VW Campervan T25/T3 Westfalia California

Condition:	Used
Mileage:	283000
Model Year:	1989
Engine Size:	1600
Modified Item:	No
Sleeping Capacity:	4
Model:	Westfalia
Colour:	White
Transmission:	Manual
Manufacturer:	Volkswagen
Year of Registration:	1989
Drive Side:	Left-hand drive
Type:	Campervan
Fridge/ Freezer:	Fridge
Previous owners (excl. current):	2
V5 Registration Document:	Present
Fuel Type:	Diesel
Safety Features:	Back Seat Safety Belts
Vehicle Sub-Type:	Pop-top
Price:	£7,150.00
Got questions?	Ask here!

The time has come to part ways with our much-loved VW Campervan ,Sherman. Sherman is Westfalia California, left hand drive model with 1.6 TD engine, power steering and speed gearbox.  He has been in our family for five years and as you would imagine with an old van we have had our ups and downs.  More ups than downs thankfully!  Before we bought the van we had carried out lot of research and traveled up and down the country looking for the right van.  We had heard of stories of people respraying rusty vans and selling them onto people who then had to spend fortune on new panels and new respray.  We bought our van knowing that it needed respray and some new panels but had it checked over knowing there was no major work to do on it. When we took on the van we were not prepared for how much we would have to spend on it to ensure it was maintained.  It has had an upper engine rebuild following an alternator problem that led to it overheating.  The engine in the van is not the original and we have papers from Germany stating when the engine was replaced. Whilst having the engine rebuilt also had the turbo reconditioned. have copied below list of jobs that have been carried out on the van and my mechanic is more than happy to meet with any prospective buyer:
Head Gasket replacement4 new tyres Clutch repairHandbrake cables replacementElectrical work speedo cableRear differential repairFitted reconditioned turbo, including new oil pipes2 servicesGearbox selector replacementNew earth leadAlternator belt replacement
The van has had full respray (windows not removed during the respray) with rear side corner panels replaced. Obviously the right way to respray would be to remove windows and replace all seals but finances did not permit at the time. (Maybe job for new owner in the next to 10 years!!!). The seals are all fine by the way. The California decals were removed as part of the respray. These can be bought for around £95 on specialist VW sites.The underneath has been sprayed with litres of underseal.  The interior is in excellent condition and the only work that really needs to be done is some attention to the canvas which has small tear (top right of the mesh on attached picture) and re-felting/spraying of the headlining that the previous owner sprayed blue (NB the felt does deteriorate over time and can be replaced).  The felt is not expensive to buy but it is job have never got around to doing.  Californias came out of the factory with different wheel trims than those on the van currently, but these are available to buy through VW T25/T3 breakers or Brikwerks and VW Heritage, etc.
The van comes with full set of window thermals these usually cost in the region of £100 to buy new. Also included is pop-top thermal insulation surround- these retail at around £130 new. Also comes with choks.  
We bought three way seat belt from Brikwerks that still needs fitting and is included in the sale.
An original VW T3 Westfalia California Buddy Box with cushion is also included in the sale. We had to buy this separately at cost of £200.
The van is very reliable and use it as my daily run around, but unfortunately we have not been using it for what it should be used for hence having to come to time in our lives where we need to move it onto someone who will get full use of it.  From personal point of view am absolutely gutted to be having to sell and wish could justify keeping it, but unfortunately can't!
The van is not perfect but it is not far off for van of its age.  There are always jobs to do on vans like this and anyone buying it will or should know that owning van like this is very much labour of love and any prospective buyer ideally needs to have good understanding of vehicle maintenance and not be afraid to get your hands dirty. 
Anyone who knows anything about VWs will know that the California Westfalia is the van to have and they are more expensive than most other T25s if maintained and looked after properly.
The best of luck with bidding and hope Sherman goes to someone who will look after him.

Also published at eBay.co.uk