$200k VW Microbus @ B-J auction

[raff]

I guess the old cliche is true -- some people have more money than ....

1963 VOLKSWAGEN 23 WINDOW Lot 363.2 | Barrett-Jackson Auction Company

[dnyed]

Some people have too much money. It is a beautiful ride, but........

[billymade]

That is a truly exceptional restoration; having lived in and around; "vw heaven" (west coast of california, especially for these buses, santa cruz); it is truly one of the higher quality and desirable of the buses out there... having said that; there must have been a number of people gunning for this particular specimen. I have a feeling that all the shows it went to and the high awards it got; may have had something to do with this as well... one of the most respected and high end restoration houses on the west coast... is: West Coast Classic VW Restoration, VW for sale, VW parts, vw upholstery, volkswagen parts, volkswagen restoration

It wouldn't surprise me if they were involved in the restoration or someone else well known in the west coast area vw aircooled community... had a hand in it. I guess as time passes; there are less, less of these are around. There had to be a number of heavy hitters bidding on this thing; to get the prices up as high as it ended up being! On the other hand; who would have thought these old muscle cars that sold for less then $3000 in the 60's; would be commanding the high prices they are auctioning off for now, either...

Check out some of the buses they have done:

http://www.classicvws.com/menu99.htm

Also, beetles!

http://www.classicvws.com/menu88.htm

Karmann Ghias!

http://www.classicvws.com/menu61.htm

And ultra rare coach built Hebmuller and the Rometsch!

http://www.classicvws.com/menu811.htm

As far as I am concerned; the attention to detail and end results of what they can do... it exceptional and stunning! Probably in many cases nicer (especially the paint) then when they came off the line at Wolfsburg!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfsburg

[raff]

While I'm sure the level of workmanship is beyond reproach -- the price paid is way over the top - result of a bidding war.

See links for recent auction prices:

RM AUCTIONS

Archive Car List | Barrett-Jackson Auction Company After opening the link - enter "volkswagen" as make, but leave "model" blank.

[DannyRandomState]

As a bus owner, and as one that has worked on and restored buses this is stupid. It's deals like this that hurt the bus market so much. Sure, don't get me wrong here it is a nice bus for a late model. But if the research is done properly one would see that even when buses rolled out of Wolfsburg or later from Hanover the long wals where not mirror perfect.

In my opinion these high dollar buses are being over restored. I would bet money that the belly pans on this bus where painted the body color completely. When in fact the underside should be painted a grey color with overspray on top of that along the edges. Again, this is a nice bus even though window buses do nothing for me. But now John Doe bus owner will catch wind of this and figure his rotted out/lacking interior/mismatched parts/needs body work (a ton of it) will be worth a gob of money. Now on the flip side if I was out n about in my ambulance and some schmuck came up and offered an enormous amount for the bus yeah, sure take it. I'll go find another. But to pay 200,000 for something that didn't even cost 2000 new.... Maybe if it was a barndoor deluxe that had been sitting in some barn or building for the last 60 years with only 43.2 miles on it. Then MAYBE that would be ok.

[n2vdubz]

Originally Posted by DannyRandomState

But now John Doe bus owner will catch wind of this and figure his rotted out/lacking interior/mismatched parts/needs body work (a ton of it) will be worth a gob of money.

So true!! All these highly overpriced VWs selling at auctions are making people think their (for example) late model Super Beetle is worth 15k.... I see it on Craigslist all the time. "Needs work, hasn't been run in years, yada yada.... $8-10k....". I love my '59 Beetle, but there is no way I would have paid close to $200K, let alone 10K for my pride and joy. F' that dude.