The life span of bus ownership ..

[Hilly_70]

So.. guys help me out with this one ..

You can either tell me im completely off track .. or tell me its uncanny how similar this life choice is!

Either way .. Im getting it off my chest!

12 years ago I bought a bus ..my first and only one .. its been a long journey and ive learnt every inch of it to the point where I would say Im a competant bus owner .. bodywork respray and all.

My first years, when she was a bit rusty .. only had one functional handbrake cable, bit of a fuel leak that sort of stuff .. loved it .. used it in all weathers .. yes Ive 'de iced' the inside of the windscreen.

Family came along .. bus got a bit sidelined as more work was required .. sat for a bit .. worked on her a bit .. repeat.

Moved house .. managed to find a house with double garage.. bingo .. work got completed on bus.

lovely .. shiney .. new most things where required.

bare with me .. Im getting to it!

3 years its been completed .. I hardly get chance to use it .. when I did .. in protest she had a paddy and broke down to the point of my first ever recovery trip!

Walked into my garage the other day and it came to me .. Im gonna sell it .. Just like that,out of the blue, ya know like when you decide your gonna dump a girl .. its upsetting but you know its the right thing to do!

For 3 days ive thought how im gonna explain to the family she has to go .. and how i'd sell it. Told family and they were a little objectionable ... and suprised.

So today the old girl has been out of the garage for a wash and a few little jobs .. and a bit of a drive to fill up ..

Maybe im not gonna dump her after all .. she may have had a close call ..

So .. tell me this wise ones! .. Do we all go through this at some point? .. Have I done well at 12years? .. is it like the 7 year itch? ..

Any bus relationship advice is welcome!

.. PS .. all you new owners.. please feel free to send me a 'confused' smilie ..

Hilly

 

[StuF]

As a doctor told me once - use it or loose it
I think that is one of the key messages for bus ownership
They arent great daily drives so we spend all winter planning summer trips for something to look forward too.

If we didnt get out in the bus we wouldnt want an expensive ornament sat in the garage!

 

[monkeyvanwestybike]

I think we all get a bit shall I shant I sometimes
especially when you think about the money ,I sold my last one and regretted it within a fortnight.
now 21 years on with this one ,I open the door and the aroma de westy hits me I always become re enthused :lol:
stick with it I say

 

[Alex VW Heritage]

Been There for sure,

But I find the sell comes during a period off the road and within 10 mins of driving again I always change my mind!

 

[*Sam*]

Im currently in the sell it faze of the relationship. I get frustrated with the amount of money it needs spending on it to get it how "I" want it", but I'm pretty sure I would regret it soon enough after its gone, the one thing that keeps me keeping it is the amount of time I have invested in it.

 

[cotswoldiver]

Know exactly what you mean, but this weekend took the westy down to the vintage nostaglia show in Stockton, Wiltshire for the day not intending to stay - but Friday night weather forecast looked good so booked a nice site in the country in Somerset a few miles down the road, not great on facilities but it didn't matter - lovely location, a nice walk through the fields to the local pub for a couple of pints and supper and all is well in the world. Plus, the usual number of people that come and talk to you just because you have a 'nice' bus, the driving through country lanes and A roads and all seems well in the world and talk of selling disapears. Until the next time it frustrates the hell out of you!

So, at the moment its staying, the trouble free somewhat larger german motorhome to tour europe properly idea goes back on the back burner (maybe I'll just hire one) , and all of a sudden I'm back in the keep using it mode - the money put into it looks better value for money the more miles I do - and in all honestly, the 'let's just chill' effect is priceless

But one day it will catch me out ...

 

[Lee C]

I sold my bay after 3 trouble free to "upgrade" to a split!!!
Big mistake!!!
My next bay was "the keeper" 2.5 years to build then 2.5 months on the road then in a moment of madness & £££ worries it was gone!!
Hopefully this current bay, the crewcab, is the keeper!!!!!!!!!

 

[1961bluebug]

Let it soak in, let it rest. If you have a safe dry place for your bus, store it - they wont get any cheaper in the future! I´ve been "in the mood" many times with my various aircooled VWs. But my advantage was - I always had several VWs to choose from. Let it soak in, don´t t make warmed up decisions. I have a ´68 transporter in the works and I´m absolutely sure that it is the keeper considering money invested and actual market situation.

Hey I had an original Swiss VW Fridolin. Travelled across Europe to bring it home, worked a bit to make it driveable, enjoyed meetings and rallies (European Bug In 2013 for example) but sold it later to the States for a HUUGE profit that helped me in house restoration. my current stash consists of a ´61 beetle in immaculate condition, ´68 baywindow, and a ´71 Trekker (181) wafter a complete resto and performance mods. They are all keepers.

 

[Hilly_70]

Thanks guys ..

I think it just came as a shock to me as in all the years its the first time ive thought it!

That and I desperately wanna work on the beetle but it meansleaving the bus outside .. which I wouldn't even dream of doing now unless I was in it! .. and the missus has gone all T5 on me!

