Pile of VW Bus Shaped Rust to sell for over $6000

…and we should all be ok with that. Is it astoundingly dumb that a rusted, engineless shell of a 1960 15-window VW Bus would sell for so much money? Yes. However, that’s really only a good thing for us. Those of us owning anything close to this model might feel a trickle-down bump from the inflating prices of these vans, while the rest of us will just find something else that’s cheap and endearingly crappy.

Whoever’s bidding up this van knows that completely restored versions are selling for even more absurd prices at auction. He or she is doing the math on what it’d take to reconstruct what’s missing and shine up what’s there. Whether or not they actually make money on the endeavor is irrelevant; someone’s about to pour mid five-figure sums into independent automotive shops and parts suppliers to bring this thing back to life. Those dollars aren’t going to buy cheap sweatshop-made sensors and sending units via RockAuto for a more sensible newish car, they’re going to the Hanzel’s Auto Body Works and Canepas of the world. If everyone were cheapskates like us, the automotive aftermarket economy couldn’t support itself. If some nostalgia-drunk (or just drunk drunk) Baby Boomer with more money than sense wants to create their own personal stimulus package, more power to them.

In case you’re interested in practicing your body work skills for the next 100 years, here’s the auction. Bidding ends Saturday!
1960 Volkswagen Bus for sale – eBay Motors

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34 responses to “Pile of VW Bus Shaped Rust to sell for over $6000”

  1. Frank T. Cat Avatar
    Frank T. Cat

    I thought the ‘rustoration’ mustie1 did on his 1959 single cab was insane:
    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLceMtSo3mbkM5mIGERqouBAX0gfM7gXWd
    That van might be beyond even his skill.

  2. mdharrell Avatar

    “…to sell for over $6000”
    Or not sell at all, as the most significant words so far are “Reserve not met.”

    1. mdharrell Avatar

      Indeed, the reserve remained unmet at $7600 at the close of the auction.

      1. Sjalabais Avatar
        Sjalabais

        “Reasonable result”, said the warden.

  3. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Saw this in front of a store in BC.

    What do you think, should I offer then $10k? Or is that ripping them off?

    1. Alff Avatar
      Alff

      It’s Canada. Offer Beaver pelts, maple syrup and an autographed Triumph album cover.

      1. Guest Avatar
        Guest

        As a Canadian, I should be offended…

        …but then I realized that my family has beavers on our property, we have maple syrup in the fridge, and my dad probably a Triumph album in his cassette collection.

        1. Alff Avatar
          Alff

          You shouldn’t be offended. If I’d said an autographed Bieber CD and Winnipeg Jets tickets, you should have been offended.

          1. Alff Avatar
            Alff

            It’s only a matter of time. The U.S. and Canada have an extradition agreement.

          2. Guest Avatar
            Guest

            Maybe Dubai wants him. His cars would certainly fit in:

            Justin Bieber

            He has good taste in models (R8, Karma, CTS-V), but his taste in customization..

            /shudder/

            Not car, much less an R8 deserves a leopard print vinyl rap.

            http://cdn.celebritycarsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/justin-bieber-leopard-print-audi-r8-600×600.jpeg

          3. dead_elvis Avatar
            dead_elvis

            As much as I dislike his “music” and pretty much everything else about him, hey, he’s an earner. So I guess he’s good for something.

  4. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    “What is seen in the pictures is what is included, nothing more and nothing less!!”

    That is a lie. I can almost guarantee a lot of iron oxide has fallen off…

    Maybe bring a vacuum if you want to take the seller up on his guarantee?

  5. I_Borgward Avatar
    I_Borgward

    Customers who have bid on this item have also bid on:
    http://blog.collectorcarads.com/ocean-find-1964-bonneville-station-wagon/03/2012/

    1. mve Avatar
      mve

      Ran when parked.

      1. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        Parked while running

        1. mve Avatar
          mve

          Swam when ran.

  6. Taylor Nelson Avatar
    Taylor Nelson

    ROFL! Six grand is nothing. You want a good cry, go over to the classifieds section on thesamba.com and have a look at what people are asking for their buses!

  7. stigshift Avatar
    stigshift

    Worth it just for the original drinl tray. Whatever that is…

    1. dukeisduke Avatar
      dukeisduke

      It’s a Hanukkah thing.

      1. stigshift Avatar
        stigshift

        Mazeltov.

  8. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    Original door panel screws? Well, now it’s worth at least six grand.

  9. neight428 Avatar
    neight428

    Was the engine purposefully removed, or did it fall out?

  10. Tanshanomi Avatar

    As long as it’s not my money, more power to ya, guy.

  11. 0A5599 Avatar
    0A5599

    Celebrity owned cars usually bring a premium. This one came from the Fred Flintstone collection.

  12. SlowJoeCrow Avatar
    SlowJoeCrow

    I think this proves P.T Barnum’s line about there being one born every minute.

  13. Rover 1 Avatar
    Rover 1

    Typical Hooniversal reaction…
    Why on earth are these worth so much when (insert your favourite classic car here) is only worth a (appropriate desultory fraction ) as much?

    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      It is interesting that these are worth so much. And modern European hippies do still prefer VW busses over their Japanese and Korean competition. Doesn’t make that much sense, rationally.

  14. Kiefmo Avatar
    Kiefmo

    Paying for the VIN and little else. If it were legal to do so, I’m sure the seller would just cut off all of the VIN plates from the heap (or, lets be honest, just pull them off — there can’t be much integrity left) and sell those to someone building a bus completely from NOS parts.

  15. mr smee Avatar
    mr smee

    This is typical price/condition for 4Runners around here

  16. bus plunge Avatar
    bus plunge

    HAH! The memory of this old bus is so much better than the reality! My folks had two of them and I had a 59 Kombi Wesfalia….

  17. bus plunge Avatar
    bus plunge

    Here’s that bus without rust…. Funny story about this bus (well, it’s funny now). In 1960 I was 11 years old and a smart azz. My Mom –that’s here in the photo— told me to do something and I smarted off an answer, she started to slap my face, I raised my arm and she broke her hand on my arm. Her right hand. She could not shift gears. And that is how I learned to drive, shifting the gears for her.