My Mother had two. One a split window 1965 which was rugged and super reliable. The second was a 1971 bay window bus that we all hated. The 1965 bus was acquired by our family in 1967 at a Volkswagen dealer for $1,750.00. It traveled hundreds of thousands of miles. I was in it several times when the mileage odometer went from 99,999 back to 0. Each time it rolled around I remember Mom was driving, and she had to give the bus a pat on the dash. In 1996, almost 30 years later Mother decided to sell the 1965 bus because she was getting older, and it was getting harder for her to drive it. A buyer paid her $1,500.00 for it with all those miles, and did not care that the odometer had rolled around numerous times. The price she got was good for the times, and it was also before these busses started to appreciate in value. For nearly 30 years of ownership Mom only paid for gas and repairs. The depreciation on that bus was only $250.00 for almost 30 years of use. Many cars made today depreciate thousands of dollars the minute you drive them off the dealers lot. The second bus was a 1971 bay window. We all hated that one. Gone was the charm, and reliability the split window one had. There was continual problems with the 1641 dual port engine the split window bus did not have. The 1641 dual port motor dropped exhaust valves down into the engine crankcase every 30,000 miles. Repairs were not cheap, and the bay window bus left our family for good in only 10 years.
My Mother had two. One a split window 1965 which was rugged and super reliable. The second was a 1971 bay window bus that we all hated. The 1965 bus was acquired by our family in 1967 at a Volkswagen dealer for $1,750.00. It traveled hundreds of thousands of miles. I was in it several times when the mileage odometer went from 99,999 back to 0. Each time it rolled around I remember Mom was driving, and she had to give the bus a pat on the dash. In 1996, almost 30 years later Mother decided to sell the 1965 bus because she was getting older, and it was getting harder for her to drive it. A buyer paid her $1,500.00 for it with all those miles, and did not care that the odometer had rolled around numerous times. The price she got was good for the times, and it was also before these busses started to appreciate in value. For nearly 30 years of ownership Mom only paid for gas and repairs. The depreciation on that bus was only $250.00 for almost 30 years of use. Many cars made today depreciate thousands of dollars the minute you drive them off the dealers lot.
The second bus was a 1971 bay window. We all hated that one. Gone was the charm, and reliability the split window one had. There was continual problems with the 1641 dual port engine the split window bus did not have. The 1641 dual port motor dropped exhaust valves down into the engine crankcase every 30,000 miles. Repairs were not cheap, and the bay window bus left our family for good in only 10 years.