Purchase agreement signed 6/5/26.
6/26/26 vehicle delivery: I bought a 1974 VW Kombi bus from Gustavo Schmidt at Buses 'N Bugs in Houston, TX. This vehicle was presented to me, to quote Gustavo Schmidt, as a "full restoration." He stated: "1500 rebuilt", "replaced the floorboards", "new suspension, shifter, and clutch."
I hired American Classic Appraisals to inspect the vehicle, since I live in MD and the vehicle was in TX. (NEVER BUY A VEHICLE WITHOUT SEEING IT IN PERSON -- lesson learned!) It would not start upon arrival, and I needed to call AAA to jump and replace battery. I supposedly had 48 hours to inspect the vehicle; however, I did not find out all of the things wrong until the mechanic looked at it on Monday, 6/29/26. I drove it to the mechanic and with the gas pedal all the way to the floor, the van would not go over 35 mph. Issues: self-tapping screws holding front bumper; hole in rotten floor in front; welding all around body not penetrated property, will break long term; new hand made parts welded over old rusty parts ( main floor supports. Engine: Smaller pushrod tubes for 1300 less , any way you cut it she's not a rebuild. Seals bad around windows, especially front windows and side windows. Water poured in the front the first evening in the driveway. Badly finished paint (lots of bondo applied to cover up areas). No guide plate for shifter. Electrical (old harness scabbed together) needs replacement. Hole in front rotten floor Engine needs replacement (was told it was a "1500 rebuilt" and it's actually a 1300 cc VW Beetle engine). Tires need replacement. Vehicle was filthy on delivery (even though Gustavo told me it was being cleaned -- they never touched it). Windshield wiper missing. Rear bench not attached on one side on back -- two bolts missing. Middle bench not fully attached on one side. Side windows in front do not fully latch. Fuel line clogged. Transmission failed and needs repair. New engine put in with heater boxes (it didn't have them). They covered up holes for heater boxes with bondo. Will cost me at least $15,000 to $20,000 to get in running/safe condition.
Needless to say, I WAS SCAMMED! I have learned YOU SHOULD BRVER BUT A BRAZILIAN VW BUS. The VW Classic restoration experts don't want to waste their time on them. The vehicle was totally and completely misrepresented to me. I would not consider this a "full restoration" in any shape or form.
Don't make the same mistake I did! read more