Buses N Bugs - [email protected]

[turboscotty]

I may have put this in the wrong spot before and I did a search but wasn't able to find anything. Has anyone had experience with getting a bus shipped over. Any suggestions and/or help please?

[Buses n Bugs]

For those asking for references of previous customers I have received this video from a customer in California.

https://www.facebook.com/vwbusesnbugs/videos/497539484176048?sfns=mo

If you would like to reach out to him please send me a private message and I will be happy to share his contact and also from other previous customers that became good friends.

[tkgeorge_99]

I am curious as well. I have emailed back and forth a few time with Gustavo and he seems legit but I worry at lack of feedback or reviews. He has one review posted on facebook but for the volume he advertises, you would think there would be more feedback. I have also noticed that the same buses are listed over and over which suggests lack of sales or ? I recently contacted him about a bus I really like and he said it just sold but then relisted it on the samba a few days later. I want to believe its a legit business but feel a little uneasy. I wish there were a few more success stories/reviews available. I am seriously considering buying a bus from him but need some reassurance.

[Buses n Bugs]

Hi Taggart. If you need some references in northern CA, please send an email and will be happy to share the contacts of previous customers. About the sales, we sell an average of 12 buses monthly and we have over 500 listed, so it's completely reasonable that we have many buses relisted. Please check with my references and ask them about my work, and if you still uncomfortable to move forward we can do the transaction using an escrow account. This way you only pay when you receive the vehicle. For more info about the escrow please check on www.escrow.com. It is a US company that secures online and overseas transactions.

Regards,

Gustavo.

[SteinarE]

Anyone with any experience with this company?
Anyone who have bought a car from them?
I can’t find anything on web either positive or negative, and that’s bugging me then they have had over 800 ads at The Samba last 18 months.

A pm is appreciated

[EverettB]

Feedback of a Bus that was already imported into the USA, in Florida, in another thread:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9360352#9360352
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[SteinarE]

But still no one has actually bought a car from them with the last 18 months, having anything positive/negative to say, despite over 800 announcements at this time.

They are off my short list.

[chioppo]

I just took delivery on a single cab I bought from Gustavo. It has been a good experience. The vehicle was exactly as described. Here is a summary of my experience. I've been looking for a single cab to use as a delivery vehicle for my sail cleaning and repair business. I didn't want a huge project but I didn't need a Concours ready machine. I started to look at Brazilian Single Cabs and there seemed to be lots of vehicles that would work for me. I contacted Gustavo and he sent me links to several options. None of them were quite right so I gave him my wish list and he found me one. We agreed on a price that included shipping to Houston and duty. I put the money in an escrow account and he set up shipping. Be forewarned that the process took over two months to complete. Two hurricanes and a tropical storm later it arrived in Houston. The bus spent 3 1/2 weeks on the freighter. Once it got there and the flood waters subsided I flew down and inspected it in the customs brokers warehouse. It was as advertised so I contacted Gustavo and told him we were good to go. He had the customs brokers send me all the paperwork I needed to get it titled in Illinois. In Il this includes the Brazilian title, Bill of sale (in English), Customs release, EPA waiver and DOT waiver I went to the Secretary of State and they issued a title and Antique vehicle plates no problem. I released the funds to Gustave from the escrow account then I arranged to have it shipped to Chicago. Gustavo was available and answered questions whenever I reached out to him. He was a good broker and calmed my fears whenever I needed to be reassured that I had not dumped 15K in some Russian Internet scammers bitcoin account.

As advertised

As Delivered

_________________
1967 Fastback
1968 Squareback
1974 Thing
2000 TDI Beetle
1974 Brazilian Single Cab

[94touring]

[chioppo]

There were a few other VW busses in the customs warehouse when I inspected it. They looked nice but I didn't really have time to check them out closely. Congrats on your purchase.
_________________
1967 Fastback
1968 Squareback
1974 Thing
2000 TDI Beetle
1974 Brazilian Single Cab

[94touring]

[chioppo]

Nice. Your paint plan sounds good. A little less groovy seventies look. Mine was lowered and I am currently restoring it to stock height. Also, since I own a canvas shop I am making a custom canvas enclosure on the back. I'll post some pics when it is all done and installed.
_________________
1967 Fastback
1968 Squareback
1974 Thing
2000 TDI Beetle
1974 Brazilian Single Cab

[94touring]

One of the first things I did was shocks. The set on it looked original and sure enough when I pulled them off the dampening was no longer there. Went stiffer on the rear and less stiff on the front for an improved ride quality. I would think a stock height would help as well with yours.