Ive made an effort to think about it a bit more and the idea has worn off a bit .. and like you say its not losing any money sat in a nice warm garage

Cheers

Hilly

 

[58paul]

Hi Hilly
Just like to say if I had a pound for every time I have thought about selling my bus I could most likely be able to buy a 23 window Samba, stick with it there are no memories with £;s in the bank.

 

[toffo24]

Sometime one door closes and another opens ! I never thought about selling Rocky but sometimes you have to let go of what you have in order to grow and have new experiences.

Now onto my second aircooled project and possibly a 3rd ! Don't know what the future will bring but if it's anything like the last 6 years it will certainly be eventful.

Thank you all for some great memories and an ever expanding group of truly great people and buses ...

 

[notchboy]

Whats that Willy Nelson song? To all the girls I loved before? :lol:

I have been given more shit for selling cool stuff Ive had then accolades for owning it. You are not alone for setting your baby free.

 

[Trikky2]

Been There for sure,

But I find the sell comes during a period off the road and within 10 mins of driving again I always change my mind!

Pretty much this ^^

Several times I have felt like selling and then I take it on a camping trip and wonder why.

 

[Air Cooled Rookie]

I’m going through a similar phase as you are Hilly. I bought my van in 2003 and loved camping in it, and used it as a daily driver until 2008 despite it being less than reliable. However, we’ve only been away camping in it once a year for the last three or four years, so lately I have been asking myself if it’s worth keeping it, especially as the last time we went camping we had nothing but trouble (long story, summed up by ‘shit re-manufactured parts’).

It isn’t helped by the fact that the bed is pretty uncomfortable for two people, good campsites seem to be harder to find (we like a field with a basic shower, a great view and a local pub, nothing else) and I actually really don’t enjoy driving it on the motorway any more or anywhere with hills for that matter – it’s a bog standard 1600 twin port.

We’re off to South Devon in it this weekend, so we’ll see how that 250 mile trip goes. A good part of me really, really wants to fall back in love with my van. But yes, I think we all go through what you are going through at some time. Perhaps with old VW’s it’s the 12 year itch rather than one of the seven year variety?

 

[trickyrobo]

How did the trip to South Devon go? are you back in the zone and feeling the love for your camper?

 

[Air Cooled Rookie]

Ha! Not really! We got as far as Weston Super Mare, about 45 miles, and the bus packed up. It took five hours and two AA vehicles to get us home.
I've cleaned a load of crap out of the carb and reset the timing and the van seems to be running fine now, but I haven't bothered to take it out for a run to see if it's really cured, which should tell you all you need to know....

 

[guyers73]

well im gonna put my 5 pence in here sorry,its sunday and ive had a few beers.oopps. firstly i repair and restore vws for a living. i say a living feels more like a charity sometimes.so ive had lots of vws over the twenty plus years.and lots of them i have regreted selling especialy the sambas.mainly cos i could probably retire now if i still had them.anyway sorry il cut to my point..theres always a bargain to be had you just got to look for it.in some ways its always good to have a change in your life.its healthy thing.not something to be scared off..or regret...but one most definate point i want to make.this does do my head in.just reading about reasons to sell your van and most people do this.dont dump your vans in your driveway or your cosy garage and then after 6 months of it sitting idle decide to go on a tour of cornwall or the outer hebridese for two weeks at the drop of a hat. it will end in tears.and a grumpy AA man who always moans about how unreliable vw campers are.and those very comments im just gona sell it....fix them. maintain them. use them regularly. and dont fit rubbish repro crap = happy campers =happy owners =happy times...hope ive not offended anyone

 

[lobie]

I totally agree I use mine as much as I can all year round

 

[ozziedog]

Agree with all of that above ^^^ especially about the off on a road trip at the drop of a hat thing. Use them and keep on top of them and they`ll be good. I`m not the most over indulgent owner by a long chalk and I let someone else work on my bus (Nick) and mostly I just make sure the oil is in good supply, but if anything is starting to niggle me, me or Nick is on it at once

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Little things can wait till winter though :mrgreen:

 

[who?1]

Totally agree with Ozzie and above.

I think that is why I can't stop spending time and money on our bus. There is always something to do or change and once its done I feel the benefit and heightened enthusiasm.

I've had an air cooled vw in my life since 1991, before I passed my test. I find I get fed up with them when things aren't right. So sort the problems or get someone else to sort them. Upgrade here or there with good quality gear, buy cheap buy twice is my motto. If it isn't driving right or isn't reliable you will get down hearted, our bus is used every week even if its just a trip to the tip.

I got bitten by the aircooled bug years ago and have been suffering since.

Just a side thought too, Vw shows have changed massively over the last ten to fifteen years with the influx of money due to vw becoming fashionable and worth a lot of cash. T4s and 5s have taken over and who can blame anyone for following them and supplying parts, its where the easy money is.
I went to Bristol Aircooled last weekend, a grass roots show, air cooled and classic american cars only, very refreshing laid back affair with like minded air cooled buddies. Perhaps we need more shows like this, it might rekindle the flame?