Nah , never an investment - no-one wanted `em back then , now it`s become an old mate who`s been with me through thick and thin - good times and bad ...
Similarly, had mine the best part of twenty years, used as my daily for the first fifteen. Seldom breaks down because almost everything has been replaced and I know what hasn't and what is likely to pack up next. Don't do as many miles in it now though and have a service and oil change regularly.
Yeah I know you didn't buy it as an investment, but if youd bought a Vauxhall nova it wouldn't be worth quite as much now!
The answer to you Q is: yes, if you "fix" everything. They then become reliable beasts, as they were in their day.
No classic car is reliable by today's standards, they need maintenance, and quite a bit of it. If you don't consider maintenance as repairs, then I am now 5 years and running without a single breakdown. In fact using it as a daily driver only makes it more reliable. Rubber rots when standing still, this includes fuel and air hoses, petrol gums up and evaporates, membranes in the carburetor and fuel pump dry up and crack, grease hardens, oil-dependent engine parts corrode and batteries deplete. The more often you drive it, the better. Just don't use crap aftermarket parts.
Good to hear from long term owners... makes me feel like it's worth building a lasting relationship with my bus I bought one in 1998 for similar money to @Lasty (advertised for £900 - I gave him £600 and a tidy MK1 Jetta). It was a rusty yellow panel van with a bit of carpet in the back, and it was a pretty good deal even then. If you got a proper camper in usable condition for less than a grand then I reckon you got a steal. I'm not convinced that they ever fitted in to the "no-one wanted `em" category, even then some pretty rough busses were being restored or at least patched up (I considered getting a new front panel on mine) but certainly they were cheaper than they are now, and before eBay etc there were probably more bargains to be found. BTW, a Nova Sport would possibly have been an even better investment...a mate had one when I had my panel van and it was rare even then. Awesome little thing! I reckon my Jetta would be worth about five times what I paid for it now, too. As to reliability I think it's all about regular use and that long term relationship thing. I only bought mine this winter, have only done about 1000 miles but it certainly hasn't let me down yet and the only issue I had turned out to be down to a duff (new) spark plug... PO didn't use it much so I've been expecting some bits to break but so far so good. My old one was good as gold for what it's worth. @volkswombat I'm sure once you get past the extended shakedown period you'll have a reliable bus. Hang in there.
Maintenance is good but luck plays a big part ,also the ability to bodge... I have had the wedge five years and inching to do some work on it ,but it just keeps rolling...Probably would'nt have bought it if I knew I would be not welding/fixing out ,must buy something unreliable...
we had breakdowns in what I now know is the shakedown,1 particularly troublesome thing was the intermittent fuel pump ,from day one it was noisy when hot and then after 3 years finally packed up ,that was a great day finally I found out what that noise was ,other problems were a loose earth on the battery ( my fault ) while in France, and a bidge on the ignition wiring by the PO .
Until the engine came out ours had always been pretty reliable, not wishing to start the debate again, but we have a 1700 type 4 motor which probably helps.
Yep of course maintenance is necessary, and crap parts don't help. Just that some folk seem to break down all the time, whereas others seem to drive about the country with never a care! Suppose @tommygoldy and @snotty sum it up. Once you get through the shakedown (great expression!) And all your crap /broken bits been replaced , you should be a o k. The shakedown is bloody infuriating and expensive though
