We’ve wanted a reborn Volkswagen Microbus for absolute ages, but it didn’t turn out quite the way everyone expected. Starting with the 2001 Microbus concept, the automaker essentially edged fans of the iconic people carrier for nearly a quarter of a century and multiple concept cars, before finally letting them have it with the ID.Buzz. It looks the part, but there are two obvious problems: 234 miles of range isn’t enough for a family road trip vehicle, and a starting price of more than $60,000 is outrageous. While there’s no easy way of fixing the former, it turns out time is doing wonderful things to the latter.
After pretty much a three-year wait for the North American version, the Volkswagen ID.Buzz hasn’t exactly been a quick seller. We’re talking 6,140 units sold in 2025. However, Volkswagen cites general EV market conditions as the reason why the ID.Buzz is taking a gap year for 2026, potentially returning for 2027. As it stands, 2025 model year examples are thick on the ground, and there are some absolute deals to be had.
Take this brand new 2025 ID.Buzz, for example. Sure, it’s not two-tone, nor is it all-wheel-drive, but it’s listed for sale at a Mckinney, Texas Volkswagen dealership for $45,235. Yep, that’s $16,310 off the base price, a discount that makes it cheaper than a one-trim-up-from-the-base-model Toyota Sienna XLE.
Maybe you’re more of a silver sort of person, matching your car to your aluminum-case laptop. No worries, a Volkswagen dealership in Burlington, N.C. has this brand new example listed for $45,880. That initially sounds like $16,400 off, but you will want to be mindful of a $799 dealer fee. Still, less than $47,000 for a funky minivan rather than a regular minivan seems a lot more tempting than a price tag north of $60,000.
Here’s another black ID.Buzz Pro S, listed for sale by a Volkswagen dealer in Buford, Georgia. Like the others, it’s brand new and heavily discounted. We’re looking at an asking price of $45,369, including the dealer administration fee, which works out to a genuine $16,611 below sticker price.
Want two-tone paint? Similar deals exist on funkier-looking models, although because they start more expensive in the first place, the advertised prices are higher than we’re seeing on black or silver ID.Buzz examples. Take this Cherry Red and Metro Silver example, up for sale at a dealership in Colorado for $48,198. That’s $15,407 off, and while it’s not quite as temptingly inexpensive as a monochrome example, it does look great.
So what’s going on here? Well, it’s largely a case of dealers stacking discounts on top of manufacturer incentives. At the time of writing, Volkswagen is running a $7,500 incentive on eligible ID.Buzz models, and discounts deeper than that suggest dealers don’t believe $7,500 alone is enough to move this sort of metal. With more than 1,300 brand new ID.Buzz vans listed for sale nationwide, it wouldn’t be surprising if these discounts stick around as dealers seek to move metal. If you’re a fan of the ID.Buzz, but not a fan of its pricing, perhaps now’s the time.
Top graphic image: Volkswagen
I’d have to go about 75 miles and to Ohio to get one at 45K, when it hits 35K please let me know. It’s not the funky two-tone, but at my price I can afford a nice wrap to make that happen.
Come on over if it’s Miamisburg. We can get some Skyline chili.
VW could not of screwed the release of the idbuzz more. A release date measured in geological time, a price that only Musk and Bezos would consider affordable, and a fully electric powertrain just when the smart minds are embracing hybrids. It would have sold like hotdogs at a country fair if it had been released 10 years ago.
Drop the price by 45% and put in a hybrid. Make it a real people’s car again.
Despite it’s foibles, I’d take one at this price. Would be a great mountain bike and dog hauler IMHO.
Most of the people complaining about the range have never lived with an EV.
Would I be way more jazzed about it if it had 340 miles of range? Of course! Then it would have a reliable 3 hour highway pull between charging stops.
But unless they figured out some serious aero improvements that would require a battery 1.5 times the capacity. 135kWh is pretty huge. Expensive and heavy.
And remember; unless they also upped the charging speed by 50%, you will spend the exact same amount of time charging whether the battery is 91 or 135kWh. Of course the flexibility of a longer range is a boon, and it is more convenient to stop for a longer lunch than to make additional short stops… unless you have kids who need to pee anyway.
Having road tripped a decent amount in a 240 mile EV, it’s really pretty doable. Unless you are taking a super long road trip the difference on individual legs isn’t as big as people think it will be.
Also I have no idea who these people are that apparently road trip 500+ miles every weekend. I drive 240+ miles at once approximately twice a year. If I only had an EV, I’d just rent a car for that.