Sad sad day. To sell or not to sell, that is the question.

[yakyakfire]

Hello , I have just found this site while researching on the net and thought I would pop my troubles here and see if anyone can offer some words of wisdom.
My baybe has just failed his MOT. I knew he would, but he needs more attention than I can give him right now and I am gutted. He needs quite a bit of welding and I just don't have the time and space to sort it out right now.
He is a bit rough around the edges but mechanically he is pretty sound. could do with a tune up but on the whole he runs like a dream and he is such a huge part of our lives. But, we just moved in with my mom and now he is parked on the drive with no real shelter, next to the beach (salty sea air and a van with no cover?? eek).
So, should we let him go and swap him for a t25? or do we keep him on oneside until we can sort him out? arrghh, sell, don't, sell, don't? I have been chasing my tail for a week now.
Logic says I can't put the time in and my heart says...but he's beautiful. We got an offer for him, but I couldn't let him go. now, maybe. arrgghh. ranting now....whoops.
Anyone with words of wisdom?
http://s914.photobucket.com/albums/ac347/yakyakfire/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[baron]

Tricky one, it's something lots of us struggle with. I used to have this hassle about 15 years ago. ditched my rusty van, then bought a new one without rust when i could afford it again (about 9 years ago), not that I'm saying this is what you should do, but really the vw lifestyle is largely in the mind, you dont necessarily need that rusting hulk of metal to live it out....

here's your pics for everyone to see:

 

[mattd1984]

Hi Mate

From those pictures it really doesn't look too bad. Very hard to decide :?

 

[yakyakfire]

Thankyou for putting up the pics, I'm a bit of a computer phobe and have no idea how to do that.
The one on the drive is about 3 years ago, before it moved to the coast. We put a new rust free sliding door on it last year (the old one fell off in tesco's, lol) but the rest of the van now needs some serious time spent on the surface rust, two new cab doors, one wheel arch( someone crashed into it a couple of weeks ago) and a few other spots. including the gutters( they aren't shot, but need some damage control.
It is just the big leap from, beautiful bay to Bricky t25. But then as you say, it is the trips that count and it would be nice to have a van that is good to go without too much thought or work needed. hmmmmm

 

[dubdubz]

it is hard - whats the welding or rather fail sheet list

it can see like a mountain of work but isn't really that bad? Can I ask does the MOT place also do repairs?

As baron said it isn't or doesn't have to be VW - it's a culture possibly fashion thing. People on the SBMCC - self build motorcarvans I think it stands for have built europe hopping renault campers - they have as much fun as VW people, possibly more if you take in consideration the reliability!

 

[yakyakfire]

Thankyou for your responses. I have been mulling it over and over. He has to go. I just don't have the time and space to fix him up and I sure don't have the cash to pay garage prices for everything he needs. I fell in love with bay window vw's when I was a kid and my aunty/uncle had one, I loved that bus and couldn't stop dreaming of it. My first car was an old polo and I guess I just have a bit of a thing for the vw's.
So now I have to figure out whether to pay for the work to be done and MOT it before selling or not? completely not sure. Might sell easier with MOT, but then I might not want to sell it...hmm.
Keep your eyes peeled it will turn up for sale shortly.
cheers
am

 

[baron]

the good thing is that bays are so overpriced, you'll probably get good money for it, with or without MOT

A friend just bought a rock solid Citroen H van, the earliest in the UK, and it only cost £4k

vw's are more style than substance, and i say that as a style over substance man everytime :mrgreen:

 

[Guest]

if your hearts not in it? then i would sell.

 

[Baldrick]

Just my thoughts...

When we got our bay I knew that from a practical point of view we'd be better of with a T25 or even a T4 as they offer more space.

But for me it didn't just come down to practicality, it was the buzz of driving something that was a bit of a classic style icon...something that so many people stop and talk to me about just because they've either had one or want one. It's not an ego trip (I hope!) but I think its great having a vehicle that people love to look at and want to talk about. Total strangers come up and talk to you.

I don't know if you would get that from a T25, but I'm guessing you wouldn't from a T4!! The citroen would probably get some comments, but to me "camper" is just another name for a "VW" so there was never anything else to consider from my point of view.

I guess the question is "Is this a head or heart decision?"

 

[gninnam]

Wish I could bring something constructive to your plight, but at the end of the day, if you feel it needs to go then wave bye-bye.

If you do sell, I would sell it as-is - if you go to the trouble of getting it done by someone else, the cost will be big and, like you say, you will probably not want to let it go.....

Hard call (been there a few times myself, but still got it - at least it's miles from the sea amd is covered!!)

Good luck with whatever you do

 

[yakyakfire]

Thankyou for all your words of support and advice. I am off on my hols next week, but i'm going to list him for sale as is and see what interest there is when I get back. I will be gutted, but it's time to get practical. I live on a beach and I'm hoping for more children soon , which doesn't leave time or room for vehicles that need a lot of up keep. I need something that I don't need to worry about.
cheers
Annie