1990 VW Vanagon Westfalia Camper – Best In Show Winner – Auction
Update 1/5/15 (see comments below the post)
Anytime I hear the phrase “Best In Show”, I can’t help but think of that movie with the dogs, I guess I haven’t been to enough car shows. At any rate, this van is a 1990 VW Vanagon Westfalia camper (156k miles on the clock) with a GoWesty 2.3L engine(only 1,000 miles!), automatic transmission (rebuilt), Brembo rotors on the brakes, Billstein shocks, 16″ Mercedes wheels w/ 205/60/16 Dunlop SP7000s, a fresh windows out paint job in a color similar to the original red pearl, custom leather Recarro front seats with the Wolfsburg emblem embroidered into them, 12″ bed extension for upstairs(for us taller folks), 3 window canvas tent, new sink pump, new stereo, new auxiliary battery kit and whole list of other flare and upgrades. According to the title history it’s had at least enight owners. The van started out in Illinois, then to Kansas, Texas, Maryland and then finally make it to California sometime in 2012. No word in the description if it actually ever won any contests, however it is nicely restored example without too much crazy stuff going on. It’s available in La Habra, California and the auction ends June 7th, 2014. Any guesses on what the reserve price is? I’d say $30k at least, I couldn’t imagine letting go of it for less than $35k. eBay Link –
Updated: I also noticed it just appeared with an asking price of $39,500 the GoWesty Classifieds ( Link ) and the seller also posted a photobucket album ( Link )with more great eye candy. Check out the custom carbon fiber vent.
Updated Again: I just got this reply back from the seller regarding the owners. Enjoy! Thanks for the compliment and mention on your blog, it means a lot coming from an enthusiast. You are more like Professor Westfalia (hopefully vit ze’ German accent) than Some Guy in Utah. The only thing that I found frustrating was getting a low score on ebay’s “Car Check” that they use instead of Carfax. As far as I can tell, the low number is based purely on their calculation of previous owners, which I believe to be inaccurate. My understanding is that there was a first owner who racked up 25K+ miles per year, a second owner who was a bit of a Ramblin’ Man that followed his dreams and moved around a lot. Second owner turned it over to his College Best friend (The Ferrari/Maserati shop owner in MD who became owner number three) after it ate a water pump and then got on a plane to New Zealand where he remains chasing Shiela’s or Sheep… I believe I am owner number four. The calculation of owners seems to be based on number of times Title was issued, which by law must be done upon moving to a new state. Anyway, not much I can do about the report, but getting a score of 8 just felt like somebody kicking my dog and then saying he’s ugly, and he’s not… He’s a good boy, oh yes he is… What I think would be better is an OwnerFax service, where you could access reports that would say “2 owners, one was 17 and enjoyed street racing, Second owner was a car-hating chain-smoker who parked his car outside, under a Pigeon sanctuary tree in Brooklyn… neither owner changed the oil… ever.” or “4 owners, all of whom had the vehicle serviced at the dealership, parked underground when they drove it to work and in their garage when home, Detailed the car by hand weekly, only ran Premium fuel, etc.” Anyway, thanks again for the note and exposure!
Back up for auction again (eBay Link) this time it ends Friday, January 23rd at 2:52pm PST. Maybe they lowered the reserve? Last time around the Westy got 37 bids from 16 bidders, with a high bid of $27,600, which was below the reserve. While I realize they’ve (or someone) has put a lot into this Westy, I don’t think the market will pay $35k, though you never know.
According to the eBay listing, the seller accepted a best offer, wonder what it was?