First I'll start off with the fact that I believe that probably 100% of the
people that drive off the GoWesty log with a restored van are happy with
their purchase. I myself sometimes order parts from GoWesty and every time I
do the items are in my mailbox 3 days later from CA. (I'm in PA).

Also let me note that I do not believe that people on the Vanagon list, etc.
are the type of people to buy vans from GoWesty. Sure, there are probably a
few lurkers here but the average list member here is one who does as much
work on the vans themselves and probably is very knowledgeable when it comes
to purchasing a used van. We are not the type that needs hand holding and a
showroom but that is not to say anything negative about those who do.

My gripe, and it was once again reinforced by the article in question, is
the GoWesty sales pitch and attitude. Quite frankly it is offensive to those
of us very familiar with these vans. Let me use the article in question as
my example. GoWesty said the van was only worth $23K.  Says who? I can't get
a Syncro Westy with 80K miles around here for $23K. OK, lets say it IS only
worth $23K. GoWesty says it only adds 6% markup to what it pays for the
vans. OK, that's $24,380. Here's the problem, GoWesty will NOT ALLOW me to
buy that van from them for $24,380.  NOOOO. I can't buy any van from them
for the "only 6%" markup that they claim. They claim that that would be
"unsafe", etc. to sell vans in the condition they arrive, whatever that may
be. For some odd reason, EVERY van that comes through the GoWesty showroom
seems to need a new engine, trans, etc. all the way down to the optional
$10,000 paint job. Sorry, this is what is really annoying us Vanagon.com
owners. Believe it or not, you can actually buy a $15,000 Westy (or even
cheaper) that is in excellent shape and drive it for years. Lets face it,
the "only 6%" markup is the old used car trick to show the lowest amount on
the title transfer so the new owner pays less sales tax and to make them
look like "nice guys".

I think GoWesty caters to a much more affluent van buyer than the average
Vanagon.com, TheSamba, etc. driver.  People who have $50-$100K to spend on a
weekend toy are not the norm. GoWesty has found and filled a niche market
and will probably be doing it for years to come. What they are selling is
"an experience". People get to go in and shop around for the exact van and
features that they want. Price is no object to them. That is even more
clearly seen by some of the Eurovan prices I've seen, like EV MV Weekenders
being sold used for more than they were new! Geez, even the VW dealer
doesn't get those kind of prices. Yeah yeah, I hear year. "This van is
squeaky clean, only 40K miles, it's the last one on the planet, we even
added a DVD player! Blah blah blah".

I just know that when it comes time to actually restore my van I'm pretty
darn sure I can do if for less than $50K. I will, however, continue to order
"niche" items that GoWesty sells since they are the only suppliers for some
items.

Thanks,
Bryan