AUTOMOTIVE - VINTAGE: Microbuses Stall In Las Vegas

The Volkswagen microbuses were all lined up last week at Barrett-Jackson?s Las Vegas collector-car auction, emboldened by the stunning success of an impeccably restored 23-window Samba that reached more than $200,000 at the Orange County sale in June.

There were nine of them ? five window buses, one camper and three of the popular crew-cab pickups ? more than at any previous Barrett-Jackson auction, all reaching for the gold ring and a repeat of the OC sale.

But for whatever reason, the stars were not so aligned in Las Vegas. There were some stout prices, including the top sale of $73,700 for a 1962 23-window microbus and $72,600 for a 1963 21-window custom bus, both including auction fees, but nothing like the staggering price tag that put a VW microbus ahead of all the muscle cars, sports cars, classics and customs in Orange County.

A creatively customized 1966 VW double-cab with a canvas hooped cover, side ladder and a 2,100 cc performance engine sold for just $47,300. (Photo: Bob Golfen) The rest of the VW buses and pickups settled into the $40,000 range, with the camper going for the bargain price of $11,000, including fee.

So what happened? Has the bloom gone off the microbus rose so quickly?

?I don?t think there was ever that much of a bloom,? said Dave Kinney, a veteran auction analyst and appraiser. ?Sometimes, a couple of excited people are in the same room and boom, you have a big sale. But it?s not duplicable.?

VW buses have become a trendy collectors? item, similar to such quirky vehicles as Amphicars and BMW Isettas that saw such a run up in recent years. ?Every once in a while, people want something just because it?s the thing to buy,? Kinney said.

?There are a lot of them (microbuses) out there, and they can be restored with a reasonable amount of money,? he added. ?They?re certainly not rare, and exceptional ones have been available.?

The microbus prices have at this point settled at a lower level than the apparently unique sale in Orange County, but their average values also have risen considerably overall, Kinney said. This ?flavor-of-the-month? effect happens after a huge auction sale, after which the prices gradually settle to a more sustainable level.

?Exceptionally restored cars can excite people to pay more,? he said. ?Then they settle down to a price range that is usually higher than it was before.

?The microbuses will be at that level. Now we have to test the level and see where they end up.?

Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEED.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. SPEED.com fans can email Bob Golfen at

Source: http://automotive.speedtv.com/article/vintage-microbuses-stall-in-las-vegas/

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