Vw Down Under Volkswagen Specialists

The Roberts looking cool and happy

Ready and waiting

Bogey has arrived

Hitting the Webb’s bus today

Sues bus looking all white

Pam looking happy

Getting sues bus ready for paint

315 A.M. start to view this beast ! She’s coming home to essex

Sue bus getting top half painted

Nicks bus all passed its mot

Staying late getting sues dash and roof painted !

When only the best will do ! Using these guys for the exhaust on the Porsche, would highly recommend them, great work.

Final tunes on Mr and Mrs Roberts bus

Pam’s bud lowered and supporting new carbs and engine bay wiring

https://www.gosober.org.uk/users/paul-mul linger
You all know i like a tipple, so dig deep its going to be a long month for me !

We're amazed at the transformation in our bus - it's gone from something we didn't know how we were going to camp in to something we want to camp in all the time. It was a full interior job and when they took the old battered and claustrophobic interior out they found that the floor of the bus was in seriously bad condition. So while that delayed the refit we're really impressed with how Paul and the team set to a workable solution to make the van a solid beast again. After service has also been solid. Still some work to be done next year and we'll be back.

We highly recommend VW Downunder, the service provided by Paul and his team is fantastic.



We sent Paul to Manchester to check over an early bay out for us to buy. He had a good look over and provided a list of things that would need to be done now and in the future along with a rough guide of costs. Based on his recommendation we bought the camper and dropped it off to him a few weeks later to complete the work. The bill for the work he said that needed to be done straight away was less than what he quoted which is always good!



We also have a Splitty and a Beetle Cabriolet (pictured on their cover photo) which we use for business, and they have both been to VW Downunder to have work done on them. Each time they come back they purr like kittens.



I should also mention that the Splitty was found by Paul using his Finder service which for us was of real benefit as we hadn't had a Splitty before and really didn't know what to lookout for. As it's a large investment and it is used for business we didn't want to take the risk of buying something and then finding out it needed 1000's and 1000's spent on it or for it to breakdown a week later.

We had been looking for a VW camper for some time searching the adds until we paid a visit to vwdownunder, Paul made us most welcome and showed us several campers in our price bracket. We decided to go for the right hand drive green devon and asked Paul to carry out some work in our budget and found him very helpful and took his advice. When the day arrived to pick up the van Paul spent time running though everything with me and even pointed out work they had done at no cost also new items they had fitted to make the van run correctly.

We found Paul a fair and honest person to deal with, on my drive back to Colchester I found the A12 blocked so turned off and went the country roads and glad I did as it gave me a lot of gear changing and yes Paul you were right the gearbox is nice ! A big thank you to Paul and all the lads at VWdownunder.

Ron & Gaynor

Took a trip from south east London to VW Downunder to get three point seatbelts fitted in the back of my T25. Well worth the journey, great service and very reasonably priced. Glad I’ve found these guys as would use them in the future if (when) needed!

There are people that sound like they know it all. And there are people that know it all. Once you get past the fact that Paul at VW Downunder sounds like he knows it all, you will quickly realise that he pretty well does! Paul is not one to pull his punches, tells it exactly as it is because he is assuming, and reasonably so, that you are as passionate and serious about your camper as he is about restoring and maintaining them.

Although surrounded by a group of long term classic campervan friends, I was a complete novice until last summer when my wife and I caught the bug and embarked on a fun (and somewhat frustrating!) voyage of searching for "our" bus. It was quickly very obvious that it was a minefield out there particularly with as little knowledge as we had (although my wife was pretty certain she had the all important colour criteria sorted!). We were introduced to Paul by one of our friends who used him for the "important work". Shortly after this we came across a 74 Bay that appeared to satisfy most of our criteria. We did our own inspection (loved the paint job, interior looked good, and not having driven one before, she seemed to drive like I could imagine a 40 yr old bus would drive!). I realised our shortcomings of course and bit the bullet, sending Paul up to Sheffield for a day to do a detailed inspection. And then the initial downer when he presents the list of 20+ items that are wrong with it!! But once I realised that actually, that's what we sent him to do, and that those things aside it was a good bus and worth what we were willing to spend, it wasn't all bad news.

So roll forward 2 months to December, having bought "Rosie" and her matching Eriba "Puck" retro caravan (wasn't one of our criteria but a great bonus), Paul and Alan had her for 2 weeks attending to a couple of reasonably major issues, some safety concerns and a few minors. I remember clearly the feeling of disbelief when I drove her home that day. I was under impression that we had a good bus that drove well for her age etc. I hadn't lived! The difference in handling, ride and performance of the vehicle was remarkable to say the least! All down to the work Paul and Alan had done as identified by Paul from that first inspection. Work in many cases btw to correct poorly completed previous restoration work.

Needless to say I have the greatest respect for the knowledge, skills and professionalism of Paul, Alan and the guys and without hesitation recommend them to any camper owner or prospective owner. I look forward to a long relationship with them.

