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!