VW rust decisions

One of the things I learned when it comes buying vintage VW bus and buses is to control my emotions before jumping into a project. With the prices of pre-1967 VW buses reaching astronomical levels, good deals are beginning to be scarce. Whenever an early bus or bug comes into the market, a huge flock of buyers seemed to descend on this deal and it is plucked out of the market in a matter of hours or even minutes.

One of the mistakes that people commit is buying old bugs and buses that are cheap without really realizing the cost to restore them to a level where the value of the vehicle is more than the amount they invested in it.

Recently, a pre-1967 VW bus was put in the market. The bus came somewhere in Mexico and brought to the U.S.. I don’t know exactly how it passed through the US-Mexico border. The owner put it up for sale for $2,200. I called the guy and he described to me the condition of the bus. When I saw that the bus had rust holes on the roof, I immediately backed out because I know that is an expensive repair. Collectors normally want a roof that is in good condition. The middle and high end buyers of vintage VWs are very picky but they make the highest bid on good conditioned buses and bugs.

I backed out on the deal and another guy came in and paid the full price. I found out that he paid about $300 at the Department of Motor vehicles for registration and other fees. The new owner is a VW flipper and so he immediately put up the bus for sale for $5000.

With the picky market, there seemed to be no takers for the bus. After a few weeks, I saw the asking price go down from $5000 to $3500. As of today, the bus is still for sale.

When buying a bug, specially a bus, always use caution in your purchase decision because a vintage vehicle can be a money maker or a money pit. Quickly identify the areas in the body that has rust because rust always equals restoration cost. Some parts of the VW is a common rust areas and can easily be repaired. But when rust reaches certain areas like the roof, nose, areas around the windshield, main body frame, the restoration cost becomes quite pricey.

The VW 21-window bus 1965 bus or bust.

Last week, I went to a beach city in Southern California to visit a guy who was selling a 1965 21-window bus. The 21 & 23 window pre-1967 buses are rare and highly sought after by collectors. It is my dream to own one of those but I don’t think I would like to spend tens of thousands of dollars restoring one.

When I finally met the guy, he took me to an auto shop a few miles away from his office and showed me a bus parked inside a restoration shop yard. I had to admit that I was a bit disappointed because the bus had rust issues all over its body requiring expensive restoration. The dashboard looked nice but

the floors had rust, the passenger door on the front has a broken hinge, it does not have a middle and rear sets. It needs to be totally stripped and restored. I estimated the cost of restoration to be around $15,000.

When I asked the owner how much is he selling the bus, he said, “twenty thousand”. I was tempted to asked him the question, “Is that in dollars or pesos?”. But of course I did not asked because the question would come across as an insult.

To find out how much he paid for it, I threw a probing question of, “Would you let it go for $10,000?”. He responded saying that he would rather keep it if my offer is only $10,000. His response tells me that he probably has more than $10,000 already invested on the bus.

The seemingly bloated prices of the 21 & 23-window VW buses is rooted to one event that happened in June 2011 at a Barrett Jackson auto auction in Costa Mesa, California. A 1963 23-window VW bus colored mouse-gray-and-pearl-white as one of the vehicles being auctioned that day. It was in a condition way better than when it rolled off the assembly line 48 years ago. Everybody was surprised when the bids just kept on coming pushing the price of the bus up above the prices of the other vehicles. When the bidding finally ended, the total price of the bus was $219,000 (this included the auction fees and other fees).

The day after that auction, every vintage VW enthusiast wanted to cash in on their bus and started searching

for 21 & 23 VW buses. The owners jacked up prices and buyers went on a buying frenzy for 21 & 23 windows. Many buyers, especially the amateur restorers, paid hefty amounts just to own these buses without realizing that the restoration cost of these buses are very expensive.

I met a guy who bought a 1966 21-window in Sacramento that had been primered but the engine is out. The panels are not attached and the seats are all skeletal. He paid $20,000. I felt bad for him because he over paid for that bus. This is what normally happens to people who become greedy and would buy things because of a buying frenzy that was swirling around during that time. These buyers has to now have the bus restored at an estimated cost of $5,000 for painting, $1700 for a single port 1600cc engine restoration, plus thousands in interior parts, etc.

It only took a few months for the buying frenzy to die down and now people are stuck with their 21 & 23 VW buses and these people are desperate to sell them to get their money back. I believe one of the people who jumped into the frenzy is the owner of this 1965 21-window bus that I was checking out.

I politely declined to buy the bus telling him it is just going to be too much to restore.

The simple lesson in car restoration is to analyze closely the realistic cost of restoration and the range

of value that the car will sell during a season. If you are not too sure about this then do not buy a project that can overwhelm you with the restoration cost.

Restoring a vintage vehicle can be a joy or a horror, depending on how you handle it.