Interesting story.  It made me think about why I've been using my '87 Westy as my daily driver and letting the (practically) brand new Passat sitting in my parent's driveway gathering dust.

Many of my best memories, even from early childhood, include Volkswagens. (The '71 Squareback my Dad had that we drove all over the Southwest and Mexico, the '74 Thing, the Bug my wife had in in high school, the '73 Squareback I drove from Utah to L.A. with 3 cylinders, 1 disk brake, and two snowstorms...etc.)

Old Volkswagens always have that special quirkiness, personality, and SMELL that other cars just don't have. With the amount of money you are willing to spend, I should think that if you are patient, then the right Vanagon Westy with A/C will find you soon enough.  Good luck with your search.

Mark Garcia
Alhambra, CA
1987 Vanagon Westfalia (for going slow)
2000 Passat 1.8T 5SPD(for going fast)
1981 Vespa P200E (for just going!)

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