1984 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia Camper review from North America

It would be easier for me to describe what HASN'T gone wrong with the vehicle rather than what has!

Seal in automatic transmission failed. I took the vehicle to a high end repair center that ONLY works on VW's as a specialty. Was informed that a global search for the part yielded only 2 available, one in Canada and the other in Germany. Repair facility manager spent 2 hours going through old boxes in the shop and found the seal needed! $159.

A/C was working, but failed after about 200 miles after receiving vehicle. Declined repair when quoted over $1,000.

Starter and starter relay failed. $400.

Replaced belts myself (normal maintenance).

Rear brake work done; there was damage to sensitive brake components which were warped or bent. The technician advised that this can occur without misuse or neglect. $400 total (and he did a great job).

Fuel gauge failed, but not a big problem until speedo/odo failure. We just had to keep it full of gas because at this point we couldn't count the miles and were oblivious to the amount of fuel remaining.

More electrical problems than you can imagine! Intermittent electrical failures on a daily basis. What's more, if one bulb was out, ANYWHERE on the vehicle, the battery would drain. Glove box light out? Battery drains overnight. ANY light that is not working will cause battery drain, even if you remove the bulb. When the vehicle wouldn't start, you could jump it and then always find a light out somewhere.

Odometer and speedometer failed.

Odor of gasoline all the time, but no leak...

Numerous other problems that I could write a novel about, but I don't have the patience to do so and I'm betting you won't have the time to read it all .

I can overlook many of the problems I had with this vanagon because of how old it was. I did not in any way expect ownership of this vehicle to be hassle free or cheap. However, there are some terrible design flaws.

For one the engine is DANGEROUSLY underpowered. There is a studder when taking off, an inherent issue with most vanagons, which sometimes stalls the vehicle. Make for absolute certain that NO traffic is coming when making a left turn or getting onto the freeway. The vehicle's top speed was 70 mph IF the wind was at your back, but being that this model of vehicle has the HIGHEST drag coefficient of ANY vehicle ever made, TOP speed on a perfectly functional, well tuned engine can be as low as 50mph, even less if going uphill.

Another problem is the electrical system; there is no way in the world that a removed or non-working bulb should drain the battery. The entire electrical system is wired together with ONE ground. On top of that, due to the type of vehicle there are lights EVERYWHERE, and one failure of one bulb, no matter how insignificant, will get you stranded needing a jump. This is not an age problem, it is a terrible design flaw.

On the other hand I was fortunate enough to take ownership of the vehicle after the fuel lines had been replaced to prevent fuel fires which plagued VW's during this time.

The interior had LOTS of storage, a table, a sleeper, we loved it!

When my wife and I first got this vehicle, we'd park it in the driveway and just hang out in it. The light above the fold out table was very bright, and we'd have a battery powered TV, play a board game, have a beer. Wonderful experience!

We took this vehicle on many camping trips, Colorado Bend State Park, and other places. It was so much fun to pull up to the RV lots in these places and setup our van. We'd have people with $250,000 RV's coming over to chat with us about our little van. It was great.

I had to sell the vehicle. We had a baby on the way and needed something dependable. I sold it to a student that was from France that loved VW's and was very familiar with working on them. $1500 and it was his. I did inform him however, that a running light was out and he'd need to replace the bulb for the battery to hold a charge.