Thank you so much VW Down Under for the full restoration that you carried out on our 1972 Westfalia, she now drives and looks like she has just come out of the showroom!

Your dedication and attention to detail is to be admired and we will happily recommend your services to all other bus owners.

Since having her fully restored she has proven to be an asset to our company, the attention she gets far exceeds any traditional advert we could place and we look forward to taking her on tour next year.

Thank you Paul and team! from everyone at Mortgage Business, Brentwood, Essex.

@MortgageBusiness

So glad to find a VW specialist who brings a top end approach to the marque. Absolutely delighted with the service and attention to detail Paul, Al and the team bring to their work on my car. If you're new to VW servicing and upgrading i'd advise that you don't waste any time and trust your car to them.

Paul sold me Coco 3 years ago now, a beautiful '72 T2 modified to my spec with utmost care and attention. The after care service is second to none, no matter if the job is big or small. I am not mechanically minded, but Paul fixes the simplest problems with a joke and a story. I almost look forward to a problem with the bus as an excuse to pop in - but thanks to VWDU's expertise, other than for the annual service and to introduce friends, I rarely need to visit! :-(

Once again sterling work on my water cooled Brazilian. I wouldn't trust anyone else to achieve the quality and standard of workmanship that these guys provide. They are truly dedicated. Thanks guys.

Just got our bus back from Paul and the team, our first visit using VWDU and have to say highly recommended, fantastic and friendly service thank you all so much guys!! (be back soon for some upgrades 😊)

I've been on a journey with Paul, Alan and co. First we settled on the right camper then started our real project: my camper is lowered on air suspension (tough to do, expensive, but means I can garage it - oh, yeah, looks cool too).

Then the engine popped and the second phase of the journey began. Sourcing the right bits and getting the tuning and set up right on a camper over 40 years old is not simple and needs time. I could have had it back a little sooner but Paul refused as he wasn't happy with the updated gearbox gear changes. At the end had a new gearbox fitted (without me paying extra) and it swaps cogs like a dream. Engine rebuild added a few Porsche bits (as you do) so now I've got a sweet running bus with plenty of oomph pakd up next to my Mexibug which Paul found for me and updated for my wife.

A few bits more for the camper will get done next year but now it's time to enjoy.

The team are always up for a chat and what they don't know about buses probably ain't worth knowing!

Look out for the website as the odd ghia or beetle also goes through.

Cheers Paul, Alan and the army of suppliers that keep these magical vehicles still going 40, 50 years later.

I took my T2C to VW Downunder for them to fit a cheap aftermarket shifter and a door rubber. The guys down there went over my Kombi found a few bits that needed doing, recommended I replace the gear linkage bushes front to back and advised I return the shifter and although a lot more money, get a CSP. I'm glad I listened to them, I doubt there's another Brazilian made bay with a gear change as good as mine and if there is it's probably been downunder!

I had wanted a VW Campervan for several years and finally took a very nice one home from VW Down Under 2 weeks ago. I initially went to them for the owner Paul to give me a quote for work to a van I was thinking of buying privately; a friend had recommended them. That would have been a bit of an expensive project though and once I had looked at a few Paul had for sale, and listened to his advice on which might suit us best, I was hooked! Three visits later and our dream had come true. Throughout the whole process Paul has been brilliant. He is a very friendly, straight-talking and obviously extremely knowledgeable chap. He made the process very enjoyable - even though it is the most we have ever spent on anything after the house! We are so happy with our van and the re-paint they've done is wonderful. We will certainly be servicing the van with Paul and I know he'll be there if we have any problems. I highly recommend V W Down Under. Thank you very much to Paul and his team. xx

I bought my bus, Betty, back in June 2012 and if truth be told, I bought it in a rush and without really looking around or doing my homework. After having a dent or two knocked out of it, having it resprayed and lowered, I thought my bus was the nuts. I had a mechanic mate doing engine stuff for me so I thought everything was hunky dory. However, as time went by, lots of mechanical things started going wrong and the AA soon became my best friends. After too many breakdowns and noticing various patches of rust appearing, I decided that I needed to find someone else to sort Betty out and after a decent bit of Googling, I found VW Downunder, made an appointment and drove to Thurrock to see them. I met Paul and immediately felt comfortable as he looked over the bus and asked me the killer question. "What's most important to you about the bus". My answer was, making sure it got from A to B each time without me wondering if Mr AA was going to need another phone call. It was therefore top priority that we got the engine sorted out. A year later (last year) the rust was growing around the wheel arches (Paul hadn't done any work on this yet) so I once again made the trip to Thurrock. Once we started looking at it, the jobs began to grow. Me (not Paul) saying well if we're going to do that we might as well do this at the same time. To cut a long story short I went for a full restoration which has just been completed and my Bus looks the absolute Dogs.



