The 1971 VW bus that Richard Monize had sold me for $3,750 on August 1st, 2017 was misrepresented. I do not believe that my repair bill of $7,500 only for the items that were REQUIRED to get the vehicle safely running and driving, correlate to his description of the vehicle. Richard's written description of the bus includes that the vehicle comes with a rebuilt engine. My mechanic had informed me early in the repair process that he had spotted a crack in the block and that the engine not only has NOT been rebuilt, but will need a complete rebuild. When asking for details about the bus over the phone, BEFORE the time of sale, I asked thorough questions about what the bus needed and what was good to go. He assured me that that the transmission, the clutch, engine, etc. Were all fully functional back in 2012. However, the clutch needed to be replaced, the transmission linkage was bad, and worst of all, when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd gear, the gearshift pops out of 2nd and into neutral. Additionally, Mr. Monize did not include in his description that the vehicle had excessive surface rust on the front/rear bumpers, and the front of the vehicle. The bumpers are so rusty to the point where putting any reasonable amount of weight on them causes them to bend in a way that leads me to believe they are not stable, or safe. Additionally, the front windshield of the bus has a severe crack going horizontally at eye level. This was never written explicitly, orally communicated to me, or implied. The pictures of the bus do not clearly represent the amount of "cancerous rust" the bus has, and did not include a picture of the bus's windshield where the crack was clearly visible. In order to replace the windshield, (which must be done for safety reasons) the front of the vehicle must undergo body work (rust repair) to ensure the new windshield fits and seals properly. The bus's condition was so poor when it was delivered to my mechanic, that it would take more than $10,000 dollars worth of repairs to make the bus into a "great daily driver" that I expected it to be with just "a little work". I became aware that Richard Monize was a deceptive seller when the pictures of the interior included two front seats with very nice, seat covers, yet when I acquired the bus, the nicely fitting seat covers were not there. No where in the description was there information about the condition of the moldy, rotting seats. I was disappointed that the seat covers were not present in the bus since they were pictured in the eBay listing. Also, no where was it stated or disclosed to me that the horn and radio are inoperable, and the bus likely needs a full rewire of the wiring harness. The interior control panels for heat and defrost are inoperable as well. In fact, the knobs to adjust the heat and other control switches were not even in tact with the car. They were there, but were not physically connected to anything inside the dash. Once connected, nothing worked. In addition, the headliner of the vehicle was nothing but remnants of asbestos strands that are stuck to the roof inside of the bus. The seller never written explicitly, spoken, implied, or pictured the absence of a headliner, nor did he accurately, or honestly describe the condition of the remnants of the headliner, the condition of the interior, or the condition of the exterior of the vehicle. Additionally, the vehicle does not seal out water properly. The rust is so bad on parts of the bus that some of the side window seals leak in water due to the amount of rust bulging beneath them. The bus is also missing parts all around it. The rear bumper is missing bolts, and even the steering wheel was not even held in by bolts that are supposed to bolt into the floor pan. I have waited 6+ months to write this review because that is how long the bus has been actively in the repair shop. I wanted to wait until I knew all, if not most of what the bus exactly needed before making any accusations to Rich via phone or email. I have tried several times calling, and ultimately leaving numerous voicemails to the number on his website. In short, I kindly asked him that we work something out, and that the bus was inaccurately described at the time of sale. I even sent an email to the email address listed on his West Coast Samba website stating the same thing. I unfortunately never heard back from Rich, via email or telephone. I have reached out to others who have also left poor reviews for Rich, and their stories remarkably mirror what happened to me. Unless Rich decides that he will cooperate with the three of us: myself, Elaine, and Katherine, (other yelpers on here) we will take further action in court, TOGETHER, and report him to the Better Business Bureau to make sure that this does not happen to other innocent people. Sure, Rich has sold many many buses and had been doing this for a long time, but reviews like these do not lie. Three people prove a pattern. BUYER BEWARE! read more

