What they were when they were gaining their popularity was cheap old vans. When they broke you got a new replacement gearbox for £30 and a serviceable T4 engine for £100. Even then we were moaning about the price of parts! I got 2 gen late bay arches for £50 the pair from JK about 10 years ago. My second van 15 yrs ago was a Westfalia 1700 all original and complete, no rust original paint at £1500. Nothing went wrong for 5-6 years. Stating the obvious, but they weren't so old then. What you have 15 years later isn't a cheap old van it's a 35-40 year old classic car (that you just happen to be able to camp in), so the more mechanicky you can get the less it's going to keep biting your arse. Nothing like throwing yourself in at the deep end - think of all the tools you can buy with the money you'll save right away - an investment in yet more money saving. After all - if it goes a bit wonky, it's a fact someone from here will be round to help.