The point to this long winded review is this. I was lucky to buy a sturdy bus (no major rust problems) after not doing my homework. I then spent money doing superficial stuff first just to make it look better, which as it turned out, was not done properly and was a complete waste of time and money, money which would have been better spent on mechanical stuff and earlier bodywork. So, if you have a bus or want to buy one, Paul and the boys at VW Downunder are the people to see. They can sell you a quality, already done bus, that you can drive away with confidence., They can find you one and help you buy it (finders service) making sure you get one that's not going to bankrupt you in a year or two. Or if you own one and want it done up, looked after or just serviced, they are definitely the boys that know. I discovered today that they also hire Campers (according to the sticker they gave me!). They live and breath VW Campers and Beetles. Your regular Joe Bloggs mechanic can fix your Ford Fiestas, BMWs and Honda Civics but they don't know VWs like Downunder. And they don't care like Downunder either. VW Downunder take enormous pride in their jobs/projects and really care about their customers. They have a really good eye for design too



As far as I'm concerned, VW Downunder are THE place to go for all things VW Camper and Beetle. Great customer service and excellent workmanship.

Bought this 40yr old Australian Sopru conversion back in July after hankering for a camper for many years and, as Mum had passed away in Feb this year, christened her Molly.

As I have no mechanical knowledge, I took to Google in search of someone nearby to look after her in the coming years.

This led me to Paul Mullinger and his team at VW Downunder. Within minutes I could tell this wasn't just a 'job' to him but a passion. His enthusiasm is infectious.

After spending some time checking Molly over, Paul told me I hadn't bought a bad bus (a big relief!) but there were several things he could do, mechanically and cosmetically, to make her run and look better. Nothing urgent needed doing, so he produced a 'wishlist' of things to bring her up to spec which I could have done as and when. There was no pressure or insistence that I had to go down that path, but as I had a bit left over from my original budget I decided to have the work done.

What I now have is a 2L engine that actually pulls like one and sounds great, a paint job in the engine bay to match the bodywork (I haven't actually eaten my dinner of it yet, but could ! �) an upgraded starter and electrical system and, more importantly, a vehicle that I am confident to drive round the UK...and perhaps further, in future years. All safe in the knowledge that there is a competent team in Fobbing to iron out any little problems that my '77 bus may throw at us. There may be cheaper mechanics out there, but at VW Downunder they know there subject, are thorough and don't cut corners.

Thanks Paul and the team !

Andrew

Big thank you to Paul and his crew , have looked after me and Stavros this my first season as a VW man , Stavros wrapped up for winter after valet .

Being absolute novice's in the vw camper scene but wanting one for years, we visited Paul at DUVW. He took the time to talk about what we wanted and what we were going to do with the van, and having listened to our thoughts he made a few recommendations.

We finally decided on Olive a lovely 1976 bay westfalia, and with a few added parts that Paul advised we now have a beautiful camper.

Paul and his team have done an amazing job, and she is worth the slight delay in delivery due to his amazing attention to detail.

Would recommend VWDU to anyone wanting a vw camper.

Always going the extra mile to ensure complete customer satisfaction. Great knowledge base with Paul and his team to be able to complete all aspects of work and now with the expanded team bringing in-house many other skills, there's nothing these guys cant achieve! Keep up the excellent work!

Almost 4 years ago I took a random journey to Birmingham, put down a deposit on my bus, 2 weeks later I picked it up & for the first time I drove home to Essex! I genuinely didn't know very much, I'd taken her to a couple of garages but was simply not getting the desired results. I recall the first occasion I spoke to Paul, he was extremely down to earth, informed me that they weren't the cheapest people around but they offered the best results, service & would get my bus running the best it could. A leap of faith & a few stays with the guys & I can honestly say Paul & Alan have gotten my Lilly running the best I've know her to run so far. Unquestionable customer care, friendly service & support received. Their patience & advice is spot on. I highly recommend VW Downunder for their knowledge & professionalism. Thanks you

We're amazed at the transformation in our bus - it's gone from something we didn't know how we were going to camp in to something we want to camp in all the time. It was a full interior job and when they took the old battered and claustrophobic interior out they found that the floor of the bus was in seriously bad condition. So while that delayed the refit we're really impressed with how Paul and the team set to a workable solution to make the van a solid beast again. After service has also been solid. Still some work to be done next year and we'll be back.

We highly recommend VW Downunder, the service provided by Paul and his team is fantastic.



We sent Paul to Manchester to check over an early bay out for us to buy. He had a good look over and provided a list of things that would need to be done now and in the future along with a rough guide of costs. Based on his recommendation we bought the camper and dropped it off to him a few weeks later to complete the work. The bill for the work he said that needed to be done straight away was less than what he quoted which is always good!



We also have a Splitty and a Beetle Cabriolet (pictured on their cover photo) which we use for business, and they have both been to VW Downunder to have work done on them. Each time they come back they purr like kittens.



I should also mention that the Splitty was found by Paul using his Finder service which for us was of real benefit as we hadn't had a Splitty before and really didn't know what to lookout for. As it's a large investment and it is used for business we didn't want to take the risk of buying something and then finding out it needed 1000's and 1000's spent on it or for it to breakdown a week later.

