vw beetle

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my wife has indicated a desire for a used new gen beetle.we have test drove a couple and i was not real impressed.the online reviews i have read are 50-50 good,bad.any one here have any experience with these or any input.the price point is 4k.
 
Originally Posted By: urrlord
my wife has indicated a desire for a used new gen beetle.we have test drove a couple and i was not real impressed.the online reviews i have read are 50-50 good,bad.any one here have any experience with these or any input.the price point is 4k.


We owned a 2001 NB for 8 years. It was a silver 1.8 Turbo automatic GLX .. meaning all the bells and whistles. Lots of features like ABS, electric locking differential, anti wheel spin and traction controls. A variable vane turbo!! It has some teething troubles with rear axle bearings in the first six months. (I think due to an improperly machined stub axle.) Afterward, it never saw the dealership except for recall warranty work on the coil packs, brake light switch and a failed window lift attachment. No other work except oil and filters.

It was the best handling car we've owned... tracked like it was on rails. With its flat torque curve it pulled like a locomotive. Only car we've owned that did not downshift on a hill.

They're great cars and they share common parts with many of the small AUDIs. An Icon...Comfy..safe..solid. They are a little noisy compared to an equivalent Honda, Nissan, or Toyo.

Used, I'd look at the engine closely. The 2.0L may use some oil. The 1.8Ts are almost bullet proof and the 1.9 oil burners tend to clog the EGR and turbo inlets. The newer models have a very nice 2.5L five cylinder (supposedly a V-10 Lamborghini cut in half!! *(;-) If its got some miles... like up in the 80's and beyond.... the timing belt on the 1.8 should be changed out. Same, but different mileages on the other motors. The newer 2.5 five cylinder engines are pretty good and they have the same output as the turbo four. I think they use a timing 'chain' and should not need a change.

Ditto the transmission.

I'd have a VW store look it over as they are so specialized compared to the run of the mill econo boxes.

Ours got about 20-22 around town and high 20's on the road.

The 1.8Ts (150hp) are pretty quick... the later 1.8T (180 hp) versions are a little quicker. Oil burners are slow but get in the low 40's.. not quite as good as the Jetta diesels.

Cheers!
 
I'm no fan of the New Beetle, but I can tell you something I learned about them this weekend while working at Home Depot. A lady showed up in one wanting to buy a new lawnmower. The boxes that the new mowers come in is fairly sizeable, and it fit in the hatchback of her Beetle without issue. I was amazed.
 
Originally Posted By: ViragoBry
I'm no fan of the New Beetle, but I can tell you something I learned about them this weekend while working at Home Depot. A lady showed up in one wanting to buy a new lawnmower. The boxes that the new mowers come in is fairly sizeable, and it fit in the hatchback of her Beetle without issue. I was amazed.

You should have seen the reaction when I picked up a new mower at Lowe's with my GTI. I guess the fact that there were three people in the car as well didn't hurt.
grin2.gif



HATCH-BACKS RULE!!!
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I take care of a 2001 NewBeetle for a gal that has run up to 112K. Like most modern german cars it has a number of niggling electrical problems.

At $4K, you'll probably be looking at one near 100K. At this point you should consider whether it had its timing belt, water pump, and tensioner done. The water pump upgrade should include metal impellers, as the old ones are plastic and fall apart.

Also, consider spending some time on the following web site: http://newbeetle.org/forums/discussion-technical/
 
Here's my $.02. Stay far away from the first few years of the Beetle (1998-2001) They had teething issues.

The beauty of the Beetle is that it is based on the wonderful Volkswagen A4 chassis which also covers the Golf and Jetta. With this you get a incredibly stiff, safe, fun-to-drive car. They are/were available with a 1.8 Turbo engine, a 2.0 liter non-turbo engine and a 1.9 liter TDI diesel engine. The 1.8T is the hot-rod in the bunch.

Common problems were window regulators (glass falls down into door), fuel filler door sticks CLOSED, ignition coils on the 1.8T engine which should have been addressed by now if they were going to go bad, some issues with interior switch gear such as power mirror button breaking, headlamp lenses pop off at speed, etc.

I have done several timing belts on the TDI Beetle and they are difficult to work on to say the least. Somehow VW crammed a lot of car into a tiny bit of space.

Would I buy one? I'd inspect every single nut and bolt on the thing and review ALL of the service records. If the car hasn't been molested by some yahoo that treated it like a 1960's model Beetle then I'd buy one in a heartbeat. I wouldn't drive it but my wife would look very cute in one with the flower in the dash vase and the 'flower power' taillamp covers in full glow. I think they are snazzy in yellow.
 
Originally Posted By: FowVay

I have done several timing belts on the TDI Beetle and they are difficult to work on to say the least. Somehow VW crammed a lot of car into a tiny bit of space.

Instead of a tiny hood, they should've made the whole front end tilt away to reveal the engine. Would've made repair more palatable.
 
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