[adronm]

I had a rough experience with VW Busses and Bugs. It all started out well. We were helped promptly and found a great bus that was able to be registered in California. I paid for the bus on escrow.com and everything seemed to be going well. I asked for some pictures of my bus when it was being picked up just to see it through the process. Gustavo said he would send them to me but that never happened. I asked a few more times over the coming weeks and each time I was told they he would send some very soon. That never happened. Then when I was asking about something one day all of a sudden the bus had been in an accident in their warehouse and was totaled. Gustavo did offer to refund the money right away which was good but at this point I was still considering doing business with them. I asked to see pictures of the damaged bus and was told I could but again several weeks went by with nothing. We were still looking for a bus but it seemed like every time we found something we liked it was “just sold”. Gustavo seemed to be pushing a select few busses to us. We eventually found another we liked but we insisted they we see pictures on the wrecked bus, or at least some insurance paperwork or something to prove to us the story was legit. At the end we were told that the second bus had another offer and were pressured to take it. We stood strong and insisted that we have some proof that our bus was wrecked and were not provided that. We canceled and our money was refunded. It was good that we got the money back but the whole situation felt totally like a bait and switch. We were really disappointed that this was the outcome.

[Adam47374]

I did end up buying a bus from him https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9360352#9360352

Overall happy with the bus for what I spent. In the past year I have taken it out for a few drives, but still attempting to getting around to fixing a few minor issues.. loose shifter, and one of the gearboxes is leaking (I rebuilt both boxes, and screwed something up). Overall the experience was good. I was planning on doing some major work on it over the winter, so I could have some fun in it this year, but ended up buying two run down houses, and in the process of getting them rentable first.

The only regret that I do have with the bus is it was hit in the rear at some point in time, and I missed that when I picked up the bus. It's not horrible, but just not 100% right, and would take a lot of work to get that area fixed exactly right. Considering what I paid for the bus, I'm not worried about it at all, that's just part of owning a 45 year old VW to me. Considering a nice German bus would have cost me four times as much, I can't complain.

If I am ever in the market again, I would 100% consider getting another bus from him.

One thing that you HAVE to think about when buying one of these busses, is that they are built using a lot of different years worth of parts. Plus a lot of them have been driven as a daily drivers for the past 45+ years, not parked in someone's garage for the last 20 years. 99% of the parts are easy enough to get, but you really need to figure out what is the right year "German" part to buy. One issue that I had was the ignition lock was broke, and I had a hard time figuring out what the right lock was, and then who to get it from, since it was a Brazilin only part. However that is one of the only parts I have found so far that doesn't have a German matching part for. The taillights have two different versions for that size, so make sure you are ordering the right ones. Most parts for the 1974 bus that I got are 1963 "German" parts.. I was working on a spread sheet that has the conversions of what parts fit, but the work on that stopped when the work on the bus stopped. Hopefully next winter I can get in the garage and finish the interior and the few mechanical issues that still need addresses, and get back to driving it.

Not sure what the back story is on the one I got, but it was already at his friends/families garage in Florida. I'm guessing someone bought it, then turned it down once they inspected it? You get what you pay for, if the bus you want (German version) is $100,000, but you only have $20,000 to spend, then these buses might just be what you are looking for. The amount of looks this thing gets is absolutely crazy. DO NOT buy one of these if you don't want to deal with every stop you make at least one person if not five people wanting to talk to you about the bus, and take photos, and all that crap. My brother was complexly blown away how many people stop to talk with us when we towed it home. So if you can't stand people asking questions, go buy a Prius.

I maybe wrong on this part, but this is how I THINK it works... I'm fairly certain he is just relisting buses that are already for sale in Brazil, and then when he gets a buyer, he buys the bus, and then works on getting it shipped up here. He is also dealing with multiple other guys doing the something, and whoever gets it done first, get that VW. So I would not be shocked if you find a listing for a bus that he has for sale, and that bus is no longer available when you go to buy it from him. He is just trying to make some money, and is providing you a service of getting the bus delivered to wherever you are. It's not cost effective to fly down there, buy a bus, then find someone that can take care of all the paperwork, then get it shipped back to wherever you live at... This is the best solution, he is the middle man, and that's fine. You don't have to work with the seller that doesn't speak English, not has the ability to handle an out of country transaction like this you NEED a middle man to make it happen. So if you are looking for a particular modal, color, condition.. I suspect that if you work with him, he might be able to track down something closer to what you are looking for... but at the same time, respect the guys time, and give him a break, he can't work magic, and he is only selling what he can find.

Guisto, thanks for the bus.