We had been looking for a VW camper for some time searching the adds until we paid a visit to vwdownunder, Paul made us most welcome and showed us several campers in our price bracket. We decided to go for the right hand drive green devon and asked Paul to carry out some work in our budget and found him very helpful and took his advice. When the day arrived to pick up the van Paul spent time running though everything with me and even pointed out work they had done at no cost also new items they had fitted to make the van run correctly.

We found Paul a fair and honest person to deal with, on my drive back to Colchester I found the A12 blocked so turned off and went the country roads and glad I did as it gave me a lot of gear changing and yes Paul you were right the gearbox is nice ! A big thank you to Paul and all the lads at VWdownunder.

Ron & Gaynor

Took a trip from south east London to VW Downunder to get three point seatbelts fitted in the back of my T25. Well worth the journey, great service and very reasonably priced. Glad I’ve found these guys as would use them in the future if (when) needed!

There are people that sound like they know it all. And there are people that know it all. Once you get past the fact that Paul at VW Downunder sounds like he knows it all, you will quickly realise that he pretty well does! Paul is not one to pull his punches, tells it exactly as it is because he is assuming, and reasonably so, that you are as passionate and serious about your camper as he is about restoring and maintaining them.

Although surrounded by a group of long term classic campervan friends, I was a complete novice until last summer when my wife and I caught the bug and embarked on a fun (and somewhat frustrating!) voyage of searching for "our" bus. It was quickly very obvious that it was a minefield out there particularly with as little knowledge as we had (although my wife was pretty certain she had the all important colour criteria sorted!). We were introduced to Paul by one of our friends who used him for the "important work". Shortly after this we came across a 74 Bay that appeared to satisfy most of our criteria. We did our own inspection (loved the paint job, interior looked good, and not having driven one before, she seemed to drive like I could imagine a 40 yr old bus would drive!). I realised our shortcomings of course and bit the bullet, sending Paul up to Sheffield for a day to do a detailed inspection. And then the initial downer when he presents the list of 20+ items that are wrong with it!! But once I realised that actually, that's what we sent him to do, and that those things aside it was a good bus and worth what we were willing to spend, it wasn't all bad news.

So roll forward 2 months to December, having bought "Rosie" and her matching Eriba "Puck" retro caravan (wasn't one of our criteria but a great bonus), Paul and Alan had her for 2 weeks attending to a couple of reasonably major issues, some safety concerns and a few minors. I remember clearly the feeling of disbelief when I drove her home that day. I was under impression that we had a good bus that drove well for her age etc. I hadn't lived! The difference in handling, ride and performance of the vehicle was remarkable to say the least! All down to the work Paul and Alan had done as identified by Paul from that first inspection. Work in many cases btw to correct poorly completed previous restoration work.

Needless to say I have the greatest respect for the knowledge, skills and professionalism of Paul, Alan and the guys and without hesitation recommend them to any camper owner or prospective owner. I look forward to a long relationship with them.

Thank you so much VW Down Under for the full restoration that you carried out on our 1972 Westfalia, she now drives and looks like she has just come out of the showroom!

Your dedication and attention to detail is to be admired and we will happily recommend your services to all other bus owners.

Since having her fully restored she has proven to be an asset to our company, the attention she gets far exceeds any traditional advert we could place and we look forward to taking her on tour next year.

Thank you Paul and team! from everyone at Mortgage Business, Brentwood, Essex.

@MortgageBusiness

So glad to find a VW specialist who brings a top end approach to the marque. Absolutely delighted with the service and attention to detail Paul, Al and the team bring to their work on my car. If you're new to VW servicing and upgrading i'd advise that you don't waste any time and trust your car to them.

Paul sold me Coco 3 years ago now, a beautiful '72 T2 modified to my spec with utmost care and attention. The after care service is second to none, no matter if the job is big or small. I am not mechanically minded, but Paul fixes the simplest problems with a joke and a story. I almost look forward to a problem with the bus as an excuse to pop in - but thanks to VWDU's expertise, other than for the annual service and to introduce friends, I rarely need to visit! :-(

Once again sterling work on my water cooled Brazilian. I wouldn't trust anyone else to achieve the quality and standard of workmanship that these guys provide. They are truly dedicated. Thanks guys.

Just got our bus back from Paul and the team, our first visit using VWDU and have to say highly recommended, fantastic and friendly service thank you all so much guys!! (be back soon for some upgrades 😊)

I've been on a journey with Paul, Alan and co. First we settled on the right camper then started our real project: my camper is lowered on air suspension (tough to do, expensive, but means I can garage it - oh, yeah, looks cool too).

