not fritter what i've saved on a rusty one ( yes i do know how much they cost before people jump on me )

Time will tell i suppose

At least the money is still in my pocket

The demand for these things is unbelievable, i saw a split screen that was found in a field after 20 years go for over 6 grand !!

 

[Chickenjohn]

John, I think you're in la-la land, there's no way on this earth he'll sell that for £200!
How can you possibly compare a scrap Mercedes van to an increasingly rare (and fast appreciating) classic vehicle?

First of all Wozzaaah, this is a bay window not a split screen,
secondly, it needs a viewing to determine value,
thirdly, an item is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. If someone is stupid enough to pay £1500 for a scrap van, then let them, when can be offered a scrap German van of a quality brand for nothing.

And no I'm not in lala land the people that pay thousands for rust and a V5 certainly are though! If everyone started offering sensible money for these VW projects then they would become more affordable. We are not in the classic car boom of the late 1980's we are in 2011 in the darkest depths of the worst recession for 80 years!!!

Much the same for the ludicrously high UK house prices, no-one can afford on the average wage which should be about half of what they are, i.e. the average house should be worth way less than £100k. The VW craze is in an over inflated financial bubble, like the stock market and the housing market, it can and will crash. Driven by fashion for the luxury of owning a classic van and not by necessity of owning your own home.

Best not to buy high and sell low!

Don't waste money on scrap, offer a few hundred quid or walk.

 

[Stereophoney]

Just for the record i'm not looking to buy into a trend or fad i'm looking to buy a van i've loved since i was kid and my older bro had one, sadly it's only now i'm in a position to go for one, i really really wish i could of a few years ago when they were worth pennies

I agree with you though John and i won't be tempted into paying silly money for a rusty shed, sadly i think a lot of the boom is because people buy them and bodge to sell on for easy money

If i buy one and the market crashes so be it, i'm buying to keep, plus as a bonus the wife and kids love them too

 

[Wozzaaah]

I'm aware it's a bay John, it doesn't detract from the fact that restored to a high standard the right bay will easily fetch 10K all day every day!
My neighbour sold his '73 Westfalia for 10k, he had people coming up to him at shows asking him to sell it to them....so he did.
Yes, a bay!

an item is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it

You're correct of course, only in this case there'll be people clamouring over themselves to buy something like that...so it'll go for good money.

We are not in the classic car boom of the late 1980's we are in 2011 in the darkest depths of the worst recession for 80 years!!!

Money still seems to be no object to some people.

Personally, I don't think the demand for classic VWs will ever fade, they're getting rarer and have such a strong cult following that the price can only rise. Good for those with one to sell but not so good for those looking to buy.

 

[Stereophoney]

A bay for 10k ?? jeez that was cheap i've seen them go for 15k and splits anywhere from 15k to 30k !!

 

[Wozzaaah]

That was a few years ago, I seem to recall he had one of his bay restos featured in a magazine then sold it for 15k but I may be wrong.
I know that if they were available in any condition for £200 each he'd be stockpiling them.

 

[michael1703]

That doesnt look great, I'd pay £500 tops, ive seen rough ones with a ticket for £850-£1200

 

[Stereophoney]

That was a few years ago, I seem to recall he had one of his bay restos featured in a magazine then sold it for 15k but I may be wrong.
I know that if they were available in any condition for £200 each he'd be stockpiling them.

Only if he got to them before me

 

[Chickenjohn]

I'm aware it's a bay John, it doesn't detract from the fact that restored to a high standard the right bay will easily fetch 10K all day every day!
My neighbour sold his '73 Westfalia for 10k, he had people coming up to him at shows asking him to sell it to them....so he did.
Yes, a bay!


You're correct of course, only in this case there'll be people clamouring over themselves to buy something like that...so it'll go for good money.


Money still seems to be no object to some people.

Personally, I don't think the demand for classic VWs will ever fade, they're getting rarer and have such a strong cult following that the price can only rise. Good for those with one to sell but not so good for those looking to buy.

If looking to sell it for a profit, I can't see there is any way that after paying for all the panels, spares, paint and adding your time etc that a profit can be made on such a vehicle if bought for £1500-£2k as a project to sell at 10K.

You would also need a small industrial unit or very large garage/shed in which to restore a vehicle of this size. I wouldn't fancy doing that amount of work on a driveway!

 

[keithski122]

I work for a vw importers and something like that we would probably pay about £800 for and chop it up for parts.We sell VERY solid vans onthe road from about £7000, fully restored with new engine, recon box, new interior and generally fully refurbished are about £22k.
The problem with a van like this is at the end of a restoration you will still have a welded up uk van.Start with the best you can and it will last better and hold its value better.Plus restorations like this always cost more than starting with a good one.

 

[badersbus]

Blinded , blinded , blinded by the VW scene tax.
I had a mate who bought one that was a lot better than that one , paid just shy of £3K for it , sure it looked the part , but was a nail as he found out nearly £5k later. Got fed up with it and sold it for £6k , and yeah he had loads of people wanting to buy it , but he still lost on it and cost him a load of heartache.
People will pay silly money for them , but as said before , they are not really worth it in real terms.
Good luck fella , and let us know what he accepts for it ,
Oh i am speaking as a VW fan , we have 4 in the family
Kirk

 

[CTB]

Over in their native land, those horrible things still cost a packet. Have a look over at mobile.de where they have pages of them for sale. Its hard to find one for under €1000.

I say horrible because I used to own a 1970 model. Any sort of wind would blow you into the next lane, so you were always correcting the steering. And front end protection wasn't exactly ncap 5 star either! Still, they had their uses as a poor mans 4x4, and lots of room for camping. Dont understand the fascination with them now though, they should be left to rot in peace

Now an early 70s FJ40 or 45 landcruiser is another story altogether

 

[Wozzaaah]

If looking to sell it for a profit, I can't see there is any way that after paying for all the panels, spares, paint and adding your time etc that a profit can be made on such a vehicle if bought for £1500-£2k as a project to sell at 10K.

You would also need a small industrial unit or very large garage/shed in which to restore a vehicle of this size. I wouldn't fancy doing that amount of work on a driveway!

I agree with you there John, I'd imagine most of the time they're done as a labour of love by people wanting to use them.
My neighbour started off doing othem in his large garage, they'd take an awful long time but the attention to detail was astounding, NOS parts wherever possible, absolutely ALL rot cut out and replaced with new metal. Engines rebuilt/replaced as necessary and a good quality paint job.
He now has a unit so tends to have a couple on the go at the same time plus he has his own rust free Australian one in his garage which is work in progress.
I genuinely couldn't tell you what sort of profit he makes on them though I'm sure he'd tell me if I asked.

 

[Stereophoney]

Sounds like a bloke i'd like a chat with, like i said anything i get is to use