First Time Buyer

[New Recruit]

Looking into purchasing a 93-94 LHD T4 Cali for a European tour and for future touring on Europe. Was initially looking at a T2 Westi but it's not suitable for our needs . Looking for opinions and advise on -

• Estimated price guide
• Things we should look out for before buying
• Gear box condition for a 93-94 van
• Fuel consumption
• Other advise welcome

Thanks

 

[Hotel California]

Can not help you on advise , so i say ...welcome!
Try to read the T4 part of the forum and it wil probally give you some starters.
Some T4 owners will pop up to help you out....

 

[New Recruit]

Can not help you on advise , so i say ...welcome!
Try to read the T4 part of the forum and it wil probally give you some starters.
Some T4 owners will pop up to help you out....

 

[WelshGas]

Looking into purchasing a 93-94 LHD T4 Cali for a European tour and for future touring on Europe. Was initially looking at a T2 Westi but it's not suitable for our needs . Looking for opinions and advise on -

• Estimated price guide
• Things we should look out for before buying
• Gear box condition for a 93-94 van
• Fuel consumption
• Other advise welcome

Thanks

Welcome. I too am unable to advise. We do have some active T4 members.
This site might be useful with regards to the vehicle rather than camping elements.

http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=146

 

[New Recruit]

Welcome. I too am unable to advise. We do have some active T4 members.
This site might be useful with regards to the vehicle rather than camping elements.

http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=146

thank you

 

[2into1]

We are waiting on Dan and Sidepod. In the meantime, careful any Westy you buy is a real one. There is talk of several clones being on the market (there was a good thread on here about one). The Westy interior is bomb proof, so you are mainly looking at the condition of the body (t4s do rot... There was some speculation the later ones were galvanised). Plenty manage with the 84?hp non turbo engine but I understand you will cause queues on the hills.
At some point the cooking burners swapped from meths to gas (Dan copes fine on meths).

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

Dan copes fine on meths

Up to about 4 pints, after that I start to wobble a bit

• Estimated price guide - About £7-12k? depending on condition, milage, etc. Seeing as you are in Ireland, it would be a good time to buy something in sterling and import

• Things we should look out for before buying - Rust. Especially around the windscreen and wheel arches. There will be some, what you are really looking for is bodged repairs. Heater is working. State/age of leisure batteries - they don't last for ever and are expensive. Fridge is working. When they fail it tends to be the electronics (easy to replace) or thermostat (also easy to fix). Charger is working (on hookup)

• Gear box condition for a 93-94 van - About the only thing that hasn't given me any issues on my van yet is the gearbox. Gear lever linkages may need replacing at that age, but they are easy to do. Mine's just had it's clutch changed at 300k km. It looked very much like it was the original clutch.

• Fuel consumption - My 2.4D averaged 33mpg over the last 10k miles. Best was 36 on dutch motorways, worst was 25, but one of my fuel lines had fractured

• Other advise welcome - Look for a decent service history, although even with that mine has had quite a few problems. They are generally cheap and easy to fix though, as long as you can find someone who still fixes things (or do your own). The interior, while a bit bland and Germanic, is generally built to last. However, the table will have dents in it and the water level meter probably won't work. Part availability is good and both mechanics and interior are simple to fix. Around that age the relays will start to fail. I had a period of about 2 months where I had glow plug, indicator and windscreen wiper relays fail... There's nothing wrong with the spirit burners on a lot of models that age, but gas was available as an option and will make a cup of tea quicker. Diesel engines are a bit agricultural. Don't think there is much between the 1.9td and 2.4d. No experience of the petrols, but think they are detuned Audi units?

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

Also, a note on variations of Westies:

In terms of the SWB pop top/elvis roof/compact roof - some were built on caravelles, some were built on something else. Some have heavy glass double glazing (like mine) all the way around the back, some have plastic motorhome style windows (much much lighter) and often no window behind the wardrobe, which again saves weight.

There's not a lot of consistency of base van during the early T4 period, I have no idea why.

 

[2into1]

Heater is working

Just to be clear, Dan is referring to the parking heater that keeps you toasty when camping. It will be an eberspacher of some form and pipes hot air into the camping side of the van.

 

[calibusje]

Great Dan & T4WFA, got nothing more to ad
So I will just repeat: rust! Be aware. Find a rustfree one (rare!) and make sure everything works. (Double glazing and certainly a heater are nice for cold evenings/nights/mornings.)
They are simple, strong (buy an original one, especially the engine) and... I find them beautiful. Just know the 2.4 D is slow and the 1.9 td has even less power... 2.5 tdi would be perfect.
I'm often tempted to buy a second hand T5 cali, even now, maybe... but then I take the westfalia and drive around with a big smile on my face. Our trips and travels with it are marvellous! As long as I have this feeling, I won't get us a T5... Though like a T5 cali, I would miss our westfalia; it got something

Maybe some help for choosing (you can find a lot on the internet -and at the forum WelshGas gave & this site, the T4 part like 'hotel california' mentioned- about the T4 westfalia california):
http://westfalia.zanzaman.com/tech/speciales/index.html (French)
http://www.westfaliat4.info/html/vw_westfalia_t4_transporter_mo.html (English)
http://www.poptop.nl/aanbod/ (Dutch)

So, make a great buy and happy travellings!

Greetings
Calibusje
Belgium

 

[2into1]

There you go! You can knock together a T4 buying guide in less than 10 posts. Try doing that with a T5/6!!!

 

[Borris]

Welcome New Recruit.
My only comment is that I recently sold my sky blue LWB T4 work van and still regret getting rid of it. However when I stopped working it became surplus to requirements. It was a simple, uncomplicated, no nonsense 2.5 5cyl manual that never once let me down in the nine years that I owned it. They are briliant vehicles and I wish they still made them as California campers now. If you can find a good one then cherish it. I think the main thing to look for for, well for me at least, would be the condition of the bodywork and the degree of rust present.
Good luck and I hope you have many happy adventures.

 

[Simon67]

Well, I'm sitting in my Westie, Overlooking Durdle and Door drinking wine. It really doesn't get much better. I'd echo everything else and add that I wish I'd bought one years ago. Buy one, get it how you want it, cherish it and enjoy it. I honestly think that a T4 Cali is the perfect balance of useability, cool, classic and depreciation proof. Go for it!

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