Westy 1984 for sale by owner - Los Angeles, CA - craigslist (2024)

Some information on the car:
German build
2.1 L Engine, 4 Cyl.
Manual Transmission
Refrigerator
2 burner stove
Sink - 5 gallon tank
2 integrated tables
Swivel seats
Recently served breaks

Good points:

1) Engine -> good engine, Peter, my reliable mechanic, owner/operator of Foreign AutoHaus, was Amazonized, eaten alive by the big operators, lost the place, is no longer, we cannot ask him about the engine... Peter serviced my cars for over 20 years. Recently serviced transmission (manual transmission), generally well cared engine,
2) the car had a rebuilt engine by the previous owner. I have no papers of it, but I do not think that the engine would be what it is if the engine had not been rebuilt (see smog test result at pictures),

Bad points:
1) most of the meters on the panel are not working: temperature gauge, gas tank gauge, trip length. Have a separated, independent temperature gauge that works much better than the standard gauge. speedometer and odometer both work. On the good side, I suspect that the problem is simply a bad electrical connection - I started my life as an electronics technician. I will look into this, eventually.
2) air conditioning does not work, it is turned off.
3) paint is original, which means that it is not perfect. I took some pics of some of the worse defects, there are similar ones on other places around the van, If you are like me, use the van for camp, not as a show piece, it does not matter, but if you want a show piece, then you will need a new paint.
4) I checked the seals around the glasses, there is no leaks, but the gaskets are old, the new owner may be wishing to contemplate changing most of the gaskets around the glasses (not engine gaskets!, just around windshield and windows).
5) crack on the windshield, passenger side, and a stone star also at the passenger side,
6) the radio antenna broke. If you are like me, you just stick there a discarded hanger, acquired from a dampster dive, and then the radio works perfectly. But again, if you want a show piece, then you need to buy a new antenna. At the VW dealer it will cost you a few thousands.
7) the two front tires are brand new, the two back tires should be changed.

Price: Looking here in CraigsList, it seems to me that a similar Westy, with a good engine as this one has, sells for over $25k. I am willing to take the low end, $25k, minus the cost to fix the known optional improvements to be in top shape:
new paint (estimated $2,000 ),
air conditioning (estimated $1,000),
windshield (estimated $300),
the glass gaskets (estimated 300),
the panel meters (estimated $500),
two back tires (estimated $500)
total $4,600. Then add $2k for other possible repair/improvements, total $6,600. Subtracting from $25k it is $18.4k, I am asking $16.4k, my price.

Thanks for looking and happy camping.

Documentation of my estimates:
cost of painting a van: https://paintstrategies.com/cost-to-paint-a-van/#mid-range-paint-job -> $1,000 to $1,800 for a mid-range job, am using $2,000.
cost of a new windshield for Westy: https://autoglassestimator.com/vehicle/volkswagen-vanagon/ -> $240 to $350, am using $300.
cost for panel meters: could not find any estimate, am using $500 as a wild guess
cost for glass gaskets : could not find any estimate, am using $300,
cost for panel meters: I guess this is difficult to find, am using $500, it should be less than $500.
cost for air conditioning: found a guy who spent $750 for the major parts, I will use $1,000 as estimate to have the A/C working again.

Photos: I posted here the maximum 24 photos allowed. I was unable to lift the pop-out partly because of my size, mostly due to my 79 years of age. There are currently pics of the pop-out partly up only. I am going to get help, open it all up then post the new pics. You can see more photos, and also some videos of the engine starting and the van driving, at the following DropBox links:

Inside_Engine_Ziped_2405dd / these are pics of the running engine / / https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/x6q990l19ynlfx1vwxmc0/Inside_Engine_Ziped_2405dd.tar.gz?rlkey=tiejgxj8xjfeia5hrmu6zah9k&st=v06b5pjs&dl=0

Inside_Ziped_240511 / pics of the inside of the van / / https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pol0ny5isconq26erse3k/Inside_Ziped_240511.tar.gz?rlkey=sr6qp57hlxnh6wvpuvt6spa1h&st=txjie84a&dl=0

Outside_230714 / pics of the outside of the van / 25 pics, / https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/dmi6phgkzfze961lj0llb/Outside_230714_Ziped.tar.gz?rlkey=ujmvetynxm7rfq30m6a5e2wm2&st=6me90dca&dl=0

PopUp_PartlyOpen / PopUp only partly opened / 3 pics, / https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pib7j2unwlz4h0am5tlmd/

PopUp_PartlyOpenedOnly_Ziped_240511.tar.gz?rlkey=vp0w939dvxt30951oj7s9a1md&st=58kkmob7&dl=0

Under -> archive1 / underneath the van, 10 pics, / https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/c71kf7pirg4d49lyhbp9w/archive1.zip?rlkey=l0quu8f6ea2an4r9hh62yqt6a&st=klsclw7q&dl=0

Under -> archive2 / underneath the van, 11 pics, / https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2uo22escscqqxkwxh43if/archive2.zip?rlkey=kyjomd7yl12bbkchk29bwx4m7&st=6fnbwicu&dl=0

Under -> archive3 / underneath the van, 11 pics, / https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/l1yd5fd7slqdvztxh0rra/archive3.zip?rlkey=miwkgf9p1dovb087x7za6a3tc&st=xf6c6gx7&dl=0

Driving_LongButGood / 1 video only, long one, 189 Mby
/ https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/dstodwjqgw9yu455967ek/Driving_LongButGood_177Mby_IMG_0836.MOV?rlkey=teki4jihdxil93j6r6l6imu7f&st=84ik0lxu&dl=0

AllShortVideos / 7 videos + 2 pics, / https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xzlq4lhhco7gkq7cm887z/AllShortvideos.tar.gz?rlkey=evnpy3r19p6cfplbnhsvhc08o&st=jcgvjx36&dl=0