WARNING: Don't buy a kombi from Pro-vision Garage in Mexico

[UglyBob]

Hi!

I just wanted to warn you about a Mexican company selling "renovated" Volkswagen kombis in Mexico city. We had the worst experience ever with them and I really don't want anyone else to do the same mistake as us, so please read here before you consider:

https://www.monicabejar.com/blog/our-kombi-nightmare-in-mexico-with-pro-vision-garage

[UglyBob]

Well, after replacing the breaks, gearbox, differentials, clutch, gas lines, electric cables and soon the engine too, I think it will finally run decent. I have fixed all their bad cable work for the interior also, so I think it will be in a good state for using a bit and then selling in a few weeks. Right now we are travelling by car instead.

And about tent, yeah, we tried it some nights , but camping are not really my thing and a tent doesnt really offer enough comfort at least for me for a longer period. Max one week then I want a better bed and a shower. Our first plan was to buy a more modern van and convert it ourselves. Really wish we would have done that.

[tony_lee]

Ugly Bob, I suggest you add your story to ioverlander in the Warning category.

Also I didn't think businesses could censor customer reviews of the business on google

[tony_lee]

Ugly Bob is an international traveller - as am I and we don't have the luxury of sitting at home to make our vehicle purchases.

He was just unlucky.

I bought our Airstream Cutter MH in CA sight unseen. Many years later we still have it and there have been no problems that I haven't been able to fix on the side of the road. Been from bottom of Mexico to the Arctic Sea and all points between.
F350 with Big foot camper bought sight unseen in South America. Did the job perfectly although we did have some brake and suspension problems.
OKA 4WD truck - bought sight unseen and it is still going strong.
Class motorhome - bought in Amsterdam. Did the job but was a bit of a pain so we took it back and got a refund
Iveco Daily 4x4. Bought sight unseen in South America knowing exactly what a bomb it was and paid the right price for it. WS only intended to last 6 months and it did everything asked of it. Decided to continue in south America which is why we bought the big foot.

So I perfectly understand the OPs situation and for me, sight unseen has worked well and saved us many thousands in wasted air fares and accommodation

[Talleyho69]

Bet you have gone one way or the other-either you still have a beautiful one, or you wouldn't take one as a gift!!!

[wolfe10]

Yup, the 1600 CC air cooled VW DOES require a lot of maintenance.

Oil changes every 3,000 miles.
Valve adjustments every 6,000 miles.
It was only very late in production that they even had an oil filter (after they were no longer imported to the U.S.)!

Also, being air cooled, one had to know how to drive them or #3 exhaust valve would get up close and personal with the #3 piston. Particularly true in hot climates.

They paid my way through university!

[Talleyho69]

We live in Mexico. Recently we had to purchase a different vehicle. Once we finally figured out how to shop for a vehicle here (read Facebook of all places) we found exactly what we wanted. VW Camper Vans, as we call them are not all that uncommon here.

Air cooled VW's are a different animal. They are wonderful, and we finally last year sold our 1979 classic. We would never recommend an air cooled VW to anyone without mechanical knowledge and skills.

We bought our last RV on line, sight unseen and absolutely scored. However, I wouldn't recommend it for most people.

We have had great success with mechanics in this country. Everything from those with a great professional shop to a guy under a tree with minimal tools. Again air cooled VW's are a totally different animal and need someone who lives and breathes them.

It is very unfortunate that you are having such a bad experience. It was good of you to share. Have you considered riding buses and traveling with a tent and backpacks to the places you want to check out?

[UglyBob]

Also, even if we could have done anything different, still it's good to get the word out...

[UglyBob]

Yeah, I agree on the unseen part, was not so keen on that either, but felt we had no option other than paying for hotel for 6 months. And as they sell every kombi they make pretty much immidiately, we expected them to be decent. You can see on their home page they have had a lot of cars.

[UglyBob]

And also, THEY are suppose to be reliable mechanics. We have been in México for 2.5 month now trying to find a reliable mechanic. I don't think you understand the situation here. They rarely review online and most of them cheat or do lazy fixes. We are going to the 5th mechanic now I think for the engine change. Even mechanics recommended by other kombi owners have been really bad. So good luck finding a reliable mechanic on demand. This is not the US or EU.

[SidecarFlip]

+1 Never buy sight unseen.

[UglyBob]

Might be so, but it also is very hard to plan a 6 month trip without knowing that we will have a vehicle when we arrive, kombis in Mexico are super common, but camper kombis are not. And as stated they had good reviews (wrote by themselfs we now know) and won prices at several car shows. Also we are not mechanics and don't know much about cars, I know Americans love your cars, but in Sweden we are not as crazy about them. Sure, we should have consulted a mechanic, but after paying their high deposit, it wouldn't have helped much. So the only thing we could have done differently imo is to go there without any plan at all and stay for weeks if not months in Mexico city until a camper van just popped up. It is as I said very rare. And also, even if we let ourselves be fooled, this still is good for others to know. They sell a lot to Americans and europeans, and in many cases unseen as it is very cheap compared to european prices. Of course for a reason, but very hard to know from the other side of the world...

[DownTheAvenue]

I quickly read about your troubles, and I am sorry you went through that. I have to say, however, your troubles seem to be self-inflicted. You bought a vehicle sight unseen from half way around the world, and when you went to retrieve it, you never had it inspected by a reliable third party mechanic. You set yourself to be victimized, and you were!