The market for camper vans of any kind has definitely seen an adjustment in recent years as people have returned to normalcy and the expectation of employers seeing you in the office has risen. There was a time when a proper Volkswagen Vanagon with the Westfalia camper conversion would have commanded north of $20,000 and someone would have gladly paid it; those days are gone and now you can find good drivers back in the teens and lower. This 1982 Volkswagen Vanagon listed here on craigslist has the Westfalia pop-top and requisite interior along with a desirable manual transmission, and it’s listed for $11,000 in Vermont.
The seller reports getting a lot of interest but that potential buyers didn’t want to make the trek to Burlington, Vermont without knowing if the Vanagon ran. Well, he dropped in a battery to confirm that it does, but as someone who has made the drive to Burlington to look at (and buy) a car, you absolutely want to be sure this is something you want if you’re not a local. And that’s why I’m not surprised the seller still has the ad up despite all the interest as I’m sure anything with a camper conversion is a lightning rod for dreamers and internet tire kickers. It’s a shame, too, because the Westfalia interior on this one looks quite nice.
I can one potential reason this Vanagon hasn’t found a new home as of yet, and it’s because it’s not the sexy Vanagon. It doesn’t have a lift kit, or an awning; it doesn’t have a Subaru engine conversion; it’s not four-wheel drive, which we all know was never imported officially but some enthusiasts have brought them in; and it’s an earlier example which has a particularly utilitarian vibe from the driver’s seat. Now, as someone who loves honest, affordable enthusiast vehicles, none of this bothers me. But the trend towards van life is decidedly different from the people who made converting a VW Bus into a home on wheels in the 60s and 70s, and the modern vagabonds want vehicles that look good in an Instagram post.
But should you be smart enough to appreciate a vehicle on its raw merits and not its marketability, you’ll find a lot to like about this Vanagon. It’s got a recently rebuilt engine to the tune of $10,000, and to rebuild one of these original “Wasserboxers” indicates a level of commitment that only a Vanagon enthusiast could understand. The seller notes the manual transmission was also rebuilt, and Vermont has a fair number of highly-regarded VW shops so it seems likely the work was done to a high level. And in case anyone’s wondering, the undersides are absolutely pristine – so give this one a look if you appreciate a Vanagon camper in its purest form. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. for the find.
Cool that it’s still all original, but, they were ugly when they were new, and there still ugly now…
Yes, but practical. I drove cross country in one. Plenty of room for all sorts of things inside.
This is not ‘Wasserboxer’ , still has an aircooled flat-four in there.
For the last 3 years that I know of there is a old couple snowbirding here in AZ with one of these coming from Maine.
This looks like a screaming deal and on the *right* Vanagon. (Not even that far from me; about 5 hours.)
First, because it is NOT a wasserboxer. In ’81 and ’82, the then-new Vanagon was an interm model that still had the old, air-cooled Typ 4 engine, easily identified by the single “grille” on the front that only allowed a little bit of cabin air inside.
Also because it is not the 4WD Syncro, which absolutely were officially imported by VW from 1986 to at least 1989. I know because I owned one, which, between the wasserboxer and the Steyr front drive system, chewed up expensive mechanical components on a near-monthly basis. VW didn’t sell many because they were so expensive after the contract manufacturing and separate importing from Austria.
Right on EE, Water cooled came on in late ’83 as an ’84. Bought one of the Special Editions in early ’84, and before putting 86,000 miles on it before trading it in on a ’91 Dodge van, drove it all over the county with the only problem a broken input bearing. Loved it except for the uncomfortable front seats. Ad is pulled on craigslist.
” it’s not four-wheel drive, which we all know was never imported officially ” which doesn’t explain why Riviera VW in Portland OR was selling them off the floor with Monroney stickers.