Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Here’s a good standard-bearer for all of those Vanagons I post. It’s a clean, non-Syncro pop-top with just 117k miles; about all you could ask for in a clean Westy. The omission of 4WD keeps it about 50-75% cheaper, but it’s still pretty steep for a 27 year-old van and speaks to the desirability of what many see as the ultimate vacation (or living, in many cases) vehicle.
Westfalias and Syncros go for insane money (especially when it’s both), as I have documented here over the past few years. Today’s Westy reminds me of the one my friends’ family had, down to the perfect Wolfram Grey Metallic. A new 2.1l and a clean Westy interior make this a quietly hot commodity. The asking price is Westy-high, but it’s been loved for its 98k and makes me rethink my recent appreciation for solo life and desire some little kids to show the country to.
They may not be exactly your cup of tea, but Syncros are like Faberge eggs; you just have to accept that somewhere someone wants to pay a lot for it. Today’s lacks the camping ability of the Westy, but makes up for it with outstanding mechanicals, the heart of which is a Subaru SVX 3.3l boxer six. Add on some bigger brakes and transmission mods and this box-on-wheels must move pretty well. With 115k miles on all pieces, this is a great van.
I’ve spent quite a few recent posts examining alternatives to my dream life-machine, a VW Westy Syncro. We’ve seen G-Wagens and O309s, to Mogs and Pinzgauers, and even two-wheel drive Westys, all looking for a go-and-live anywhere megavan. The reason I’ve spent so much time looking at these other options is that while $15k for a 70s 4×4 seems significant, $65k for a 1991 Volkswagen seems UTTERLY BONKERS. And that’s not even the top of the Sycnro Westy market! But alas, if you had an extra $50k to spend on a Mog after you spent $15k, you could probably make it pretty fricking awesome. It’d be on off-the-wall choice, but you still wouldn’t get your card to the cool-kid club, which is stingily only handed out to Vanagon owners whose vans also have name-brand pop-tops and transfer cases. But like the 911 or a Ferrari, there’s a reason for the ever-building legend of the “right ones.”
There’s been some chatter about whether the US government will end the infamous chicken tax, a tariff placed on potato starch, brandy and, oddly enough, light trucks during the Johnson administration. Given the limited variety of new compact pickups available to consumers, a repeal of this tax would be a boon for consumers, as there are a number of attractive options from foreign manufacturers, most notably Volkswagen, with their new pickup, the Amorak. While Volkswagen fans dream of the day they could trailer their vintage Mk1 and Mk2 iron behind a pickup truck wearing the same badge, they can satisfy their cravings with this T3 Double Cab Tristar Syncro for sale in San Diego.