Adventurewagen Sale?!?

[Adventurewagen]

Ok, guys. Long time no see. Me and "Bert" my 71 Adventurewagen have been a bit incommunicado lately. I'd say it's my business and having two little kids (2 and 4) plus I really hurt my back recently and have been practically laid up the last year and a half.

Anyway, I'm toying with the idea of selling my camper and since you guys were the best of the best from TheSamba I wanted to open up a dialogue and get some ideas from you guys. Should I sell, price, alternatives, input, etc.

So my wife has been pressuring me to get rid of one of my VW's. I've got a 63 notchback and my 71 AW camper. Last summer was probably the last summer I could get away without selling at least one of them, but seeing as I can't even kneel down to work on either VW it's making it a hard sell to hang onto both of them for another year. I used to hit up VW shows all summer and take the notch out and camp a dozen times a year plus drive good old Bert down for it's annual Seattle to Yosemite trip. It's just not happened really for the last 3-4 years.

I'd love to keep the camper because I see the kids loving it in another year or two (they already do), but really enjoying it. The problem is the hobby part of the bus has gotten too much for me to keep up with almost. I used to pull the engine a couple times a year and do at least one or two major upgrade projects, but I'm having trouble just getting down on the ground to change the oil and adjust the valves.

Do you guys think I should try to keep the bus and sell the notch or just sell both and buy another VW in the future when my back is better and I have the time to tinker once again on the cars? My wife keeps telling me to just sell the two and not to worry so much. She thinks I can simply buy another bus in the future if/when I really want one again. Probably true, but I wanted to see what you guys thought.

I've been looking through TS as well in the classifieds. Seems the Type1 camper bays are selling pretty well too, especially for an actual road warrior bus like mine. I've put nearly 20k miles on my bus over the last decade along with a new 1776 engine, dual 40IDF webers, Koni shocks, new ball joints, serpentine belt, 90A alternator, two battery banks and an 80W solar panel. Aside from the current crappy front seats and primer paint job it's a bit of a sleeper. Looks like crap but has enough power to pass numerous Vanagons on the freeway :) Not a show queen, but camper ready with miles to prove it. You think it's worth selling or should I keep the bus and try to sell the notch? I love both cars, I just don't have the time to take care and drive them like they should.

[yondermtn]

If it were me I'd sell the notch and keep the bus. My reasoning is that the bus has a lot more uses and I would think it would hold its value. Plus, those kids will really enjoy and remember camping trips in it.

[Xelmon]

Unless you got the Bus for arm + leg, no, replacing a bus won't be a simple painless "buy".

As it stands, I would lose the Notch. Your kids are already familiar with the Bus too, and a Bus is just infinitely more useful than a Notch.

[Adventurewagen]

No doubt buying or selling a bus is an easy thing. I've gone through a few buses over the years and everyone I sold was difficult. The notch is probably harder to replace than the bus though. Still you can't camp in the notch. It does, however, fit inside my old garage which means it can hide out, stay dry, and possibly not get sold.

Either way I'm definitely going to have to sell one of them. Blah. I have no clue what to even price either at. I'll have to look a bit more through the classifieds. There seems to be a wild range right now. I see non-driveable bus bodies for 3k+... WTF??? I bought my bus for $1500 about ten years ago on a one way plane ticket to San Francisco with a sleeping bag and a tool kit and drove the sucker home to Seattle.

I'm sure the price has gone up, but some people may have lost their minds. My buddy was trying to tell me his 71 AW that is identical to mine albeit a bit more tricked out would sell "easy" for 15-20k. I just don't see it. Maybe 6-8k for a running drivable camper van, but who knows. I haven't really looked at selling any of my VW's for the last decade until now.

[Jivermo]

Old Chinese proverb: "wife happy; me happy." If you sell the notch, you are showing that you are considering her feelings and opinions, and your life will improve immediately. This also places you in a strong position to hang onto the bus, as you have made a sacrifice. Women like this compromise business. Here's the deal with YOUR bus; you already know it, and you have your history with it. Look at all of these people on here-they NAME their buses, for cry in' out loud. They are on a first name basis with these shoeboxes. If you sell your current bus, it's as though you're out dating again when you start searching for another bus in a couple of years. What's she like? Does she like to camp or go to a B & B, or Marriott ugh. French bistro or BBQ joint? You're gonna have to start all over, if you get my drift. What has happened to the heads over the years? Are they original, any valve recession, what clutch is in this thing, how old is the fuel pump, what's up with the wheel bearings, oh, my, I must rebuild this entire furschlingger exhaust system on this thing! No, hang onto your bus, the one you know and love. Besides that, these things are money in the bank if you take care of them. Your next one will not be cheaper. By the way, I also think you have answered your own question, so you really don't need to take my advice.

[Xelmon]

AW, the 3K+ for the "very good chassis, extremely questionable engine" is standard. So thinking about all of that, you're at at least 8K on the market when you're buying it. Selling? Who knows...

I dunno, I still say keep the Bus.

[Amskeptic]

The notch is probably harder to replace than the bus though.

The Notch might best be appreciated by a collector sort of person.
Your kids, however, will *experience* life through the joys of a bus.
Might you sell both the Notch and the Adventurewagen and then get a superior camping machine that would give a little more joy to the whole family, like a top-notch purple Vanagon Westfalia with that lovely off-white interior? It, too, will appreciate, and serve you as far as needing less day-to-day maintenance. They are wonderful drivers.
ColinNiceToSeeYouHere

[hambone]

A nice dialed in bus is a thing of beauty. Most out there are garage queens or caked in grease...even reputable POs seem to leave a lot of necessary bits off. 45 years of misuse and deferred maintenance, lots of black gook.