How much do you spend....

[froggy]

What is the total cost that people spend on there restorations?
And how long does the average resto take to complete?

Just wandering as i had my bay in Jan and the wife wants it drivable / MOT'able for us to use to to go away in August, i think its possible but just wandering what the average timescale is?
I know that different people restore to different conditions but mines going to be a daily, so not a show stopper used every once in a while.

 

[speedwell68]

What is the total cost that people spend on there restorations?
And how long does the average resto take to complete?

Just wandering as i had my bay in Jan and the wife wants it drivable / MOT'able for us to use to to go away in August, i think its possible but just wandering what the average timescale is?
I know that different people restore to different conditions but mines going to be a daily, so not a show stopper used every once in a while.

It depends on how bad yours is, how good you are at stuff. I have had mine for 3 years and it has been on the road for 1 year and I still have a list of jobs as long as my arm. As for the cost, I stopped counting at £7.5K.

 

[Araon]

Costs are never ending your keeping an old girl alive here....duration well thats down to so many variables, the starting condition, your skills (me I cant weld for toffee), the quality of your hired help (get to know your local vw specialist), and then back to cost if your taking short cuts etc... and wether your wanting it on the road not to be touched again for years to come or wether your willing to put your life into it and spend every weekend and holiday fannying about with her....

so far two years and almost back together, there was nothing wrong until I got my hands on her :lol: money well I opted not to document it and hide the evidence but my costs are down to me being a tit with money and keep buying crap cos its a bargain....

 

[-tipi-]

If it doesn't take all your spare time and money, it's not a hobby.

 

[dubberdaz]

As said before the resto never really ends, but complete with buying my van and resto complete with respray was around £6/7k check out my resto thread for details, Daz

 

[scott wilson]

i spent in excess of 8k and five years doing a beetle back in the early nineties so heaven knows what a resto costs now. I know most reputable workshops won`t touch a respray on a bus for less than £2k and that`s for an ok job £4k upwards for a "i can see my face in that from 400 yards" look. Welding again most workshops charge £20-30 an hour or £160-180 a day with the average british bus needing at least 7 days or a minimum of £1120. Then there`s your parts bill which can spiral out of control( ask anyone) and you`ve got to be loking at a minimum of £1500 up . I know people who`ve spent in excess of £5k on parts alone. Brakes, engine, mot.......add again
I`m not trying to put you off, quite the opposite go for it, but just try and stick to a budget, and it`d be handy if you can weld and spanner. Ask yourself-Do i really need those original empi wheels when the sills are still hanging off?
So if you`re paying someone a daily should cost somewhere near the £5k mark after buying the bus and the sky`s the limit for a show motor.
On the other hand if you can do it all yourself you`ll probably come in at about £2.5k (for a standard bus)which is much more reasonable.
These figures are being quoted solely from my experience and you`ll probably find a mate or something who will be a lot cheaper.

 

[kempy]

My old van cost me £35k to do.
That includes the purchase price of £7k.

Never again :shock:

 

[dandaz]

My old van cost me £35k to do.
That includes the purchase price of £7k.

Never again :shock:

Bloody eck....

I had a 72 westy ,that cost me £400 initial cost and £200 for repairs to take it past the test...But it was a shed,but I went to Europe a few times...I sold it on e bay for £3300.... 8)

My single cab cost £500 ,£150 to drag it back from Norfolk and £300 to pass the test ,but another shed....

I suppose people can get carried away ....

 

[slammedresto]

my old westy cost me 4.5 k, was well into 5 figures b4 i finished

took 6 months max, no welding, but bear metaled

 

[kempy]

My old van cost me £35k to do.
That includes the purchase price of £7k.

Never again :shock:

Bloody eck....

I did sell for £22k but based on todays prices for a split if selling today would go for £30k'ish.

Lets just say i got carried away at the time but never again for two reasons.

The first being my wife would kill me and secondly i could never afford it.

 

[scott wilson]

my old westy cost me 4.5 k, was well into 5 figures b4 i finished

took 6 months max, no welding, but bear metaled

Yeah but it was the best lowlight at the time if not ever

 

[VWAIRCOOLED]

My Dormobile owes me just under £2500-£3000 in initial cost and the parts to do it.I done all the work myself.It's been about 18 months since I started but it's not finished yet,although it is on the road.But 18 months is mainly because I've done it in short spells over that time.I reckon if I had all the parts to hand it would only be 2 to 4 weeks solid work.I'm also lucky that I know a few people with proper spray booths who will paint my bus when I'm ready for a real good price as I fix their cars for them.

Finding parts which are not off the shelf can hold you back and cause delays.

I think if you want it done quickly for this year,you need to make a list of what needs doing to get to MOT standard first.Buy all the parts needed,take a week off work and crack on with it.Then make another list of stuff you want to do to finish it.

 

[slammedresto]

my old westy cost me 4.5 k, was well into 5 figures b4 i finished

took 6 months max, no welding, but bear metaled

Yeah but it was the best lowlight at the time if not ever

cheers dude 8)

 

[froggy]

Planning on doing as much as i can, already got the engine running, changed all rubber brake hoses and changed fluid, just started on the body and guess what...its a lot worse than i thought.
The rear corners are fitted over the old corners, the sills are fibre glass and body filler and a few of the jacking points now have holes were i went prodding with Mr Screwdriver :shock:

 

[Araon]

ah the joys of vw ownership......you may have guessed theres some cowboys out there...the funny thing is some of these "repairs" are by "proffessionls"....

 

[froggy]

NOt to sure on Professionals unless you count the lone ranger as a pro!
The thing is that the Bay has been off the road for 14 years so god knows what failled an MOT back in the day. Ha ha

 

[Tofufi]

I think my bus still owes me under £2k.

Not bad for an MOTd rolling wreck

I don't want to count how much I have spent on my bug though. Another £850 this month... :shock:

Next month is known as "MOT month" :?

 

[scott wilson]

must be british bus then......

 

[ianscooby]

Hmmm!, so far 8K but getting bigger, but started with a good bus (no rust)

 

[dandaz]

the sills are fibre glass and body filler and a few of the jacking points now have holes were i went prodding with Mr Screwdriver :shock:

I did my singlecab in a week ,the resto was on JK ,I changed inner sills all jacking points/outriggers ,there was no inner arch panels swapped front beam and had to rebuild the engine..as well as no seat belt mounts etc...

But I still nearly pissed my pants the first time I saw it.... 8)