5 Things To Know Before Buying a VW Bus
Don’t get me wrong, I love our VW Bus, Peapod! I just wanted to touch on some challenges we’ve faced to help others understand what it takes to have a VW Bus if they’re interested in taking on the task. It’s definitely a fun and rewarding vehicle to have, but it’s not nearly as easy as buying a new car off the lot.
This is Peapod the 1971 VW Type II Adventure Wagon
Getting a Loan Isn’t Easy
I had an excellent credit score and money in the bank to purchase Peapod outright; however, many banks do not offer auto loans to vehicles over 50 years old. Due to the nature of these vehicles, banks view them as a liability and typically do not want to loan buyers the money for a potential sticky situation.
As a result, I had to apply for a personal loan. Personal loans are more difficult to get and have higher interest rates than typical auto loans. Personal loan interest rates can reach up to around 20% compared to most car loan interest rates of approximately 3%. As a result of this massive interest rate gap, for a $25,000 vehicle, you can end up paying at least $12,000 more for your vehicle in the end.
Luckily after a lot of research, I found Lightstream. I received a loan for the bus at an interest rate that wasn’t completely unreasonable. If you are applying for loans through Lightstream or similar organizations, they do run a hard check on your credit score which will cause your credit score to drop. So, I wouldn’t go around applying to these loans for fun or just to see what you can get.
Classic Car Insurance
This one completely blindsided me. Classic cars need very specific insurance. It is slightly more expensive than regular insurance. On top of that, the vehicle needs to be stored in a garage and can only be driven a certain amount of miles every year. If a tree falls on your vehicle because it was parked in the driveway, the damage isn’t covered.
With my specific policy, you also need to have at least 10 years of experience to be covered by the insurance. So if you started driving at 16, and bought the bus at the age of 21, the policy doesn’t cover you. Luckily I was turning 26, so this requirement didn’t negatively affect me.
I’m sure different companies have varying policies, but from my experience it made things a bit more difficult with the bus. Specifically, storing it in a garage which we will touch on next.
Fitting It In A Garage
It’s best to keep your vehicle in the garage in most cases. Most garage doors are 7 to 8 feet tall. Unfortunately, Peapod is about 8.5 feet tall, so it doesn’t fit into most garages. The requirement from the insurance company for keeping classic cars in storage made this an even more pressing issue.
As a result, I had to find a storage unit away from home for Peapod. Firstly, it’s annoying to not have your vehicle with you at home. Secondly, storage companies are expensive. Most companies I talked to that had indoor storage with a large enough space for the bus cost over $800 per month. Luckily, I found STOW IT, which uses crowdsourcing to find storage at a cheaper rate. Even though not having your vehicle at home is a hassle, I highly recommend checking out STOW IT because we found the next best thing that was much cheaper and had more amenities than a normal storage unit.
Not all buses are like this. Peapod is an Adventure Wagon, so it has a high top for extra space. Most buses either have a flat top or a pop top, and are much shorter than Peapod. These regular buses are more likely to fit through an average garage door, so you may not have this issue!
Here’s a photo of a pop-top VW Bus. The top folds down so it can fit in a garage.
It’s Not The Easiest To Drive
If you don’t know how to drive a manual, it’s time to learn! Most VW Buses, no matter the year, are manual transmission. I had practiced driving manual before, but hadn’t really dove into it. Now, living in Colorado, there are a lot of hills that make driving a manual more difficult to learn than on flat ground. I’m getting the hang of it though!
Additionally, the bus is big. Such a big vehicle seems awkward to drive and park compared to a small Toyota Corolla. On a windy day, the bus can catch the wind due to its large surface area and cause you to swerve a lot more. So, be prepared while driving during inclement weather, and definitely get some practice in before hitting the road.
There Are Usually Mechanical Issues
We understood that VW Buses were known to be moody. They’re old, typically have been well used, and have been sitting in a barn for way too long. After a lot of research, we found our bus at a dealership that seemed to be clean and up to date. As a result, we assumed that it’d run smoothly for the most part, but we were very wrong.
Driving the bus from the Midwest to Colorado was quite the learning experience. The bus broke down 3-5 times a day and we had to fix it ourselves. Luckily, each fix was pretty simple to get the bus up and running. Yet, it’s not something you want to deal with on the road. Once we arrived in Colorado, we took the bus to a vintage VW mechanic to fix the bigger problem. Even after their work, we still run into issues due to the nature of a vintage VW Bus.
So, if you’re pretty handy, it may not be a big deal for you to fix your vehicle. Always have tools and fluids on hand while on and off the road. How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive is an excellent book for tips and tricks with working on your vehicle. Then you should be good to go!
Overall, I absolutely love Peapod! I just wanted to inform you on the not so great things before getting into the VW Bus world. It’s a lot of work, but its very rewarding. If you’re deciding to get a VW Bus, just take note of these few challenges we faced, and you'll be set up for success with your Bus! Until the next update, let’s keep making a difference!
