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Inside Comedian Gabriel Iglesias’ $3 Million Volkswagen Bus Collection
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Inside Comedian Gabriel Iglesias’ $3 Million Volkswagen Bus Collection

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– The value of the collection, it’s truly priceless. It’s truly priceless, but
we’re accepting offers. (upbeat music) – [Narrator] This is Gabriel Iglesias, everyone’s favorite fluffy comedian and star of the Netflix
series “Mr. Iglesias.” We’re taking a tour of
his enormous garage, which features a collection
of classic Volkswagen buses worth more than $3 million. Gabriel’s going to take
us through what he calls The Fluffy Museum and give us a look at some of his personal favorite buses, as well as a few other rare rides he owns. – Why did I become interested in collecting Volkswagen buses? Because I don’t have a cocaine problem and I needed somewhere to
spend the money, honestly. I talked to Jay Leno,
and Jay told me, he says, “You know what?” He says, “People are gonna
tell you to invest your money “certain ways.” He goes, “But with me,”
he goes, “I like the cars, “because, first of all,
if they’re classic, “it is an investment, it’s
an investment you can enjoy, “so you can drive them,
and when you sell them, “they’ll be worth more.” Each one of these is
valued somewhere between one to $200,000. No, I have no intention of selling, but at the end of the
day, as soon as I’m gone, and when I mean gone, this is
gonna be turned into a museum for the city of Long Beach. (cheerful music) – [Narrator] Gabriel says
he built his Fluffy Museum to resemble the famous Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, with
his own choices of artwork and Fluffy pieces. – Right here we have a
1967 Westfalia Camper. I actually purchased it
from a guy in Germany, who had purchased it from a
guy in Southern California. So the car went from Southern
California, to Germany, back to Southern California. So it gets around. It was completely white,
and it was kinda boring, kinda boring camper. We wanted to put something
a little bit more elegant, and we thought that this
color scheme was something that looked really,
like, “Wow, look at that, “you’re gonna be afraid to get it dirty.” Probably wouldn’t wanna
take it into the woods now. – [Narrator] Gabriel works
closely with a team of experts to restore his newest
additions to the collection and help keep all his metal
babies in running order. – Right here we have a 1966. This started off as a pistachio green. We decided that it needed an upgrade. I’m a big comic-book guy, and so I like the “Iron Man” colors, ’cause Iron Man’s my favorite character, and so these are very much
close to those colors. There’s no bus out there
that has this color combo. This is a 1963 15-window bus. I call this bus Quinceanera. Believe it or not, these
are actually the rarest, because there are only 15 windows. But people always say, “Oh,
I want the 21, I want the 21, “I want the 21,” ’cause
they’re just, you know. But true collectors understand
that these are super rare. All right, something completely
different right here. I know from the front it looks
like one of the other buses, but this is not a bus, per se, it’s actually a double-cab little truck. Back in the day, people
did work, just like now, and they needed trucks. They didn’t come this
way, just so you know. Back then it was a working man’s truck, so ain’t no room for chrome. This is total aftermarket. It’s pretty. And it’s got an engine that’ll freaking. (imitates engine roaring) (cackles) – [Narrator] Gabriel’s
love for Volkswagens doesn’t stop at buses, though. The collector owns some of the
rarest Beetles you can find. – What we have here is one
of the oldest Volkswagen Bugs in the country. It’s a Hoffman edition, 1950, which is basically the first
year they started selling them here in the United States. An original, and I’ve got all
the paperwork to prove it. I got more paperwork
for this car than I do for most of my family members. And yeah, they say that
there’s one of three of these, and this is probably the nicest one. – [Narrator] But Gabriel isn’t
strictly a Volkswagen lover. The comedian also holds a
special place in his heart for muscle cars, particularly
this rare Trans Am signed by actor Burt Reynolds himself, whose 1977 film “Smokey and the Bandit” made the car a household name. – It wasn’t like this when we got it. It was just a plain, black Camaro. We sent this black Camaro
over to our friends at Trans Am Depot, over in Florida. In about six months they
turned that black Camaro into this beautiful thing of art. I am so scared to drive this car. Unfortunately, as soon as
Burt Reynolds passed away, the value of this thing
went through the roof, and, yeah, if I scuff it at
Starbucks, I’m gonna cry. – [Narrator] Gabriel even owns two cars in his personal museum that
he didn’t buy for himself, but for his fish. – All right, now, clearly,
I will not be driving either one of these. These are my babies right here. The nicest fish tanks. Our good friends over at ATM,
they came in and they said, “Fluffy, we wanna make you
something really cool.” And they did. These were Brazilian Volkswagen buses. Now, any bus that was made
in Brazil, chances are, the parts got mixed up a little bit. Back in the day, there was nobody to say, “Well, you know, all the parts need to be, “they all need to match, on the numbers.” And in Brazil at the time,
“I’ll take this piece “from the 1972, add it to this 1958, “and put on some 1962 this, “and add a little bit of 1981 that.” And so, a lot of the buses,
we call ’em Frankensteins. (upbeat music)

