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VW Camper, Is It Really Worth That Much?
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47p2



Joined: 24 Nov 2007
Posts: 2009
Location: Glasgow

PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 6:31 am    Post subject: VW Camper, Is It Really Worth That Much? Reply with quote

Click Shocked
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ka



Joined: 03 Dec 2007
Posts: 600
Location: Orkney.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 7:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Probably not, but as with anything, items are worth how much the next person will pay for it!
I would not pay,(even if I had it) £12m for a Ferrari, but as an investment, and not a vehicle, sounds a fair bet.
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Rootes75



Joined: 30 Apr 2013
Posts: 4168
Location: The Somerset Levels

PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 9:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

We spent the weekend with relatives down near Launceston in Cornwall, last night on the way back to Somerset (a trip of approx. 100 miles) we counted/passed 18 VW campers travelling on the opposite carriageway. That's not all though, we gave up after about 30 miles as the kids did get quite bored of camper spotting!

They are so common.
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Bitumen Boy



Joined: 26 Jan 2012
Posts: 1763
Location: Above the snow line in old Monmouthshire

PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 9:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

At least if people are wasting their money on these they aren't pushing the prices of other, nicer, more usable classics into the ridiculous bracket Smile
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lowdrag



Joined: 10 Apr 2009
Posts: 1600
Location: Le Mans

PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 12:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rewind to 2011. It was the same then



A fortnight earlier I had bought a Samba for £25,000, one that had spent most of its life in a museum and was in superb condition except for a rusty rear valance.
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clan chieftain



Joined: 05 Apr 2008
Posts: 2041
Location: Motherwell

PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 1:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The VW camper is a rot box that you cant swing a cat in. I don't see why they command such prices.
The Bedford CF Landcruiser is a much roomier and better looking camper for a fraction of the price. Cool
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Rootes75



Joined: 30 Apr 2013
Posts: 4168
Location: The Somerset Levels

PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 2:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Being biased towards Rootes vehicles I'd go for a Commer PA/PB camper, a lot prettier in my opinion.
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Peter_L



Joined: 10 Apr 2008
Posts: 2680
Location: New Brunswick. Canada.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 3:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Vehicle likes and dislikes, each to their own. I have never had any desire to own an older VW.

US TV show "American Pickers", Mike loves VW's. In this clip he finds a nest of them, including the rare 23 window version.

Maybe the guy who has it buried on his lot should have thought about restoring it 10 years ago when there may have been a chance of doing so.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=umdT4SNr01E
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 7075
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 1:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There must be hundreds of these camper vans sitting garages waiting to be finished, although maybe not the Samba 23 window model. It seems to me that many people who take on the restoration of a VW camper do so with the intention of taking their family away on holiday and enjoying some classic motoring at the same time. What people fail to realise, at least in the beginning, is the sheer amount of work that is needed to bring what is usually a rust bucket, back to health. By the time the restoration is finished, the kids have grown up and no longer want to take holidays with Mum and Dad...

While the mechanicals are straightforward enough in their original form, the temptation is to improve on them. The 1200 cc flat 4 boxer engine while acceptable in a beetle, is quite hopeless in a fully laden camper and a more powerful engine, often with a turbo charger is substituted. Then the suspension up graded, the ride height lowered, the reduction boxes on the rear wheels discarded and many other alterations made and the bills mount up. The degree with which these vehicles disintegrate entirely of their own accord is truly spectacular. The biggest problem being that after a while, there is nothing to weld to and by the time the amateur realises that he is out of his depth, and the van has to be sent to a bodyshop, the game is up.

I wouldn't pay a lot for a "fun" vehicle like this but they can sometimes appeal to guys with deep pockets and if a good one becomes available the competition between them can, as we have seen, leave the rest of us shaking our heads in disbelief. Interestingly, these "investments" always seem to come back onto the market again - presumably to show a profit Question
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DanH



Joined: 31 Mar 2015
Posts: 61
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 6:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I grew up with the VW Kombi as a family vehicle, my father owned a succession of them including a couple of double-cab pickups. They were a pretty good machine, taking us away on annual holidays, hauling all manner of things around and getting Dad back and forth to work every day. WQhen he was buying them in the 80's and 90's you could still get a pretty good example for reasonable money. It only seems to be in recent years that the prices have become ridiculous, with even complete wrecks commanding big money.

I have seen restored split-screen Kombi's sell here in NZ for over $50,000!

Rust was the issue that forced Dad to buy another one in every occasion, he only wishes now that he had stuck them all in the back of the shed rather than selling them!

For such a common car I can't understand the prices. There are equally nice old vans around if you are in the market for one. My choice would be a Morris J-Type.

Dan
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colwyn500



Joined: 21 Oct 2012
Posts: 1745
Location: Nairn, Scotland

PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 8:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This sort of question crops up so frequently these days because in the UK, at least, people can invest in classic vehicles and then pay no capital gains tax on the increase in value when they sell. I don't know if that applies in any other countries.
Obviously the VW is cramped, but unless you buy one of those creations which are as big as an ocean liner, all campers are relatively small.
You can't swing a mouse in mine. Very Happy
I just want slightly more comfortably camping (fortunately).
As for underpowered..I have 903cc. Rolling Eyes
DSC_6176 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr
DSC_6265 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr
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clan chieftain



Joined: 05 Apr 2008
Posts: 2041
Location: Motherwell

PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 9:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was having a look at your flickr photos. By heck that had some serious rust. Cool
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22778
Location: UK

PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 9:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

15 or so years ago, erindoors took a photo of a split-window VW (probably a camper) on its side, abandoned, in a wood in northern Portugal. I'm beginning to wonder if I should have gone down there with a trailer Confused

It probably wasn't a Samba, with all the extra roof windows, but would probably have been restorable.

RJ
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colwyn500



Joined: 21 Oct 2012
Posts: 1745
Location: Nairn, Scotland

PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 10:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

clan chieftain wrote:
I was having a look at your flickr photos. By heck that had some serious rust. Cool


Whaddya mean Larry? Had? Still has!!!!! Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing
I gave up trying to find a rust-free one, and then after buying this scene of dereliction, one came along. But I resisted temptation and will get this one through the MOT....eventually. Maybe by the time I'm a great-grandad.Rolling Eyes
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 7075
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 10:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A true but sad story. A neighbour of mine had spent every spare moment over a number of years restoring a split screen camper and had made a really good job of it; I mean really beautiful and correct in every way. It was sprayed in two tone blue and looked like it had just come out of the showroom.

The guy's son had just passed his driving test and borrowed the VW to show his friends. Exactly what happened, I don't know but the lad clipped a kerb and turned it over. A wonder that no one was killed but the van was badly bent.

All the father would say was how lucky the son was to escape with minor injuries but he must have felt sickened by the way the camper had folded up.
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