Then the engine popped and the second phase of the journey began. Sourcing the right bits and getting the tuning and set up right on a camper over 40 years old is not simple and needs time. I could have had it back a little sooner but Paul refused as he wasn't happy with the updated gearbox gear changes. At the end had a new gearbox fitted (without me paying extra) and it swaps cogs like a dream. Engine rebuild added a few Porsche bits (as you do) so now I've got a sweet running bus with plenty of oomph pakd up next to my Mexibug which Paul found for me and updated for my wife.

A few bits more for the camper will get done next year but now it's time to enjoy.

The team are always up for a chat and what they don't know about buses probably ain't worth knowing!

Look out for the website as the odd ghia or beetle also goes through.

Cheers Paul, Alan and the army of suppliers that keep these magical vehicles still going 40, 50 years later.

I took my T2C to VW Downunder for them to fit a cheap aftermarket shifter and a door rubber. The guys down there went over my Kombi found a few bits that needed doing, recommended I replace the gear linkage bushes front to back and advised I return the shifter and although a lot more money, get a CSP. I'm glad I listened to them, I doubt there's another Brazilian made bay with a gear change as good as mine and if there is it's probably been downunder!

I had wanted a VW Campervan for several years and finally took a very nice one home from VW Down Under 2 weeks ago. I initially went to them for the owner Paul to give me a quote for work to a van I was thinking of buying privately; a friend had recommended them. That would have been a bit of an expensive project though and once I had looked at a few Paul had for sale, and listened to his advice on which might suit us best, I was hooked! Three visits later and our dream had come true. Throughout the whole process Paul has been brilliant. He is a very friendly, straight-talking and obviously extremely knowledgeable chap. He made the process very enjoyable - even though it is the most we have ever spent on anything after the house! We are so happy with our van and the re-paint they've done is wonderful. We will certainly be servicing the van with Paul and I know he'll be there if we have any problems. I highly recommend V W Down Under. Thank you very much to Paul and his team. xx

I bought my bus, Betty, back in June 2012 and if truth be told, I bought it in a rush and without really looking around or doing my homework. After having a dent or two knocked out of it, having it resprayed and lowered, I thought my bus was the nuts. I had a mechanic mate doing engine stuff for me so I thought everything was hunky dory. However, as time went by, lots of mechanical things started going wrong and the AA soon became my best friends. After too many breakdowns and noticing various patches of rust appearing, I decided that I needed to find someone else to sort Betty out and after a decent bit of Googling, I found VW Downunder, made an appointment and drove to Thurrock to see them. I met Paul and immediately felt comfortable as he looked over the bus and asked me the killer question. "What's most important to you about the bus". My answer was, making sure it got from A to B each time without me wondering if Mr AA was going to need another phone call. It was therefore top priority that we got the engine sorted out. A year later (last year) the rust was growing around the wheel arches (Paul hadn't done any work on this yet) so I once again made the trip to Thurrock. Once we started looking at it, the jobs began to grow. Me (not Paul) saying well if we're going to do that we might as well do this at the same time. To cut a long story short I went for a full restoration which has just been completed and my Bus looks the absolute Dogs.



The point to this long winded review is this. I was lucky to buy a sturdy bus (no major rust problems) after not doing my homework. I then spent money doing superficial stuff first just to make it look better, which as it turned out, was not done properly and was a complete waste of time and money, money which would have been better spent on mechanical stuff and earlier bodywork. So, if you have a bus or want to buy one, Paul and the boys at VW Downunder are the people to see. They can sell you a quality, already done bus, that you can drive away with confidence., They can find you one and help you buy it (finders service) making sure you get one that's not going to bankrupt you in a year or two. Or if you own one and want it done up, looked after or just serviced, they are definitely the boys that know. I discovered today that they also hire Campers (according to the sticker they gave me!). They live and breath VW Campers and Beetles. Your regular Joe Bloggs mechanic can fix your Ford Fiestas, BMWs and Honda Civics but they don't know VWs like Downunder. And they don't care like Downunder either. VW Downunder take enormous pride in their jobs/projects and really care about their customers. They have a really good eye for design too



As far as I'm concerned, VW Downunder are THE place to go for all things VW Camper and Beetle. Great customer service and excellent workmanship.

Bought this 40yr old Australian Sopru conversion back in July after hankering for a camper for many years and, as Mum had passed away in Feb this year, christened her Molly.

As I have no mechanical knowledge, I took to Google in search of someone nearby to look after her in the coming years.

This led me to Paul Mullinger and his team at VW Downunder. Within minutes I could tell this wasn't just a 'job' to him but a passion. His enthusiasm is infectious.

After spending some time checking Molly over, Paul told me I hadn't bought a bad bus (a big relief!) but there were several things he could do, mechanically and cosmetically, to make her run and look better. Nothing urgent needed doing, so he produced a 'wishlist' of things to bring her up to spec which I could have done as and when. There was no pressure or insistence that I had to go down that path, but as I had a bit left over from my original budget I decided to have the work done.