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My family and I recently purchased a 1975 VW Bus from Rich, and generally enjoyed our interactions with him throughout the process. We had initially been the highest bidder when he listed it on eBay, but it didn't meet Rich's reserve, so we reached a price together, offline. It was right in between Rich's asking price and our ultimate bid. This was the first time that I had purchased (or driven, or even ridden in) a vintage car, for all intents and purposes, so I was extremely nervous. Rich was helpful and reassuring throughout, and never pressured me. The bus arrived via trailered transport, which Rich kindly arranged from his home in Washington state to mine in the San Francisco Bay Area. He assured me that the Bus could have handled the 10.5-hour trip here, and I think he's right, but I'm still glad we had it shipped. The bus drives extremely well. It has the original orange paint, which Rich opted to "preserve," not restore, and most everyone that sees it thinks that was a brilliant decision, as do I. The popup tent in particular required some serious cleaning, but looks and functions great, considering the age. I had the Berkeley Bus Lab do a full inspection, and there is naturally a decent list of items to replace due to normal wear, but effectively nothing beyond what Rich had detailed. There are little things--the driver's side door lock, the speedometer, the tach, etc.--that don't function or do so only intermittently; would have been nice to know about those, but they're minor in the scheme of things. Overall, I would recommend Rich and West Coast Samba. read more

Rich is a seemingly nice and honest guy right up until you hand over the money you are paying for your supposed "mint, museum quality", "one owner", "garaged since 19xx", "never driven in the rain", "NEW motor", "NEW transmission," (etc etc etc) VW. If you know the ins and outs of VWs, are comfortable looking at the mechanics, then you might get a good looking bus from Rich. But if you plan on trusting him when he says the motor has been rebuilt, or transmission is new, or other such "guarantees", be ready when both your motor and transmission fail on the road trip Rich has just guaranteed that your VW is well ready for. Come to find out the transmission was from a wreck yard and the motor had never been rebuilt (according to the mechanic who physically removed each of these items from our bus). And when you call Rich, he basically blames you for driving too fast. Um, yes, I just bought a VW so I could drive it fast down the 101 and ruin the motor. He no longer stands by his guarantee of a new motor and transmission, stating he now was only taking the word of the previous owner. He offers no compensation or assistance. When you tell him he you will be taking him to small claims court for the price of these two items, he promptly removes the quote on his website which states they stand behind the mechanical work done on the buses. Specifically it said this, "All Volkswagens from West Coast Samba go through a detailed mechanical and cosmetic inspection prior to purchase. All repairs needed are made, the description and details are accurate and honest." (For reference, in its place it now currently states, "All vehicles offered by West Coast Samba are being sold as is, where is, with no warranty, expressed, written or implied. West Coast Samba is not responsible for the correct description, authenticity, or defects herein and makes no warranty in connection herewith. No allowance or set aside will be made on account of any incorrectness, imperfection or damage... " So basically now he is legally allowed to falsely advertise or screw you if he so wishes.) I also had the support of Everrett Barnes, owner of the Samba, who gave me access to Rich's original ad, which stated his guarantee. Unfortunately I was too busy with my wedding that year to actually take him to court. And court is just a pain in the ass. Looking back, I wish I had, especially when I see that Rich has done this to others. Rich wouldn't give me the names of any of his "satisfied" customers, but I did find a gal from Australia who made an ebay purchase of one of Rich's buses. I spoke with her via email and she was excited to write a letter to the court about the bus she bought from Rich. She said it was a classic case of false advertising. She said it was so blatant to where there wasn't even a radio installed, however he assured her there was one before purchase. She said the quality of the bus was not as he had assured her it would be. She was extremely upset about her purchase, and she said RIch refused to deal with her about any of it. So in a nutshell, if you aren't extremely knowledgable about VWs, the mechanics, etc. Do not trust Rich. And it would be great if you just avoided him altogether. Buying used items is hard enough, but when you know your buyer is less than honest or fair, I would go the other way. I am thankful to Yelp to give me this opportunity to express my opinions and experiences about this business and it's owner. It has been therapeutic. I hope that it might help others avoid a similar situation. read more

I had inquired on a bus and found them to be very knowledgeable with high integrity. The buses are really quite beautiful and you can definitely tell they are taken care of very well. It actually surprised me how amazing it looked in person. I highly recommend them. read more

I purchased a vw bus from Rich but for personal reasons could not get deliver of it. Rich helped me sell it very quickly without making any profit. I have read all the bad press here and all I can tell you is he is not only very honest but extremely responsive as well. If I have the opportunity in the future to buy me a bus Rich will be my first option. Xavier read more

I've contacted Rich by phone and email. He gives hounest and a quick respons. I gave him My wishlist, as soon as he finds something he will let me know. So it's a mather off time, i will get my vw t2 with the help off Rich. Look at his site and you can see he has got experience for several years with the aircooled vw's Randy from the Netherlands read more