100 thoughts on “Inside Comedian Gabriel Iglesias’ $3 Million Volkswagen Bus Collection”

  6. C’mon Fluffy! I like you bro, but don’t be one of those rich guys that doesn’t really know about their collection. “Holds a special place in his heart…” 😂 3:52–4:20
    It’s a Pontiac Trans Am, NOT a Chevy Camaro!

    Reply

  16. It amazes even pro capitalist how someone like Gabriel could have that much wealth.
    It shows the flaws in the whole capitalism ideology.
    Harshly observed of course but if anyone actual knew Gabriel’s real life behavior then they may be pondering the same.
    Fluffy is far from descriptive.

    Reply

  42. When he said those were Iron Man colors, I let it slide… But I can't stay silent while he calls that Trans Am a Camaro, when it's actually a Firebird!!

    Reply

  49. I did not think he ( Gabriel) made a lot of money as A comedian to me he is relatelebly new in the bussines its been only a couple of years since I heard from him ( good for him.

    Reply

  65. They look beautiful in that setting. My favourite is the orange and brown “iron man” bus. (Although iron man is red and gold?)
    There’s a really nice yellow split screen camper van (as we call them in England) that lives on my road. He doesn’t drive it. He just polishes it, daily.

    Reply

  66. Flufster, the car from Smokey and the one your pointing at is a Pontiac Firebird Trans-am not a Camaro.
    Nice collection.

    Reply

  87. The vw bus was… kind of a Dodo bird of design. Way underpowered and only air-cooled, unstable to drive, not really economical because the motor was SO overloaded. They started putting water-cooled diesels in but marketing and gov't regulations basically killed the vw bus right as it started getting good. The old ones are just over-priced shiny turds IMO.

    Reply

  89. Awesome collection Gabriel! I wish I could just restore my one '72 Westy before I get to old! Love your comedy dude! Gotcha on dvd.
    Enjoy your stint on Paul Rodriguez and you years ago!

    Reply

  91. Really great collection! I've owned 6 of the V-Dub buses including a small rear window one. The only newer one I had was a '72 and it was OK but lacked the karma of the earlier models. They've had everything from stock 36 HP to big-bore strokers with Webers. Get in one, go for a trip and you blood pressure goes down 50 points. None of them (except the '72) cost me more than $300 and usually much less. Only one had rust and I got rid of it after about 5 years because I thought the 'rust maggots' would quit holding hands and I'd go down the highway someday on my butt. Owned the small window Beetle that I bought for 30 bucks at a rummage sale….no rust. I completely disassembled it and painted it like Herbie. Man, I wish I owned them now….sigh….

    Reply

  98. Wish I still had it today… it was a factory original from Germany, maybe about a '66, '67, can't remember. It had all original woodworking inside, the little brass fittings to protect the corners of the cabinetry, a pop-up table, pop-out windows that leaked like a big dog – even a fishing pole holder. It broke down and I wasn't able to fix it. I know it had been shipped over from Germany. If only I knew then what I know now!

    Reply

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