So you are planning to buy your dream Volkswagen Bay Window Camper but you don't know where to start! Well, hopefully I can point you in the right direction with our guide to buying a bus.
First of all you must ask yourself why you want one, are you buying from the head or the heart! Put simply if you want something to go on trips with, that is reliable and cheap to run then you are probably reading the wrong article. Although a well maintained VW Camper or bus can be reliable they are not cheap to run. What you must understand is that these vehicles are between 25 and 50 years old (or thereabouts), and have lived long and interesting lives. They require care and attention and for that reason they will not suit someone who wants the perfect ride.
Volkswagon Campers and the author suggested that you shouldn't consider buying one if your reason was because you thought they where cool. Well I have to say, why else would you buy one? It's certainly not for their reliability or fuel efficiency. The reasons why I love Volkswagen Campers so much are the fact that they are cool looking, classic shape, practical to a certain degree and I love the whole culture of owning one.
Anyway back to the matter at hand! Buying a Volkswagen Bus needn't be a nightmare as long as your head does the buying instead of your heart. I must admit that's easier said than done. It's all too easy to turn up see what could be your new bus, rust and all and decide there and then, even before you have looked around it that you want it and you are going to buy it. When you look around a VW bus, try to add up in your head how much all those little repairs are going to cost. Bottoms of the doors are gone! 100 quid each, one rear corner gone! 250 quid. It all adds up and you will quickly reach thousands of pounds. OK, it's difficult to find a perfect one and most will require some work and of course you might be looking for a project to work on your spare time, but nevertheless it's not worth paying 4-6 grand on something that is going to require another 2 or 3 spent on it. Only buy a project if it's a good deal and you can see that it will be worth considerably more once it's done. There is no point in throwing money away after all.
Bottoms of the cab doors, this is not a reason not to buy a bus but factor in at least £100 for each new door. And remember, you are going to need a re-spray once finished. That's another £1000.
Rusty sliding door. These can very difficult to obtain and will cost between £300-450 to buy new, so decide whether any rust can be repaired and if it can't then factor this in to your costs.
Rust around the bottom 12 inches of the body work. This is very serious and will require the services of a professional bodywork specialist. This is very expensive process that could require welding, sanding, smoothing, painting. In most respects rust on the doors is more acceptable than rust on the body of the bus itself.
Check the wheel arches for rust as well these are made up of inners and outers and can be tricky to replace.
Check under the driver and passenger floor mates for holes. I could see the road through one I brought with my heart once!
Now check underneath, with that torch that you remembered to take with you.
Make sure chassis members are in good condition and the out riggers. You do not want to replace these, trust me you really don't.
Make sure seals are intact also.
Now check the roof guttering. As with the body work this can cost a lot of money to put right.
Whilst you're up there and if it has a pop-top; check the condition of the canvas and seals.
Before you start it up, let's have a look at the engine.
Check any obvious oil or fuel leaks, especially near the gear box. Also, check for rust on either side of the engine to the right and left towards the rear light clusters. But most importantly make it appear that you know what you are doing.
This is usually enough for the current owner to admit to problems just as you get to them! You know the sort of problems that you probably would have noticed anyway. Now start the bugger! And listen to the beautiful sound of a Volkswagen Camper. Lets not get carried away, it's your heart again and not your head.
Anyway, steering; make sure there is a steering wheel and that there is no play when wobbled.
And now the engine has gotten warm you can try the heater. First of all is warm air coming out? Heaters are a know problem with Volkswagen buses at the most serious the heat exchangers are knackered and will need replacing (not cheap), or at the very minimum it might just be that the hoses have holes and need repairing.
How much should I pay for a VW bus?
A pre 1967 split £30000 - £50000 for a mint totally un-molested dream 23 window Samba with traceable history, one lady owner
£20000 - £30000 for a totally restored splitty
£10000 - £20000 for good example that will require minimal work
£5000 - £10000 for a project
£500 for ones that's been in a field for 30 years
A Bay Window £10000 - £15000 for a totally mint Californian import Westfalia
£7000 - £10000 for any other mint camper such as a Devon Moonraker (don't ask me why people pay more for Westies)
£5000 - £7000 for a good bus that's been well cared for.
£3000 - £5000 for ones that's needs some work but nothing serious.
£500 for bag of crap
Basically if you are going to buy a mint 23 window Samba; look at spending at least £30,000. Jammie Oliver sold his for 55k. If you want a very good Bay Window that doesn't require ant work and one that starts in the morning around £8000 should be enough.
