1990 VW Vanagon Westfalia Camper – Automatic 112k Miles – Palm Springs, CA Auction
This auction has been stealing some eyeballs over the past few days and is another great litmus test to see what folks on the West Coast are will to pay for a unmolested late model Westy. What we have here is a 1990 VW Vanagon Westfalia Camper with stock 2.1L engine, stock automatic transmission, and pretty much stock everything as far as I can tell.
A big highlight of this specimen is that the seller provides the VIN ( WV2ZB0251LH118608 ) and the Auto Check report, which shows a very likely verifiable mileage of only 112k. Being all stock, this is a blank canvas for anyone to build out their dream Westy. It also looks to be rust free, with the interior and exterior in great shape, including what is likely the original pop top tent. While there’s no mention of whether or not the kitchen appliances work, they look hardly used at all.
However, the photos the seller provided do kinda suck, and there’s no clear picture of the notoriously rusty kitchen seam on the drivers side. If I were the seller, I’d take a new set of clear pictures of all the seams, seals, undercarriage, along with a video walk around, and document the engine starting, running, and of the appliances working in all modes. Going the distance here will always lead to a higher final bid value.
What we did see with the most recent auction I posted about, is that automatic transmission still seem to fetch far less (10% – 20% or more) than their manual counterparts, for obvious reasons. However, there is one main benefit to an auto trans in my opinion. Your friends and family can drive it, if you let them. Driving a manual vanagon is an art form, and even if you’ve got experience with a stick, the vanagon will take some getting used to, especially if your stick experience is with newer high revving short shift vehicles.
At the time of this post it has 38 bids from 8 bidders with the current high bid at $12,800. Auction Ends Sunday January 3rd at 1:45pm PST. eBay Link I have a feeling the seller is hoping for more than $20k, but I’m not sure if the high bid will clear that price. What do you think it’s worth? Are you going to see it? Let us know what you think in the comments below, or head on over the individual discussions about this Westy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest and share your wisdom there.
