Not true.� Four years ago, after about four years of research and about a year of serious looking, I bought an '87 Westy that I'd seen in town that suddenly came up for sale.� It cost less than $5K and in the interim has needed only yearly inspections and�normal maintenance (oil and filter changes, A/C recharging, etc.), and what other expenditures we've made have been "enhancements" to make it more to our liking.� Optional, in other words.� 
�
Such vans are out there, obviously, but as they age the nice ones increase in value and I would not necessarily expect to be able to repeat a purchase like this, but it is possible.� Keep looking, and my own advice is to buy the latest, lowest-mileage, best-condition van you can afford in order to help reduce those followup expenses, and be sure to have your prospective vehicle thoroughly checked out by a VW specialist.� That will be about $100 well spent that won't guarantee troublefree operation but will greatly reduce the likelihood of buyer's remorse.� Good luck!
�
Stephen

--- On Fri, 7/30/10, Peters, David Gerard <dgp6@PITT.EDU> wrote:

From: Peters, David Gerard <dgp6@PITT.EDU>
Subject: second newby question
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Date: Friday, July 30, 2010, 10:54 AM

Hi All

Thanks for the many warm "welcomes".� Still very much enjoying the list and learning stuff too!

My Vanagon search is still ongoing.� I am focused (after taking advice from many folks on this list) on a later model.

Question:� There is an ongoing ebay auction for restored Westy.� It is out of my price range (almost 20k buy it now) but a statement in the auction description caught my eye and I would be interested to hear feedback from you guys.

Specifically the seller sates..."If you buy an $8000 to $13,000 Westy, you will need to add up to $8000 in parts to make it reliable, and thats BEFORE you touch the engine or tranny! "

Do you agree? Obviously it is possible but I'd be interested to hear thoughts based on real world experience.

Thanks again

Dave