Hi Stacy,
 My advice is to go slowly.
 Begin by reading the chapter on how to buy a VW
 in John Muir's "How To Keep Your VW Alive."

 Looking for a van, I found it invaluable to inspect
 at a large number of vans for sale & drive them.
 Pay close attention to the condition of the body &
 the interior--pop the top, examine the canvas,
 look for rust on the body, check out the seats for
 comfort & wear, etc.
 It's nice when the PO provides maintenance records.
 Decided in advance what you can afford to spend
 & include in that amount whatever it will take to get
 the van into the kind of shape required by you for
 how you plan to use it.

 Don't be in a rush to make your choice!
 I spent over six months looking at vans for sale--
 & it paid off for me.  Also, I observed that the sale
 price of vans drops about 50% between the months
 of October & March.

  Good luck!
  Phaedra