Hello all, Have been browsing these forums the last few weeks as we are looking to take the plunge soon and purchase our first T2. The plan is to utilise the van whilst the kids are young and hopefully work on it through that period to keep it sound and when the kids are older tour in Europe with it! I imagine we will be spending lots of time in the how-to section in the future! Our max budget is £10k, don't mind a bit of rust as long as it's not structural -.i.e under the van and would prefer if it's roadworthy as would have to budget a trailer otherwise. Does this sound like it's do-able? The two vans we've seen are: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314181926277 Which although looked good from the outside - fairly fresh paint job, the owner had only had it a year and no paperwork/photos for the respray. I've seen many people say steer clear if that's the case; plus more importantly the reserve on it was £17.5k - lesson learned ask this before going off on a 100+ mile viewing! The other was at a garage locally which looks to now be sold as it's not on Autotrader but again this had rust all in the roof gutter - another thing I've seen to stay away from plus whole missing structural sections underneath . No doubt I will be updating this thread on our adventures and probably asking for advice on any suitable vans we find Thanks.
£10k budget is not enough to avoid trouble... but... A couple of doors and a reasonably small amount of welding and this one might come in budget - just get the repairs blown in. Others think differently but it looks good to me, the rust appears to be very localised, you could even leave the dent in the side for now. It's LHD though which you might not like. IMO fixed up this is a £15-20K van. https://thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/westfalia-t2-for-sale.97165/ You'll be needing to travel Northwards from where you are for the repairs or you'll have your wallet emptied. Try @Dubs on here for straightforward repairs.
There was one on here recently advertised for around 6k needs a bit of work but the main area's were good and yes a fresh paint job would be a concern.
The one Steve (Zed) link for sale on here is a good bus for the money despite needing some work but the budget you set will cover the purchase cost, some new doors and enough to do things like fuel lines, window rubbers and a few other bits you will come across.
I bought a bus that needed work not long after my first child was born. I welded away in my spare time in the garage for a fair while and got rattle cans to match the paintwork. Far from perfect and there are more rusty bits that need my attention, but my son is ten now, and my daughter eight, and we have had some great family holidays in Normandy, Wales, Devon and lots of weekends and day trips. If you're prepared to learn and get your hands dirty it's definitely do-able. @Zed used to restore buses for a living and I found his wisdom, alongside many others on here, to be invaluable.
...and Dubs used to work with me before I gave up and he set sail on his own about 7-8 years ago - I know he's a good egg and that's why I recommend him on here.
Welcome from West Lancashire - good luck with your search for a T2 . Not sure about your £10k budget - which is what ours was in 2014. Ours is known as the money pit now !
https://thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/1979-bay-window-poptop-devon-sundowner-£12500.97401/ Nothing to do with me, but looks like a contender @MightBeEarly
Just save a bit more and buy the best you can , that doesn’t need any work . Spend the time using it with your kids not trying not to get ripped off on parts , paint , rust repair , engine work ..
