Vanagon service, repair and restoration in seattle

WHERE DO I START?

There are a lot of great internet resources to determine which vehicle is best for you. We often encourage people to be very thoughtful and deliberate in their decisions but also to go for it if they are passionate about it. Some of the best resources are at Go Westy or The Samba. The most fluid marketplaces are still local, and Craigslist is the most popular.

HOW MUCH SHOULD I EXPECT TO PAY?

There is no way to predict this one. Buying and owning one of these vehicles is more art than science. Some people spend $15,000 and get a great deal. Some people stretch north of $25,000, don’t do their due diligence, and have to spend a lot. And some people want a custom-built rig that can exceed $80,000.

We tend to talk about four price levels for later model Vanagons (the most popular vehicle):

Below $15,000, you’re looking at something that will need love (read - $)

For $15,000-$22,000, you should expect a vehicle in decent running condition but with some significant work coming up

In the $22,000-$30,000 range, your Vanagon should be good to go with only regular care

At over $30,000, the van should be in immaculate condition and likely have an upgraded engine or similar

In all cases, you should expect to add $10,000-15,000 for a Syncro. (Note: these are broad numbers and should be taken with a grain of salt.)

Keep in mind you are paying a premium for a VW. If you require something cheap, reliable, and bomb-proof, there might be a better option. If you want something with a community, a soul, and a certain je ne sais quois, then the VW might be your thing.

IS THERE ANYTHING I SHOULD AVOID WHEN PURCHASING A VAN?

YES! We try to steer people away from new paint jobs (unless you have receipts showing a substantial investment) and what we call 'OPC,' or Other People’s Conversions.

You should not trust it unless you are shown a receipt that exceeds $10,000 for a paint job. A bad paint job (not necessarily done with bad intentions) can hide a lot of rust and other imperfections that will come back to haunt you. It's easy for an untrained eye not to see those things and to be impressed with the shiny paint. Of course, there are a lot of awesome new paint jobs, but do your due diligence.

If you are buying a vehicle with a motor conversion, ensure a reputable shop has done it, the wiring was professionally done, the motor was broken in properly, etc. In most cases, if a known shop did not do the conversion, it’s simply not worth it. We have seen too many of these, and it causes us great pain to be the bearer of bad news. The van will often run great when you test drive it or pick it up, and the owner may very well believe it's an impeccable conversion.

Other mistakes we have seen people make include the following:

Buying something sight unseen on eBay

Buying a van within three months of having a baby

Not getting a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic

Buying a vehicle from a "known flipper." While honest people are restoring and selling these vans, keep in mind that that business model requires people to do as little work as possible before reselling.

I WANT TO SELL MY VAN – ARE YOU BUYING?

We have a firm policy of $500 for non-running vehicles. If your vehicle isn’t worth restoring or is in such a state (rust or some other catastrophic issue where the repair cost exceeds retail price), but it still runs, we will buy it for $1,000. If it is a 'decent' vehicle, we selectively purchase vans but are transparent that we won’t be the highest bidder. We offer a very clean transaction and a karma-neutral/positive transaction.

We buy high-quality vans for our rental fleet occasionally, so check in with us.

WHAT IS WORKING WITH PEACE VANS LIKE?

At Peace Vans, we are not focused on any single transaction. Instead, we are about a relationship with you and your vehicle. Our customers love their vehicles, and most have quite a tight bond with them. Everyone in the shop owns and drives one of the vehicles—we treat you how we would like to be treated ourselves. We go out of our way to understand your short and long-term goals and then tailor the work to you. Our customers have various budgets and timelines, and we work closely with each person on their needs.

HOW FAR OUT IS YOUR SCHEDULE BOOKING?

We try to keep our schedule booking to 1-2 weeks. There are times when this stretches out – so if you can schedule ahead, it’s best if you do. Summer can be hectic; we limit employee vacations and try to keep some extended hours to help, but be prepared for a slightly longer lead time (particularly for significant work) in the summer months. We can usually squeeze in oil changes and other very minor items sooner.

I’M LEAVING TOMORROW FOR A ROAD TRIP I’VE BEEN PLANNING FOR A YEAR, AND MY VAN IS MAKING A WEIRD NOISE AND HAS A LEAK … CAN YOU PLEASE HELP?

YES! We can almost always make room for an emergency like this. The flip side is that there might be a time your van is in the shop for non-emergency work, and we call you and delay it a day or two because we have an emergency fix to take care of. We love that our customers give us this trust and flexibility. (You don't need us to tell you that it's best not to wait until the night before you leave to make sure your van is mechanically sound.)

I BOUGHT A BUNCH OF PARTS FROM GOWESTY/VAN CAFE - CAN YOU INSTALL THEM FOR ME?

Yes and no. We have a pretty strict rule against bringing your parts. There are reasons for this, and it's widespread across all service-based businesses - not just auto repair shops. It is no secret that we buy parts at a wholesale/volume discount, then mark those up and profit from them. To manage this markup, we use an industry-standard algorithm called a "parts markup matrix" built into the software we use to manage the shop. This algorithm was built over the years to help auto shops operate responsibly and profitably. We can, and do, override the algorithm most often to make sure it feels right from your perspective. The markup on parts covers things such as overhead costs in the shop, the ability to carry inventory (meaning we don't have to wait a week for parts to arrive and can complete your job faster), shipping (except for large items), R&D time, etc. However, the warranty expense may be the most critical cost a parts markup covers. When a part fails, if you bought it from us, we will cover the costs associated with replacing it, processing all the paperwork to deal with the return, and covering the labor. If we install a part you supplied that fails, it's super annoying to pay us to remove the part, have you deal with the supplier, and then pay us again to install the replaced part.

While the profit component of this is essential, customer satisfaction is equally important. Almost every time we make exceptions to the policy, something goes awry. Most commonly, the customer misdiagnoses the problem. Under the customer's direction, we replace the part, and the problem is still there or, worse, the problem comes back shortly after pick up. Almost as typical is the customer supplying the wrong part, incomplete parts, or a part with an identical part number but the wrong country of manufacture. This bogs down our workflow, adds cost to the job, and creates tremendous frustration while the van sits here and we wait for the correct or missing parts to arrive. The Internet is rife with misinformation about maintaining these vehicles.

A recent great example of this: the customer seemed knowledgeable and informed and mentioned on the phone they had a leaking coolant bottle—a straightforward diagnosis and one that's visibly obvious. So, we scheduled it and said we could install their replacement bottle without a warranty caveat. The customer waited about a week to get on the schedule. We roll the van into the shop and prepared for the work, and the customer supplied a bottle for a 1.9L motor, not the 2.1L.

We make exceptions for what we consider "consumer" items, generally non-mechanical. But always check with us first. We know it's fun to shop for your van, and we don't want to be a buzzkill, but we do want to be able to service your vehicle correctly.

DO YOU WORK ON ALL VWS?

As much as we would like to work on all VWs, we only work on Vanagons right now.