i think nostalgia is the issue , the memories won’t disappear if the vans sold , if the current vans not been used for an extended period I expect any replacement will see the same fate, sell it move on
Well I think this Nipper , If he’s let one go to rack and ruin What is to say he won’t let next the next one get like it, That said I don’t know what your lads circumstances are , You can’t just leave it on the drive and hope it will get better, I’m sure we all wish they would A T4 will not fair any better if you don’t want it to , the rust will soon appear on that too ... it’s a long road you know that
Your son, it appears hasn't the finances to keep 2 classic vehicles on the road and it's obvious his new love is his Golf. I was in a similar situation, but palmed.. sorry, kindly gave my son the " less loved" one. Time to be realistic and sell ... looking at it on the drive isn't good.
You are so right and nostalgia is not helping the issue either and we have all been there. I am a good Dad and would like to help as Dads do, but I don't think my son is ready to listen to my advice. Yes, I could buy him a better T25 or maybe a T4 but my worry is the new van would sit on the driveway gathering rust. My son's kids are teenagers now and growing up fast and not showing so much interest in the camper and camping. they have their own interests. My grandson now has his own Golf mk2 project to work and learn on, lucky chap and soon he will be of the age to drive himself. Prior to Covid I was helping on my grandson's car and I have bought loads of parts needed. Somewhat deja vu for me. My son's mk2 is a lovely car and was admired at last year's Bexhill 100 classic show and in the front row line up at Grill & Chill. He loves his mk2 and it is well looked after in the warm in the garage/workshop or man cave. The T25 sits outside in all weathers feeling sorry for itself. So as I said at the beginning, its a dilemma for my son and myself.
If its the 'loved' vehicle and its being ignored, no other camper will fare any better. Put it up for sale with lots of honest pictures and sell it for whatever he can get. Its worth minus £5000 at present.
I think I will keep my distance on this one. Its not my van and not my decision. Thanks for all your advice and putting the dilemma into perspective. My son rarely takes my advice and I am not really in the mood to give a load of my pension money to temporarily fix the rusty van or for another van which may well sit on the driveway and not get much care.
Is the Golf your sons daily driver @mgbman ? would he use the next camper much or would it sit about? as you may know I have a few vehicles . The problem with that is spending time on any of them. I’m fortunate in that the T2 and Fiat were garaged , tho Fiat has been ousted by ride on at the mo! I sold my T4 last year as it was the one that cost me more in tax, insurance etc than the T2. Also, we have full width bed in the T2 which our tubby middle aged bodies fit into the best I do however regret selling the T4 as it was easy to jump into and go places quickly, I wasn’t concerned about leaving it on the drive (for body work deterioration reasons) so stayed at our house, and we happily drove back and forth to southern Spain in it. I guess we we were fortunate as the 3 T4’s we had were Westies and a Reimo so good quality conversions, we therefore spent very little in maintenance. At the mo I’m toying with the idea of consolidating camper and work van into one vehicle and my vehicle of choice would be a T4 day van. I think your son will have to spend lots of time/money finding a T25 to drop the old one into and would probably prefer to spend them on his new love instead. if he wants a camper to just use for camping maybe even a LDV would suffice? Or, as you say, hire one for the week/weekend. Probably still cheaper than a years tax and insurance.
I don't think you mentioned how old your son is? I think there gets a time when they have to stand on their two feet both from a decision making and financial perspective, particularly when the something (a camper van) isn't a necessity. Otherwise they will keep coming back taking your money etc. Good luck and I think your decision to keep you distance is the right one.
My son has 3 vehicles, a modern VW daily driver, the VW Golf mk2 as a hobby/show car and the seldom used rusted T25. The Golf mk2 is the pride and joy and gives fun and enjoyment driving it and maintaining it inside the nice cosy workshop. I have really enjoyed the restoration working with my son and grandson on it and bringing it back on the road. The demise of the T25 I saw coming a long time ago as each year it struggled to get through the mot and in my mind it was costing quite a lot annually in tax, insurance, mot and repairs, for a vehicle which probably only got used for summer shows camping and the odd trip out. I know the van well and it does need new sills both sides as they are rot and holed and the rear and front arches are bubbled and holed in places, but the rest of the rust I can see is around the windows, gutters and tailgate bottom. So repairing that lot plus any surprises would understandably cost 5k, maybe more. My son is nearly age 50 and has 2 teenage kids to support and I like to offer a bit of cash to help out while I am still alive. I don't interfere though and keep my distance until invited.
I think that’s more than £5ks worth of work, perhaps getting someone to take a look to give a ball park figure would be useful, for example if it’s £15k to fix it may kick in the rational thought that it’s just not going to get done or if it’s £2000 that it can? Just helps with the decision making process
As I see it, leaving the van on the driveway and selling it as is in the Spring would cost nothing and the van although rusted is worth something. There isn't spare money to throw at it for rust repairs which may well only be temporary. The lack of funds and probably the lack of will has forced a decision. There was some idea of keeping the van as a garden shed but that won't happen. The idea of buying another T25 with sound body and low cost for a re shelling project in my opinion would be pie in the sky and anyway would be costly, maybe more than 5k. There is a restored pop top T25 on ebay at a 10k asking price, and the projects on ebay are cheap but as rot as my son's van. So in my view, the only sensible and no cost option is to sell the van as it is and move on.
At that age he needs to be left to get on with, even if he asked for the money, if it was me I wouldn't give it. Give money for other small treats but don't just lump him £2k to £5k to keep a bus on the road that he allowed to rot on the drive. Leaving him to sell and move on is the right decision.
Spot on , if you gave the money it would probably get patched up enough to pass an an MOT but what would happen a couple of years down the line ? I'm pretty sure the money wouldn't be there to do it all again ... Sell it and get the drive back !! He's old and ugly enough to sort out his own shizzle , just let him get on with it ... Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
Been thinking about this whilst painting the side of the house this afternoon, the best thing parents can give their kids/grandchildren is their time.
I disagree in part. It’s a better camper in that it’s slightly bigger inside, unless you’ve got a long wheelbase t4, but it’s far outweighed by the drivability,safety and comfort of a t4. The air cooled engine is underpowered in a bay let alone the heavier t25. The waterboxer is the worst engine vw made and the 1.6 diesel belongs in a tractor. I like t25’s, my brother’s got a westie, I had a hightop autohomes komet until recently which was cavernous inside, but it felt like a compromise. Not as quirky as a split or bay and not as useful as a t4.
For the T25 folks on here, it seems it failed the mot due mainly to the rusted and holed rear suspension arms and chassis mountings. I understand the arms and mounts are the Achilles Heel of the T25 and prone to rusting and into the sill area support structure. This issue is not new and has been around for a long while and we have had more than one repair on them but obviously weren't a permanent fix.
