Stolen Volkswagen Bus found 35 years later, and a history on the VW Bus

1965 VW Bus.  Photo: Volkswagen Media

Imagine having your vehicle stolen, and then that vehicle turning up in pristine, restored condition 35 years later.

That’s exactly what happened to a 1965 Volkswagen Bus that was stolen from Joseph Bauer in Spokane, Wash., in 1974.  Not that it was a huge deal at the time.  The Bus had very little value, and Bauer was reimbursed by his insurance company.

The Bus was recently found through a routine VIN search, as it was being loaded into a crate on a Los Angeles harbor to be shipped to Germany.  The blue and white VW appeared to be in as good as, or even better condition than it was when new.

The Bus is now reportedly owned by Allstate Insurance, as they paid the owner from the 1974 theft claim.  And in its vintage, restored condition, it is worth considerably more than it was when it was stolen.

Of course, the biggest loser in all of this has to be the person who restored and sold the Bus to their German customer.  They aren’t being charged with any criminal activity, but it is unlikely that they knew they were performing all that work on a stolen vehicle, as the history on something like this can become sketchy to someone not in law enforcement.  That just goes to show that it pays to do some research on the background of an older vehicle before spending a great deal of money on it.  This doesn’t happen very often, obviously, but you never know.

The Volkswagen Bus was first introduced in 1949.  Originally, it was known as the Volkswagen “Type 2”, as the Beetle was the “Type 1”.  Like the Beetle, the Bus was air-cooled and simple to maintain.  But while the Beetle was primitive and anemic, putting the same engines and mechanicals in a large van produced a grossly underpowered vehicle.

Despite the safety and comfort issues the Bus presented, it still has a strong and loyal following today.  There has always been a market for the Bus with campers, as they enjoy the size and versatility the vehicle offers.  It was also a favorite among the Woodstock/hippie generation, because in the late ‘60s, a Bus could be purchased for very little money, and it placed more of an emphasis on sacrifice and the environment than on power and excess.  Plus, you could live in one for several days or even permanently.

Certainly, the VW Bus was not state-of-the-art technologically, but in concept, it was ahead of its time.  Chrysler claims they invented the minivan in the 1980s, but the Bus was out some 35 years earlier.  Ironically, after several updates over the years, including the Microbus and the Vanagon, Volkswagen’s current entry in the minivan segment is a re-badged Chrysler Grand Caravan known as the Routan. 

The slideshow below shows several historic photos of VW Busses throughout the years. 

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CLICK ON THE SLIDESHOW BELOW TO MORE PICTURES OF VOLKSWAGEN BUSSES AND VANS FROM THROUGHOUT HISTORY

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