Rich generously offered to help me find a buyer for my '66 bus, and it wasn't long before he had it sold. Right from the start he was honest and up front about everything, stayed in touch throughout the whole process, and was very clear about all of the details. Everything worked out just the way he described and the money transaction was smooth. Thanks to Rich for finding a new happy home for my bus! read more

Mr. Monize commented on our review and we would like to comment on his response. This is our last response to this site as we are pretty much through with Mr. Monize. We have been circumspect in our review and in this response as we are into telling the truth without exaggeration and without name calling. Let's be clear: Mr. Monize knew that our plan with the bus was to drive it down the Oregon and California coast as a family vacation. We spoke to him repeatedly about this trip to get his assurances about the state of the mechanics of the van before we even bought the vehicle. We stick by our original YELP score and write up and we would give it zero stars if that was an option. In fact, the brake failure took place on the first day and the engine failure took place on the second day of our ownership. We were in small towns in Oregon. At that time, our focus was on the safety of our family and on getting the bus to a repair shop. We had the bus towed to the closest shop and there it sat for approximately 7 weeks waiting on parts. We incurred the expense of fixing the bus and having it shipped home to us since we completed our trip in a rental car. We never asked Mr. Monize for those expenses or the expenses of all the other repairs on the bus which were needed to bring it to a "fully restored" condition as he claimed it to be. He still owes us $5000.00 for the documented repairs for which we sent him receipts as soon as we assembled them upon the bus arriving in California. This was 3 months after we took possession, not 8 months as Mr. Monize claims. The bus was in repair for 2 of those months. We have the dated receipts for the repairs and the dated receipt of when we sent the written request to Mr. Monize. It's unfortunate we were unable to move to Mr. Monize's timeline but we do have a life and a family member with serious health issues. When Mr. Monize received our claim, he ignored us. That prompted us to contact the Better Business Bureau and to file an official complaint. In contrast to Mr. Monize's claim, they did not close the case with his implication that he was exonerated. They closed the case because that is all they can do when the business refuses to cooperate or negotiate. The BBB referred us to the WA state attorney general to file a complaint. The WA state attorney general also did not find in Mr. Monize's favor; instead, they referred us to registered WA state attorneys and courts for us to pursue our case. At this time, we are evaluating doing that but honestly we are just tired of it and we really don't want to spend more resources to get a judgment against Mr. Monize only to then have to pursue him further in court for payment. We did not make a warranty claim on Mr. Monize. Our claim is for "Treble Damages". This is a Washington state law established to protect consumers from deceptive business practices, especially in used cars. We find it interesting that now he is suggesting we should have called him to have the engine fixed because he had a warranty on the engine. Really? Then why did he sell us the bus in all caps "NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED", which by the way he never informed us of until he emailed us our payment receipt where he wrote it by hand. Did you read in his response the part where he reached out to us, to understand what happened, to make sure our family was safe, to do what he could to make it right? Of course you didn't because he didn't and he won't. At the end, isn't that all you need to know about a business? From our experience, Mr. Monize is honest and forthright as long as he is not speaking or writing. read more

I wanted a 1972 VW bus like the one my Uncle had when growing up. I wasn't getting anywhere and found many VW Buses in poor condition. I came across West Coast Samba's site. I contacted Rich and described him the bus I was looking for. He was able to locate one and had it shipped over. I am so happy that I can now share this with my family. We use it all the time for weekends to the coast and little league games. Thank again, we love our bus. read more

Rich made selling my mother's VW van stress-free. He was professional from start to finish, returning phone calls and emails promptly, and was a pleasure to work with. I was pleased with the photos he took and how he marketed the vehicle. From the moment I dropped off the van he took care of all details and kept me in the loop along the way. His generosity of spirit really shined at the end of the sale, when in kindness and respect to my mother who was recovering from a serious illness, he dropped all charges related to preparing the van for sale. My experience with Rich was excellent and he will be the one I call or refer my friends to if they are interested in VWs. Thank you Rich! Good luck to you. read more

I inquired about a vw bus for sale and Richard Moniez (I believe that is what he was calling himself) became very rude and obnoxious when I asked him about a warranty. He was adamant to indicate not only does he not back up any of his promises as to vehicle condition but he also takes grave offense to anyone inquiring as to so. I do not recommend this VW shop and my husband and I have decided to take our business elsewhere. Thank you. read more

