VW Eurovan Camper question

[cattailsforlunch]

I am looking at buying a VW camper from a friend. It is a 2002 automatic with 150K miles. It has minor rust, worn fabric, and a few broken bits and pieces including the automatic door locks don't work. Otherwise it is in great running condition and has been well taken care of.

What is a fair price?

Also, what types of problems can I expect?

[gti_matt]

AFAIK eurovans never had "automatic" door locks. Power locks, yes. Automatic, no. So that's why they don't work.

I would search the classifieds on thesamba.com (there's usually a lot there to look at for sale, more so than on this site) and see what the asking prices are there for year/mileage/condition.

[CdnVWJunk-e]

Camper as in Winnebago or a Weekender? Price-wise they're all over the board. As with Matt's advice, have a look over at the samba. If the issues are minor but the body and mechanicals are solid then it would be worth considering. If on the other hand your friend wants your arm and your leg and it's a beat down piece of turd, look elsewhere. These are great vans but I'd steer clear of ones that are "too" rough. Either way, I'd spend the bread on a pre-purchase inspection. Then at least you're going in with your eyes open.

[Spectaculiciousnes]

AFAIK eurovans never had "automatic" door locks. Power locks, yes. Automatic, no. So that's why they don't work.

Mine are to a degree. If I unlock the doors & open them but don't start the engine & then close them, after a short period of time they lock themselves. But not automatic in that they lock after you start the van

[gti_matt]

Mine are to a degree. If I unlock the doors & open them but don't start the engine & then close them, after a short period of time they lock themselves. But not automatic in that they lock after you start the van

Hmmm interesting. Must be part of the alarm system (unlock is synonymous with disarm and if you do nothing in n-seconds it arms (and locks) again) and immobilizer system? My 2000 never had that and my 1993 doesn't either. Must be a 2001-2003 thing I guess.

[akcreek]

I saw this in the Eurovan FAQ - how to disable automatic locks

[Spectaculiciousnes]

I saw this in the Eurovan FAQ - how to disable automatic locks

hahaha, I posted just the opposite in that thread that I did in here. I just had to go check to make sure I knew what I was talking about. My description above is incorrect. They re lock, just as someone in that linked thread posted, if I unlock the doors but then never open one. They re lock after 30 seconds. When I opened a door after I unlocked them, they didn't automatically re lock after 30 seconds. So yea, it's basically a safety feature if you accidentally hit your remote fob in your pocket & it unlocks the doors. It automatically locks it back up for you.