In a message dated 11/28/2005 9:43:18 AM Pacific Standard Time,
robertmstewart@MAC.COM writes:

You  might remember me, I am the guy who lost his Orly Blue Carat a couple
years  ago...

Welcome back.

In my opinion the Vanagon you're looking at has a lot of miles. And the  seam
rust can be a son of a gun to tackle--although I suppose easier on a
non-camper. I believe you have to attack it  from the inside, bbehind the  interior
panels. And my guess is it looks a lot worse from the inside.

I woul advise spending a little more for a lot less mileage and a a rust
free bus. Because on this bus, between rust repair and fixing the body damage,
you're already spending a lot of cash.

I wouldn't give up. I think you can find a nice bus within your budget.

After writing this much I figured I should look at the photos. I would say
No and No. the one thing this bus has going for it is one of the things that's
going against it--New paint. The new paint makes it look nice, but it's
covered  some rust you can see in the photo by the front door. You can also see
some  pretty good rust in the engine compartment. It could be the photo, but that
 engine could be cleaner after an alleged rebuild only 25K ago.

The real negative factors to me are the 211,000 miles and the rust. That
rust will ruin your life. It's a "you can pay me now, or you can pay me later"
thing. Better to get a rust free bus for a few more dollars now than spend your
 fortune and time trying to recover what was once a bus.

Don't be discouraged. There are nice busses out there.
Best,
Jeff
83.5 Westy
LA,CA