What I now have is a 2L engine that actually pulls like one and sounds great, a paint job in the engine bay to match the bodywork (I haven't actually eaten my dinner of it yet, but could ! �) an upgraded starter and electrical system and, more importantly, a vehicle that I am confident to drive round the UK...and perhaps further, in future years. All safe in the knowledge that there is a competent team in Fobbing to iron out any little problems that my '77 bus may throw at us. There may be cheaper mechanics out there, but at VW Downunder they know there subject, are thorough and don't cut corners.

Thanks Paul and the team !

Andrew

Big thank you to Paul and his crew , have looked after me and Stavros this my first season as a VW man , Stavros wrapped up for winter after valet .

Being absolute novice's in the vw camper scene but wanting one for years, we visited Paul at DUVW. He took the time to talk about what we wanted and what we were going to do with the van, and having listened to our thoughts he made a few recommendations.

We finally decided on Olive a lovely 1976 bay westfalia, and with a few added parts that Paul advised we now have a beautiful camper.

Paul and his team have done an amazing job, and she is worth the slight delay in delivery due to his amazing attention to detail.

Would recommend VWDU to anyone wanting a vw camper.

Always going the extra mile to ensure complete customer satisfaction. Great knowledge base with Paul and his team to be able to complete all aspects of work and now with the expanded team bringing in-house many other skills, there's nothing these guys cant achieve! Keep up the excellent work!

Almost 4 years ago I took a random journey to Birmingham, put down a deposit on my bus, 2 weeks later I picked it up & for the first time I drove home to Essex! I genuinely didn't know very much, I'd taken her to a couple of garages but was simply not getting the desired results. I recall the first occasion I spoke to Paul, he was extremely down to earth, informed me that they weren't the cheapest people around but they offered the best results, service & would get my bus running the best it could. A leap of faith & a few stays with the guys & I can honestly say Paul & Alan have gotten my Lilly running the best I've know her to run so far. Unquestionable customer care, friendly service & support received. Their patience & advice is spot on. I highly recommend VW Downunder for their knowledge & professionalism. Thanks you

We're amazed at the transformation in our bus - it's gone from something we didn't know how we were going to camp in to something we want to camp in all the time. It was a full interior job and when they took the old battered and claustrophobic interior out they found that the floor of the bus was in seriously bad condition. So while that delayed the refit we're really impressed with how Paul and the team set to a workable solution to make the van a solid beast again. After service has also been solid. Still some work to be done next year and we'll be back.

We highly recommend VW Downunder, the service provided by Paul and his team is fantastic.



We sent Paul to Manchester to check over an early bay out for us to buy. He had a good look over and provided a list of things that would need to be done now and in the future along with a rough guide of costs. Based on his recommendation we bought the camper and dropped it off to him a few weeks later to complete the work. The bill for the work he said that needed to be done straight away was less than what he quoted which is always good!



We also have a Splitty and a Beetle Cabriolet (pictured on their cover photo) which we use for business, and they have both been to VW Downunder to have work done on them. Each time they come back they purr like kittens.



I should also mention that the Splitty was found by Paul using his Finder service which for us was of real benefit as we hadn't had a Splitty before and really didn't know what to lookout for. As it's a large investment and it is used for business we didn't want to take the risk of buying something and then finding out it needed 1000's and 1000's spent on it or for it to breakdown a week later.

We had been looking for a VW camper for some time searching the adds until we paid a visit to vwdownunder, Paul made us most welcome and showed us several campers in our price bracket. We decided to go for the right hand drive green devon and asked Paul to carry out some work in our budget and found him very helpful and took his advice. When the day arrived to pick up the van Paul spent time running though everything with me and even pointed out work they had done at no cost also new items they had fitted to make the van run correctly.

We found Paul a fair and honest person to deal with, on my drive back to Colchester I found the A12 blocked so turned off and went the country roads and glad I did as it gave me a lot of gear changing and yes Paul you were right the gearbox is nice ! A big thank you to Paul and all the lads at VWdownunder.

Ron & Gaynor

Took a trip from south east London to VW Downunder to get three point seatbelts fitted in the back of my T25. Well worth the journey, great service and very reasonably priced. Glad I’ve found these guys as would use them in the future if (when) needed!

There are people that sound like they know it all. And there are people that know it all. Once you get past the fact that Paul at VW Downunder sounds like he knows it all, you will quickly realise that he pretty well does! Paul is not one to pull his punches, tells it exactly as it is because he is assuming, and reasonably so, that you are as passionate and serious about your camper as he is about restoring and maintaining them.

Although surrounded by a group of long term classic campervan friends, I was a complete novice until last summer when my wife and I caught the bug and embarked on a fun (and somewhat frustrating!) voyage of searching for "our" bus. It was quickly very obvious that it was a minefield out there particularly with as little knowledge as we had (although my wife was pretty certain she had the all important colour criteria sorted!). We were introduced to Paul by one of our friends who used him for the "important work". Shortly after this we came across a 74 Bay that appeared to satisfy most of our criteria. We did our own inspection (loved the paint job, interior looked good, and not having driven one before, she seemed to drive like I could imagine a 40 yr old bus would drive!). I realised our shortcomings of course and bit the bullet, sending Paul up to Sheffield for a day to do a detailed inspection. And then the initial downer when he presents the list of 20+ items that are wrong with it!! But once I realised that actually, that's what we sent him to do, and that those things aside it was a good bus and worth what we were willing to spend, it wasn't all bad news.

