Volkswagen Type 2 Buyer's Guide
The Type 2 is the eternal Volkswagen bus, and our four sold results capture its market perfectly: two 1960s "split-screen" campers at £10,350 and £30,375, a 1966 Microbus at £26,000, and a 1973 "bay window" camper at £11,340. Same silhouette, wildly different money, and the difference is almost entirely condition and restoration quality rather than specification.
Know your generations
Two in our records. The T1 (1950–1967) is the split-screen: the two-piece windscreen, the vee'd front and the smallest engines (36–42bhp in period from the 1.2 and 1.5 flat fours in our catalogue's Panel Van, Microbus, Pickup and Samba forms). The Samba, with its full-length sunroof and skylight windows, is the blue chip of the entire species and trades far above anything our data yet shows. The T2 (1967–1979) is the bay window: one-piece screen, 1.6-litre 67bhp engines, better brakes and steering, more space, and the sensible way into bus ownership. Both were built in panel van, pickup, microbus and camper forms, with period Westfalia and Devon camper conversions the most sought and modern conversions common. Brazilian-built later Type 2s circulate in the UK and should be identified and priced as what they are, not as German sixties stock.
What to pay
Four sales: a 1967 T1 split-screen camper at £30,375 and a 1966 split camper at £10,350 (both August 2026), a 1966 Microbus at £26,000 (April 2026), and a 1973 T2 camper at £11,340 (August 2026). Median £18,670. The tiers on our evidence: around £10,350 buys a split needing work or a bus with compromises, £11,340 a decent usable bay camper, and £26,000–£30,375 is where sound, well-restored splits and microbuses actually hammer. A T1 currently in our listings carries a £14,000–£16,000 estimate, sitting logically between the two ends. (The Karmann Ghia lots appearing among this series' active listings are catalogue mismatches; ignore them for bus pricing.)
What goes wrong
Structure, everywhere. Buses rot in the sills, outriggers, floors, wheelarches, front panel, battery trays, and critically in the chassis outriggers and jacking points that restorations skip; a shiny camper interior over a rotten floor is the classic trap, and imported "restored" buses vary from excellent to cosmetic. Get underneath, and treat undocumented fresh underseal as a warning. Mechanically the air-cooled flat four is simple and rebuildable: listen for top-end clatter, check for oil leaks at the pushrod tubes, verify the correct engine type is fitted, and remember cooling depends entirely on the fan and tinware being complete. Reduction boxes on early T1s, brakes and steering boxes all want inspection on splits. Camper interiors matter to value: original Westfalia or Devon fittings are worth real money, and a gutted bus is priced accordingly. These are slow vehicles; a mild engine upgrade done properly is common and rarely hurts a bay's value.
Our view
The bay window camper at our £11,340 result is the rational buy: eighty per cent of the charm, better brakes, parts availability that borders on the comical, and a global support scene no other classic commercial can match. The split has finished becoming an appreciating asset, and our £10,350 to £30,375 spread shows you now pay for restoration quality, not entry; buy the metal, not the curtains. Either way the Type 2 is about as future-proof as old vehicles get, provided the floor you are standing on is actually steel.
