>         a. am I on a fool's errand, hoping to find for $8-9k a full camper
> as late as '86 or so, in decent condition?  I looked at an '89 the other
> day, advertised with a new reblt engine with a 3yr-36k warranty, at $12,995,
> thinking the warranty would be valuable, but it was a *dog*!  Stank of smoke
> and mildew and looked severely abused, like someone had let loose a circular
> saw in there, and it just kept going, bouncing around off the cabinets,
> etc., hacking and gouging wherever it landed.
No. We got our '88 last March for $8100 CDN, or ~$6k US. This was far 
cheaper than any we had looked at during 6-8 months of looking, but 
it felt right. Even with 320k kms on it, it still drove better than 
many others priced higher, and still does after another 15k or so. 
Granted, ours was an exceptional deal, but if you're willing to 
search for 6 months, you should find one too.
For the interior to be THAT bad, it must have been used a work 
vehicle. Our previous owner was hard on things (I can tell be worn 
holes in front carpet, little plastic pieces broken, etc), but the 
Westfalia cabinets are in very good shape. The painted metal below 
the fridge is rusting a bit from salt, but that's about it. I've yet 
to see a Vanagon Westy with cabinets in poor condition, aside from an 
occasional loose hinge.

>         b. More seriously, reading of the quests some of you have had to
> undertake to get certain parts, and the frequency with which, it appears,
> engines need to be rebuilt before going even 100k -- is it a given, with a
> Vanagon, that maintenance expenses will be frequent and high?
So far, not for me. I've spent nothing on it other than oil changes 
and interior cleanups/fix ups. The current engine is a VW rebuilt 
installed at 165k, so it now has about 170k km, or just over 100k 
miles. It still runs strong, burns almost no oil (1/2 qt every 5k) 
and shows ok compression. I suspect the compression would be better 
if the PO had used better oil (not 10w30) and changed it more often 
than 12k km. The original engine had leaky heads at 165k when it was 
replaced. The main cause for early "rebuilds" is leaky heads, and 
this can be delayed by regular changes of coolant. 
The bottom end of the engine will go much further - my Uncle's '89 is 
nearing 300k on the original engine, with new heads at about 250k.

Since you're not as mechanically inclined, try to find a Westy with 
low mileage and complete service records since new. Look for a 
previous owner who did not hesitate to have things fixed when they 
happened. Some of the little things in the Vanagon can quickly cost 
bug $$ to fix if they have not been cared for, or have high mileage. 
(CVs, heater cores, steering racks...)
Shawn Wright (VWnut@smus.bc.ca)
'88 Westy (336k)
'85 Jetta TD (358k)
'69 Wife
'97 1st child (! :)