20,000 miles on a county dirt road ...

[MrMeatCleaver]

And my beetle is torn up.

I know, I should probably have used a different vehicle but ...

Anyway, this is the damage so far. Some of this damage comes from taking sharp curves at 80 mph [they handle so well]

Drivers side balljoint
Drivers side tierod
Drivers side swaybar link
Drivers and Passengers Struts
Passenger side CV joints
Strut towers [they vanished one day, I guess the gremlins took 'em]
Drivers and Passengers rear axle hubs
Oil pan
Transmission pan
Sunroof
Radio
.
.
.
It goes on.

I'm in the process of replacing half that stuff right now, some of it's already done. I have to take the transmission pan down again and replace that seal [the 2.0 automatic works well with Dexron III BTW]

But what's holding me buying is having to buy special tools to do one job that I may never do again, like the tierod. I might never replace that tierod again.

I'm also trying to look for a sunroof assembly. I don't want to spend 1,000 dollars at the dealership.

[scarabY2k]

From the description of your driving habits, and a dirt road, it sounds like par for the course. Having lived on a dirt road many moons ago, dirt roads, handled like surface streets, will go through a suspension and it's workings quicker than ususal. Dirt roads and the little rattles they can cause, can loosen up assemblies, connections and what not. I know our bugs are a blast to drive, but them's the breaks with dirt roads.

Have you considered a beefier suspension upgrade?

Good luck buddy

[SMG]

My girlfriend used to live on a dirt road and I used to drive 20km/h (12mph) avoiding any large dips / potholes and nothing ever broke as a result of that road.