So roll forward 2 months to December, having bought "Rosie" and her matching Eriba "Puck" retro caravan (wasn't one of our criteria but a great bonus), Paul and Alan had her for 2 weeks attending to a couple of reasonably major issues, some safety concerns and a few minors. I remember clearly the feeling of disbelief when I drove her home that day. I was under impression that we had a good bus that drove well for her age etc. I hadn't lived! The difference in handling, ride and performance of the vehicle was remarkable to say the least! All down to the work Paul and Alan had done as identified by Paul from that first inspection. Work in many cases btw to correct poorly completed previous restoration work.

Needless to say I have the greatest respect for the knowledge, skills and professionalism of Paul, Alan and the guys and without hesitation recommend them to any camper owner or prospective owner. I look forward to a long relationship with them.

Thank you so much VW Down Under for the full restoration that you carried out on our 1972 Westfalia, she now drives and looks like she has just come out of the showroom!

Your dedication and attention to detail is to be admired and we will happily recommend your services to all other bus owners.

Since having her fully restored she has proven to be an asset to our company, the attention she gets far exceeds any traditional advert we could place and we look forward to taking her on tour next year.

Thank you Paul and team! from everyone at Mortgage Business, Brentwood, Essex.

@MortgageBusiness

So glad to find a VW specialist who brings a top end approach to the marque. Absolutely delighted with the service and attention to detail Paul, Al and the team bring to their work on my car. If you're new to VW servicing and upgrading i'd advise that you don't waste any time and trust your car to them.

Paul sold me Coco 3 years ago now, a beautiful '72 T2 modified to my spec with utmost care and attention. The after care service is second to none, no matter if the job is big or small. I am not mechanically minded, but Paul fixes the simplest problems with a joke and a story. I almost look forward to a problem with the bus as an excuse to pop in - but thanks to VWDU's expertise, other than for the annual service and to introduce friends, I rarely need to visit! :-(

Once again sterling work on my water cooled Brazilian. I wouldn't trust anyone else to achieve the quality and standard of workmanship that these guys provide. They are truly dedicated. Thanks guys.

Just got our bus back from Paul and the team, our first visit using VWDU and have to say highly recommended, fantastic and friendly service thank you all so much guys!! (be back soon for some upgrades 😊)

I've been on a journey with Paul, Alan and co. First we settled on the right camper then started our real project: my camper is lowered on air suspension (tough to do, expensive, but means I can garage it - oh, yeah, looks cool too).

Then the engine popped and the second phase of the journey began. Sourcing the right bits and getting the tuning and set up right on a camper over 40 years old is not simple and needs time. I could have had it back a little sooner but Paul refused as he wasn't happy with the updated gearbox gear changes. At the end had a new gearbox fitted (without me paying extra) and it swaps cogs like a dream. Engine rebuild added a few Porsche bits (as you do) so now I've got a sweet running bus with plenty of oomph pakd up next to my Mexibug which Paul found for me and updated for my wife.

A few bits more for the camper will get done next year but now it's time to enjoy.

The team are always up for a chat and what they don't know about buses probably ain't worth knowing!

Look out for the website as the odd ghia or beetle also goes through.

Cheers Paul, Alan and the army of suppliers that keep these magical vehicles still going 40, 50 years later.

I took my T2C to VW Downunder for them to fit a cheap aftermarket shifter and a door rubber. The guys down there went over my Kombi found a few bits that needed doing, recommended I replace the gear linkage bushes front to back and advised I return the shifter and although a lot more money, get a CSP. I'm glad I listened to them, I doubt there's another Brazilian made bay with a gear change as good as mine and if there is it's probably been downunder!

I had wanted a VW Campervan for several years and finally took a very nice one home from VW Down Under 2 weeks ago. I initially went to them for the owner Paul to give me a quote for work to a van I was thinking of buying privately; a friend had recommended them. That would have been a bit of an expensive project though and once I had looked at a few Paul had for sale, and listened to his advice on which might suit us best, I was hooked! Three visits later and our dream had come true. Throughout the whole process Paul has been brilliant. He is a very friendly, straight-talking and obviously extremely knowledgeable chap. He made the process very enjoyable - even though it is the most we have ever spent on anything after the house! We are so happy with our van and the re-paint they've done is wonderful. We will certainly be servicing the van with Paul and I know he'll be there if we have any problems. I highly recommend V W Down Under. Thank you very much to Paul and his team. xx

