Value of 60's era Volkswagen MiniBus: Myth or fact?

Question

I have heard that the more windows a classic VW MiniBus (van) has, the more it is worth. Is this true, and if so, why does more windows mean more worth?

Answer 1

Fewer buses were made with a full complement of windows. The ones that were maxed out had not only the standard front side and rear windows but curved windows on the roof. Some also had a canvas top that slid back.

Some of the older ones (1959) with split front windshields were also hinged so you could actually raise them and drive without any front window or cracked open to provide a force 10 breeze thru the van (I had one of those.. they were incredible).

These were only made when ordered so there simply are not a lot of them. Hence a rather amazing price for a fully resored model.

If you really want to be shocked or amazed (depending upon your point of view) go to eBay and search the completed auctions for the final prices.


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Answer 2

To my knowledge the pre-67 and up 15 window, 21 window, and the 23 window are the microbuses that were sold the least back then but are very hard to come buy. Usually any of those with the option of safari windows was like icing on the cake when it came to those models. So to come buy one of those can cost you a pretty penny. Best thing about getting ahold of any one of those buses is that they make all the needed rust repair panels for them now so the price just got even higher on a an old beater thats restorable. The stakes have been raised so you dont have any excuse to get one of those buses fully restored. Thats why they are worth so much money.

Answer 3

Its not just the number of windows but also the condition.

Check out this web site for a better idea.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/

Answer 4

just supply and demand, a friend of mine has a 22 window? bus thats worth 30k at least that what I've been told