1987 VW Vanagon Westfalia w/ ALH TDI & Biodiesel Kit – Auction in SF ends April 12th
While nice Westys continue to climb in price (I’ve seen a general 20% increase in the past 2 years), it is well known that if an owner spends considerable time and money restoring and upgrading one, you’re still likely not going to get your money back if you sell, or even 80% of your money back. That brings us to this Westy that has been up for sale for quite some time. I thought I had posted about it before, however likely due to the crazy high price, I may have avoided it altogether. This premium looking and well sorted rig is a 1987 VW Vanagon Westfalia Camper with a professionally rebuilt VW TDI (ALH) engine from a 2001 Jetta with about 25k miles on it, along with a rebuilt transmission that was done at the same time. The body of the van has 250k miles, though a recent paint job makes it shine like new. The seller states they are moving to Europe and cannot take it with them, and that all of the work was done by Detlev Hanschke of International Auto Service in Livermore, CA. Some of the additional extras include: Elsbett Kit to run on pure Vegetable Oil w/ extra 12 gallon SVO tank, 20 gallon SA tank to replace the original (32 gallons total!), solar set up with 2 batteries, new window seals, insulated walls, new 3 window pop top canvas, freshly charged A/C, recent window tint and new rear brakes. The seller of course provided the VIN so you can do some homework on your own ( WV2ZB0254HH040896 ), like a CarFax report. The current craigslist posting is down to a $39k asking price, however I recall seeing it as high as $45k or or $49k a few months ago. Granted this looks like an epically restored Westy, however anything about $30k for a 2wd is a stretch, even with an ALH TDI. The Westy is located in the SF Bay Area (Marin) and the auction ends on Sunday April 12th at 7pm PST. eBay Link
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- Fresh Paint & Euro Body Kit
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- Spotless Interior
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- ALH TDI w/ 120HP & 200 ft lbs of torque….yummmy.
What do you think it’s worth? I’m guessing the auction won’t go above $30k, however in this region there’s a lot of money, and significant Westfalia interest. This thing would be a blast to own, however there are TDI syncros for sale in the $35k neighborhood, so it’s a hard call. Maybe if they added a rear locker and/or a Peoloquins limited slip differential it could fetch a higher price. With 32 gallons total capacity, and 30mpg, that’s a 900 mile rage. yowza. Got some diesel wisdom to share? Got questions? Looking for advice? You may or may not find it here, but leave your comments below anyhow and see what happens :). As always, you can also head on over to the individual discussions about this Westy on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Google+.
After 80 bids from 12 bidders, $34,900 still didn’t clear the sellers reserve price. Now it’s been listed on eBay again with an auction end date of Sunday, April 26th at 7pm PST.