I bought my bus, Betty, back in June 2012 and if truth be told, I bought it in a rush and without really looking around or doing my homework. After having a dent or two knocked out of it, having it resprayed and lowered, I thought my bus was the nuts. I had a mechanic mate doing engine stuff for me so I thought everything was hunky dory. However, as time went by, lots of mechanical things started going wrong and the AA soon became my best friends. After too many breakdowns and noticing various patches of rust appearing, I decided that I needed to find someone else to sort Betty out and after a decent bit of Googling, I found VW Downunder, made an appointment and drove to Thurrock to see them. I met Paul and immediately felt comfortable as he looked over the bus and asked me the killer question. "What's most important to you about the bus". My answer was, making sure it got from A to B each time without me wondering if Mr AA was going to need another phone call. It was therefore top priority that we got the engine sorted out. A year later (last year) the rust was growing around the wheel arches (Paul hadn't done any work on this yet) so I once again made the trip to Thurrock. Once we started looking at it, the jobs began to grow. Me (not Paul) saying well if we're going to do that we might as well do this at the same time. To cut a long story short I went for a full restoration which has just been completed and my Bus looks the absolute Dogs.



The point to this long winded review is this. I was lucky to buy a sturdy bus (no major rust problems) after not doing my homework. I then spent money doing superficial stuff first just to make it look better, which as it turned out, was not done properly and was a complete waste of time and money, money which would have been better spent on mechanical stuff and earlier bodywork. So, if you have a bus or want to buy one, Paul and the boys at VW Downunder are the people to see. They can sell you a quality, already done bus, that you can drive away with confidence., They can find you one and help you buy it (finders service) making sure you get one that's not going to bankrupt you in a year or two. Or if you own one and want it done up, looked after or just serviced, they are definitely the boys that know. I discovered today that they also hire Campers (according to the sticker they gave me!). They live and breath VW Campers and Beetles. Your regular Joe Bloggs mechanic can fix your Ford Fiestas, BMWs and Honda Civics but they don't know VWs like Downunder. And they don't care like Downunder either. VW Downunder take enormous pride in their jobs/projects and really care about their customers. They have a really good eye for design too



As far as I'm concerned, VW Downunder are THE place to go for all things VW Camper and Beetle. Great customer service and excellent workmanship.

Bought this 40yr old Australian Sopru conversion back in July after hankering for a camper for many years and, as Mum had passed away in Feb this year, christened her Molly.

As I have no mechanical knowledge, I took to Google in search of someone nearby to look after her in the coming years.

This led me to Paul Mullinger and his team at VW Downunder. Within minutes I could tell this wasn't just a 'job' to him but a passion. His enthusiasm is infectious.

After spending some time checking Molly over, Paul told me I hadn't bought a bad bus (a big relief!) but there were several things he could do, mechanically and cosmetically, to make her run and look better. Nothing urgent needed doing, so he produced a 'wishlist' of things to bring her up to spec which I could have done as and when. There was no pressure or insistence that I had to go down that path, but as I had a bit left over from my original budget I decided to have the work done.

What I now have is a 2L engine that actually pulls like one and sounds great, a paint job in the engine bay to match the bodywork (I haven't actually eaten my dinner of it yet, but could ! �) an upgraded starter and electrical system and, more importantly, a vehicle that I am confident to drive round the UK...and perhaps further, in future years. All safe in the knowledge that there is a competent team in Fobbing to iron out any little problems that my '77 bus may throw at us. There may be cheaper mechanics out there, but at VW Downunder they know there subject, are thorough and don't cut corners.

Thanks Paul and the team !

Andrew

Big thank you to Paul and his crew , have looked after me and Stavros this my first season as a VW man , Stavros wrapped up for winter after valet .

Being absolute novice's in the vw camper scene but wanting one for years, we visited Paul at DUVW. He took the time to talk about what we wanted and what we were going to do with the van, and having listened to our thoughts he made a few recommendations.

We finally decided on Olive a lovely 1976 bay westfalia, and with a few added parts that Paul advised we now have a beautiful camper.

Paul and his team have done an amazing job, and she is worth the slight delay in delivery due to his amazing attention to detail.

Would recommend VWDU to anyone wanting a vw camper.

Always going the extra mile to ensure complete customer satisfaction. Great knowledge base with Paul and his team to be able to complete all aspects of work and now with the expanded team bringing in-house many other skills, there's nothing these guys cant achieve! Keep up the excellent work!

Almost 4 years ago I took a random journey to Birmingham, put down a deposit on my bus, 2 weeks later I picked it up & for the first time I drove home to Essex! I genuinely didn't know very much, I'd taken her to a couple of garages but was simply not getting the desired results. I recall the first occasion I spoke to Paul, he was extremely down to earth, informed me that they weren't the cheapest people around but they offered the best results, service & would get my bus running the best it could. A leap of faith & a few stays with the guys & I can honestly say Paul & Alan have gotten my Lilly running the best I've know her to run so far. Unquestionable customer care, friendly service & support received. Their patience & advice is spot on. I highly recommend VW Downunder for their knowledge & professionalism. Thanks you