I purchased a green 1977 Westfalia from Rich two years ago. This van was described as "the time capsule" , rust free, and 80,000 ORIGINAL miles on it. I paid top dollar for the van as well as shipping fees. feeling that I trusted Rich and his description , I bought the van without seeing it in person.. Only photos. I asked Rich exactly how "rust free" the van was. He told me there was a few surface rust spots on the van and it was especially impressive that the battery trays had "zero" rust.. I trusted, and bought the van.. I was extremely disappointed with the van. It was very dirty and grimy with A LOT, of surface rust, seam rust, and Dents that weren't visible in the photos.. The battery trays have rust holes through them, the engine leaks fiercely and is caked with years of sludge. starter is shot and transmission mounts are gone. The van came with years of maintenance records as well. This is when I discovered that the vans odometer had wrapped at least once. It might have 180,000 miles or 280,000 miles. from the wear and tear that the van had , I could tell it had a lot more mileage than what he described. The van is tired, far from a "time capsule" Disappointing. Well all in all, its my fault for buying a vehicle without looking at it.. Make sure you look at what you are buying because Rich does not tell the truth.... read more

My experience falls in line with some of the other negative reviews here. I never followed up with the owner at west coast samba because I felt that it was my mistake that got me in the situation and chose to resolve all my buses issues. This was my fifth bus so I did have some experience and parts that made it somewhat easier to fix up. That and about 15,000 dollars. Lots of bondo on this rust free and straight bus. I was told on the phone there was no bondo. The freshly rebuilt motor with lots of power was actually not so. I replaced the autolite spark plugs with bosch and did see a gain in power. The motor dumped a quart of oil every 150 miles. It included a homeboy exhaust with the wrong heater boxes. The cylinder heads were off a vanagon and I'm not sure how they got them to stay on the '78 motor. I went ahead and rebuilt a strong motor that I had been sitting on for 10 years. The tires were passenger rated and dangerous. They had been studded and the studs had been torn out. At some point there was a fire in the engine compartment and the wire harness was burnt and patched with electrical tape. None of the gauges work. The door seals had been glued back in and when I removed them water poured out from behind them. It has a beetle clutch. The transaxle had a grind in fourth but after the linkage fell apart I was able to remedy the situation. I simply walked back up the road, found all the parts, reassembled the linkage correctly, and the grind went away and it shifts smoothly. The "new" shocks were blown and leaking oil. It appeared that all the exterior trim had been removed but my stash of old parts and the boneyard up the road have things looking right. The front and rear end are crushed and filled with bondo but I had some bumper brackets and a new bumper that I was able to shim to the proper location. The homeboy exhaust had been "custom" bent to hide the muffler but that put the muffler against the engine seal causing it to melt. It was also soaked in oil from the plethora of leaks so there was always an aroma of melting foam and burning oil. Theres a sweet fiberglass patch on the cabin floor(rust free). I could go on. The owner does a good job of selling cars and I'm sure he's consigned many quality vehicles over the years. My experience drove me to eat my expensive mistake since I figured the seller didn't really know very much about bus maintenance and repair based on what was advertised and what was delivered. I would not recommend purchasing a bus from west coast samba sight unseen based on advertisement alone. Had I looked or listened to this bus for even one minute I would have gone elsewhere. When the seller says "new" he really means "different". My mistake. On the bright side, I feel confident the bus is in a better place now then its been for a very long time. read more

I bought a 73 bus in the spring. I have waited to post this so that I could get a good feel for the condition of the bus. I paid a premium , expecting this bus would be near perfect. It was close, but I did have to correct a few problems. The parking brake assembly was not installed correctly and was not functional. This was an easy fix, but something that should have been done before the car was delivered. After driving the bus through the summer, it seems to be holding up well. A mechanic who took an interest has inspected it and feels it is in decent shape. Shocks could use replacement. The clutch cable broke several weeks ago which again, was an easy fix. Overall, I am very happy with the purchase. I expect things to break given the fact the bus is over 40 years old. If you are thinking of purchasing, please remember that you are buying a very used car, not a new Toyota with a warranty. These cars always have, and will continue to have mechanical issues. The bus I purchased looks great, runs well, and has been a lot of fun for our family. It also received quite a bit of attention at a recent car show (Geneva Concours). read more