Our Team and Partners

We Are Real People Who Love What We Do

 
 
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OUR TEAM

We respect the craftsmanship required to keep Vanagons on the road, and we are grateful for our customers' partnership to let us do the work we love every single day.

Our staff is hand-picked for their dedication and expertise. We don't run junior or inexperienced technicians; every member of our team could get a senior technician role at the shop of their choice. Our employees choose to work at Peace Vans and it shows in the work we do.  There's no way to measure it, but we must have the highest cumulative van IQ of any entity outside of our good friends at GoWesty.  We have experts in every aspect of van - Syncro, motors, AC, Eurovans, suspension...heck, we even have a guy who only works on campers systems...every single day.

For a shop of our size we are overstaffed in the front office relative to industry standards.  We believe this investment is important - you deserve to speak with a knowledgeable staff member any time you call.  And when you drop off and pick up, it should never feel rushed and you should never feel as though someone didn't have the time to spend with you.  And, if we don't say so ourselves, our front office rocks.  Nina, Corey, Adam and Harley are always available and present with a smile.

We also walk the walk - every member of the team owns at least one van and drives it almost daily.  

We believe in the homage that if your employees are happy, your customers will be. And we go to great lengths to create a safe, productive, and progressive work environment.

 
 
 
 

GIVING BACK

We can do more together than we can alone, and Peace Vans is proud to partner with non-profits that share our values and mission. We donate a percent of all sales to these organizations quarterly. 

  • Sawhorse Revolution - A Seattle-based non-profit with a mission to foster confident, community-oriented youth through the power of carpentry and craft.

  • Washington Trails Association (WTA) - WTA believes that being in nature has a positive impact on people’s hearts, minds and bodies, and they are committed to reducing barriers to hiking trails and lands.

  • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) - The ACLU works to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

  • National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) - The NRDC works to safeguard the earth - its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.

At Peace Vans, we're also big supporters of our local Seattle radio station, KEXP. We play KEXP in the shop every day, and we are proud to also donate generously to their listener-powered organization. 

 
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PARTNERS

Peace Vans has strong industry connections to help get you the service your van needs. Whether you've broken down outside of our local area or just want new custom curtains, we can put our connections to work for you. These are some of the awesome organizations we're proud to call our partners. 

 
 
 
 

THE PEACE VANS STORY

The Peace Vans story is one we generally don't tire of telling because we love it so much.

For years, ongoing frustration with the service at other shops left us constantly wondering "why doesn't anyone do a better job on these awesome vehicles?" Whether it was returning calls, using email, meeting commitments, making budgets or just leaving us with a feeling of loving our shop experience as much we loved our van - the experience at other shops always left feeling a bit less than what we wanted. In 2013, we had an opportunity to take over the original Peace Vans shop, which was started in 2011 by a small team in the SODO neighborhood of Seattle.  It didn't really make a lot of sense to take over a failing auto shop, but sometimes in life you have to listen to your heart and not your head.

Since 2013, that small shop has grown into one of the largest and most respected shops for these vehicles in the country.  In fact, we believe that from several standard metrics we are the largest shop of our size in the country.  We are very fond of following that statement up with - biggest really doesn't matter.  And it doesn't.  But it does afford us a lot of opportunity that converts into a better experience for you.

How did we grow nearly 10-fold in just 4 years? Our professional management combined with our resource base enables us to do things other shops simply can't do including accelerate this kind of growth.  We have also been fortunate to be in the center of a growing market in what must be considered ground zero for the vehicles we love (really, you have to come to Seattle to experience it - vans are everywhere).

On any given day, we have between 60-80 vehicles on our lot, with over 40 active projects. When you add in our parts vans, vans we drive, our rentals and few stragglers, we can sometimes have over 100 vehicles. Despite that, we make sure your van doesn't get lost in the shuffle, and we're always there to greet you and welcome you into the shop. 

We pride ourselves on our communication, transparency, and approachability. 

This video from Microsoft provides a great glimpse into the shop.