VW Volkswagen Camper Westfalia Bus Van Bay Window Type 2 Pop Top MOT 2013 April

Q: 

Hi would you be interested in a px with vw karmann beetle vgc ? Regards guy

30-Jun-12

A: 

Hello - Thanks for the offer but I am moving to Los Angeles - That's why I am selling her.

Q: 

Hi, I see that your current MOT runs until April 2013 - Could you tell me how much work you had done on the last MOT, i.e. what did it fail on? Thanks!

28-Jun-12

A: 

Hi, Thanks for your question - Just to give you a bit of background: We brought the bus over from sun-drenched California with a rust free body, strong solid engine and great camping interior. But the paint job was bad and there was a tonne of mechanical issues. So since then I would say we've put 6-8k into the mechanical side 5k into the paint resto and 1.5k for the interior re-upholstery and other miscellaneous bits like flooring etc. So when you buy this bus you will have a solid foundation - we've put all the hard work and cash into it already. Of course there are no guarantees but to answer your question the last MOT failed because of a washer on the windscreen wiper!

Q: 

Your bus looks amazing! We are camper van virgins and quite late to get into the game, but have now retired. We have always dreamt of owning a camper and going on trips around the country and maybe abroad. We were beetle owners in our younger days! Our biggest concern is that they breakdown all the time.....and that buying one of these buses can be a bit of a lottery! Can you therefore let us have some more information about the history of your bus including, most of all, her reliability! Many thanks kzzlc

27-Jun-12

A: 

The first thing to say is that if you're looking for a camper then 72 is the most sought after year as this was the last year with the low indicators and the first year with the upright engine and various other mechanical improvements.These buses are 'a labour of love', it isn't like buying a new car and every MOT it sales through , and another point that makes them so personal is that there are so many nuances and variations of model types. So in that sense and especially when buying a camper it's more like buying a home than a car, so then you pretty much have to follow your heart - find the best fit.Having said all that you always have RAC so if you get stuck those guys will keep you running. These buses are so popular partly because they are so simple so most of the time there is an easy fix. We've been very lucky in that respect. Yes we've had the RAC out from time to time but for example when we traveled across Europe and all the way to Portugal and back around France we've never broken down. I suppose that if you are first timers my advise to you is to choose the one you like the look of, the one you fall in love with but before you buy it consider 'who you are buying from'.We bought this bus on ebay from California and it was relatively cheap-but we've spent a fortune on her to get her into good, reliable working order and also excelent aesthetic shape. But we started from a solid foundation with a rust free bus and a great quality interior. In the end I'm sure we won't make any profit but we have loved this bus and now that we are actually moving to Los Angeles we have already bought a new one! I think you can go two ways: Buy one that has a good solid body and do it up exactly how you want it, or buy one like mine thats already done up. If you buy one that's done up I would avoid people doing it for a living because obviously they have to make a profit, also beware of private sellers 'flipping' busses as they will also have cut corners!

Q: 

Hi there, The van looks really nice. I was wondering if u can tell me a bit more about the paint job. Ive seen alot of vans, and at shows....i wanted to know if the paint job really is a kosher as it looks. Sometimes there are alot of imperfections in a new paint job, like drips, or craking that appears around the seams pretty quickly? can u tell me out of 10 how good the job actually is? If all is as good as looks, can we come to view next weekend? Thanks

26-Jun-12

A: 

Hello I know how you feel about the paint - when we brought her over from California she had a bad paint job, quick sale effort. So We always planned to get her re-painted but never found the right combination of quality for a fair price. So we had loads of quotes ranging from 4-12k. Well a 10k and above paint job gets everything stripped off inside and out but really you only want to do that and go to that expense when the bus is already falling apart and is riddled with rust and needs welding and lods of new panels etc. But the great thing about this bus is that she is all original with Zero rust! We had the front cab doors, the step into the side sliding door, the rear hatch and the flat panel under the bed all painted on the inside. Regarding the quality-I really think it's excellent, there are no signs of a drip anywhere, no cracks in the seems or beneath the gutters-its perfect, straight and shiny - 10 out 0f 10. In fact I would say it looks much better in reality than the pictures because when I took those shots it was mostly cloudy. Come and take a look - first to see will by.

: 

Do you think your van would cope with a 16 night european road trip going as far as italy and back

13-Jul-12

A: 

Well I just had the MOT done and only had to change a washer! There's no guarantees with these buses but if I were you then I would buy a bus like this from someone like me!! She is running great - brakes & steering box recently overhauled. We have driven as far as Lisbon and several times we've driven to Bordeaux - Never had any problems - we did have European breakdown cover included in the car insurance - never used it though :-)

Q: 

Hi, Can you explain how the van sleeps six? Thanks Susan

07-Jul-12

A: 

yes- It was designed by Germans-very efficient :-) So this is the "Westfalia" interior-definitely the coolest looking and most practical and functional design from all the original camping interiors. It doesn't sleep 6 adults but you can get 2 adults and 3 kids in there quite comfortably. 1. Step one raise the pop top which gives you loads more headroom when camping. 2. With one movement you pull out the "Rock & Roll" bed. (basically this is the rear bench seat that you lift and pull, it collapses flat and and creates a level platform with the mattress that sits on the cargo area behind the rear bench seat. Here you can fit two adults very comfortably. 3. In the front cab you have 4 points that are fixed on the bus. You take the front hammock and hook it in. This is creates a canvas platform. You can fit a couple of kids on this (ages 3-8 - not too big, not too small!) 4. Lastly in the poptop area you have one more longer but thiner canvas hammock that is on a metal bracket. Open this up and you can fit one more kid (5-12 ). That's your lot...I don't think it does sleep 6 after all!

Q: 

Hi, I like the look of your bus and as we have never owned one before I would appreciate a bit of advice. Do you find it any more expensive to insure a left hand drive bus? Also we want it for a daily driver (about 6000 miles a year) do you think these buses are ok for this sort of use?

07-Jul-12

A: 

Hi Thanks for your question - first thing is that being a left hand drive doesn't affect the insurance at all and furthermore the insurance that I have is very reasonable. I use Adrian Flux at pay about £320 for up to 10,000 miles. This last year I've probably only driven 1000 miles but 3 years ago and the years prior to that we were going on holiday to my mum's house near Biaritz and also traveling much more so then we were doing around 5-8,000 miles in a year. The engine is reconditioned but that was done before we bought it over from the states so I can't tell you too much about it from a technical point of view - if I have a problem then I take it to the mechanic rather than fiddling with it myself! The Great thing is that the engine is very strong and reliable. You also have no problem with hills with this engine. I work from home so before 2010 I was using it as a daily driver but not everyday. The bus is a great driver and I've had everything overhauled on it so you should be in good shape to happily drive away and not have any headaches. But these are old vehicles so you have to keep on top of things-regular tune ups and a service every 12 months is crucial. Another point is that the fuel economy isn't that bad on these buses-it's about level with my other car, an Audi A4 Avant 2001 (also for sale!!). So to give you an idea it costs about £35 to drive from Northampton to Brighton (not too bad at all really). Hope this helps-You are welcome to come over and go for a run - Happy Bidding. (Last piece of advice for a first timer is: THESE BUSES DON"T DEPRECIATE-They Just keep going up in value and my reserve price is very low for a bus in this condition!)