VIVID VANS

Nathan and the team at Vivid Vans are extremely talented and uniquely qualified with Vanagons! When any of the crew talk we listen intently as their coaching is really PRO!

My Automatic Transmission started to slip badly on my way to visit friends in Watsonville. I had just rolled the odometer in my 1987 Westy over 200,000 miles. It was time for a rebuild. I called a couple of other mechanics who allegedly worked on Vanagons, but neither wanted to get involved with a transmission swap. Vivid Vans not only took on the job, but got me in the next day. In two days they removed the transmission and dropped it off with AAMCO up the street for a rebuild. AAMCO rebuilt the transmission in 5 days and Vivid reinstalled the transmission the next day. I’ve now put over 250 miles on it and so far, so good. The van is shifting nicely with no more slipping. I would definitely recommend Vivid Vans to any Vanagon owners in the Santa Cruz area.

THESE FOLKS ARE THE BEST! Had my AIRCOOLED VANAGON worked on a couple months ago and they went above and beyond to make sure I left with a smile. Anything you read below me negative I cannot fathom as of now. If your VANAGON needs a mechanical hug and you want Volkswagen people.this is the shop to go to! THANK YOU VIVID VANS. 🌻

It would take a page to explain what is special about Vivid Vans, but I’ll just say this: there is a serious need in Vanagon repair/restoration for a shop that operates with the passion and attention to detail that Vivid does. They’re not shying away from the little things and details that will make a van safe, functional and unique. They don’t skip over issues for the sake of turning around vans at scale. Nathan and his team communicate well, they know your name and which van is yours and they think about these projects when they go home at night…and they keep it fun. Whether it’s a small fix or a full restoration like mine was, Vivid applied a level of attention and investment that I wasn’t sure existed anymore. Running with the big dogs was a pleasure, I’ll be back again and again.

I brought my 1985 VW Westfalia to Vivid Vans after being told by them that I had a blown cylinder. The shop strongly recommended upgrading to a 2.1L engine, presenting it as a more reliable solution. The replacement engine ran poorly from the start—rough idle, reduced power, and ongoing oil and coolant leaks. I’ve had to add about half a liter of oil every 100 miles, which is deeply frustrating for what was described as an “upgrade.” Compression numbers were also lower than on my original engine, which makes me question the quality of what I received. The original quote was around $5,500, but the final bill came in at over $7,500. Some of the added charges weren’t clearly explained. I also discovered an error in the tax calculation—when I brought this up, they acknowledged it and did refun