on 4/13/06 9:59 AM, John Bange at jbange@GMAIL.COM wrote:

>> There needs to be a website listing all of the ridiculously priced vans
>> that never ended up selling.  Otherwise, people only are encouraged to
>> push up their prices, and never the other way around.  Eventually, I'd
>> like to think I might be in the market for a early model Westfalia.  I
>> just hope that by then all the owners haven't lost their marbles like
>> some of these guys....
>
>
> Yeah, I wish there WAS some way to track ACTUAL prices. The "sale price"
> weirdness is pretty common everywhere, for anything. You see it on ebay all
> For this I think the major instigator is none other than
> GoWesty. On the one hand you have GoWesty selling 'em as fast as they can
> get 'em at up to $70K (!), and on the other you have visually similar
> vehicles languishing on samba for under $10K. I think too many people see
> GoWesty prices and think they're just selling Vanagons, when really they're
> selling a Vanagon plus some sort of guarantee. If you buy a syncro westy
> from Joe Schmoe and it throws a rod 40 miles up the road despite Joe's
> assurances it'd get you home no problem;

I agree!  Looking at this syncro westy on the samba:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=278602

Intrigues me as it is a very clean, stock, low mileage, in my area, etc. but
the price isn't so much out of my range as more than I want to pay for one.
It's been listed on the samba for almost 2 months & remains unsold.  To high
a price, not as clean as it looks, wrong time of year to sell???? Who knows?

What is a realistic price for this, non CA. Syncro westy???? I don't want to
insult the guy, but at the same time, don't want to continue the overprice
trend that you see out there.  I am patient, don't need another westy, but I
do want a nice syncro westy for the fleet( probably have to sell the 84 to
pay for it, keep the spousal unit)

Tom-grass is always greener on the other side?