Winnebago Vista Motorhome

Thanks. I will take your advice along with the other respondents. That is the reason I am on this forum.

The bottom line is, it's an extremely obscure VW product. Now, it's quite possible to keep this thing motoring along happily for many years, but it might take some real effort. Including being out of commission until you locate a competent repair facility, or end up having to wait until parts are shipped from europe.

I was quite an obsessed fan of the brand as a kid, and owned a total of 20+ air cooled VWs in my time. At some point my son, a college kid at the time, decided that he couldn't live without a 2005 Passat. That was my turning point. They had become grossly over engineered, under built, and ridiculously complicated junk. I do all of my own wrenching on my motor home and other vehicles, and I just can't see any good reason for another VW product in my life. It's your call, but remember, if you keep it long enough, and use it hard enough, you are going to hit that point when you say to yourself, "I wish I never bought this POS"

j-d wrote:
This is how the cutaways were shipped in from overseas. Bolted back to back. Apparently one of the pair had a little fuel tank.

I found this on a two year old RV.net thread. And it even had a pic of a Vista of the era the OP's looking at. Never seen one, till this pic!

I was actually responding to Sunny Florida's post asking the reasons why I am considering this unit.

This is how the cutaways were shipped in from overseas. Bolted back to back. Apparently one of the pair had a little fuel tank.

I found this on a two year old RV.net thread. And it even had a pic of a Vista of the era the OP's looking at. Never seen one, till this pic!

Floridastorm wrote:
I would imagine that most RV maintenance places could handle any maintenance on it.

Hoping something is fact to justify a purchase is a fool's folly. Do your due diligence and know what you are facing regarding service and parts. Most RV service centers are ill prepared to do mechanical work on common chassis let alone the VW orphan. You are going to do what you are going to do, but I have to ask why did you even post your question here if you have already convinced yourself?

When you post on here your woes with that VW chassis you will not here, "I told you so" from me.

So THAT's what it is... If it's really solid, you might be OK mechanical-wise, but there've been lots of posts here about parts problems, oil leaks, and if my recall's right, owners re-powering with GM V6 powertrains. Whole engine/transmission and more... I forget if it was the 90-degree Buick-based V6 or the 60-degree Chevrolet-based one.
Based on what you said you want to do with it, the coach makes sense. All I can do is quote Dirty Harry: "Do I feel lucky?"

I've considered it because there are only two of us, my wife and I both senior citizens. We had a class A 24 feet a few years ago and that was enough space for the 3 of us, son included. Son is now 33 and on his own. We don't boondock and pretty much stay around Florida and the Georgia/Carolinas areas. Also wanted a unit that would serve as a 2nd vehicle to our SUV. My wife should be able to drive this one easily. Parking, just about anywhere, would be easy.The gas mileage is another consideration. Seems to get double the mileage of conventional class c's. I would imagine that most RV maintenance places could handle any maintenance on it. The owner may have bought it in 2005 but it seems it was manufactured in 2004. NADA doesn't list a 2005 Vista. A lot of good information provided here.

Does anyone know how well it rides? Does the wind affect it more or less than other class c's?

Test drove one few years ago. If memory serves thought it was pretty underpowered. And if I remember correctly not much CCC, and the water tank was small, like 25 gallons. So if you boondock much, that might be a consideration

tatest wrote:
I liked the Vista/Sunstar in 2004-2005, I thought it was a nice size and more useful than the Rialta alternative. My wife considered it too small, so we ended up with a much larger C.

The one person I know who has the VW-based Sunstar, likes it and uses it regularly.

You might investigate where you'll take it for chassis service. Many VW dealers do not have lifts, sometimes not even shop bays, large enough for this vehicle. Chassis parts stock can also be "iffy" because VW of America only briefly imported the T4 passenger van, which turned out to be not competitive in the "large minivan" market at which it was targeted, and the commercial T4 van was crippled on the market here by a punitive import tariff.

The "house" build is at the same materials level, same construction methods, as contemporary Winnebago Chalet, Minnie or Spirit.

This is excellent advice. Lake of service and parts availability would be a deal killer for me. The Volkswagen chassis makes the unit undesirable in my opinion.

I liked the Vista/Sunstar in 2004-2005, I thought it was a nice size and more useful than the Rialta alternative. My wife considered it too small, so we ended up with a much larger C.

The one person I know who has the VW-based Sunstar, likes it and uses it regularly.

You might investigate where you'll take it for chassis service. Many VW dealers do not have lifts, sometimes not even shop bays, large enough for this vehicle. Chassis parts stock can also be "iffy" because VW of America only briefly imported the T4 passenger van, which turned out to be not competitive in the "large minivan" market at which it was targeted, and the commercial T4 van was crippled on the market here by a punitive import tariff.

The "house" build is at the same materials level, same construction methods, as contemporary Winnebago Chalet, Minnie or Spirit.