lifespan?

[mogwai]

Hi Everyone. I'm new here I have a 2000 Silver (non-turbo) Beetle who I love with all my heart. She's got 116,000 miles on her and up until a month or so ago was running beautifully. She is currently in the shop for what I think is a throttle valve problem. When the engine is cold she loses power when trying to accelerate. After the engine is warmed up she perks up and does pretty well. I had an incident though on the highway where I was going 80 mph and all of a sudden she lost power and dropped down to 40. I guess my question is...how long do most Beetles last? I'm waiting to hear back about how much she'll cost to fix and I'm trying to decide if it's worth fixing...or if it's time to say goodbye.

[Smileybug]

I know there are several Beetles on here with over 200k on them. There are still plenty of '98s on the road. I think they have a pretty long life. Especially 2.0s...and ones combined with a 5-speed. My '99 is 10 years old and has 81k on here. Still running strong. Got the timing belt and water pump done around 79k so she should be good to go for awhile *knock on wood*

Sorry to hear about your car...hopefuly its an easy fix!

[punchbuggy]

Your problem sounds very similar to the problem I just had with my 2000 2.0L. Mine was a mass air problem...cost about $500 for a new mass airflow meter and a good fuel injection cleaning. I've had absolutely no problems since, and my car is about to turn 100K...I plan on getting 250K from mine!


Punchbuggy

[mogwai]

Thanks Smileybug! I just found a similar thread where everyone posted their mileage, year, and what they've had replaced. I love this board - so helpful! I am really hoping she is an easy fix too. I really don't want to get rid of her yet as she's been paid off for 1 year now and really hasn't had any major issues. Just stressin about the money.

[mogwai]

Hey Punchbuggy! Oddly enough my shop didn't say anything about the mass airflow meter but it's possible that might come up now that it's at the dealership. I did have the fuel filter replaced and got a good fuel injection cleaning. It seemed to help for a little while but now it's having issues again. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll hear back from them today. I also want to get a good 200+ miles out of her!!

[callisto9]

I've often heard the 2.0 engines are good for at least 200K miles. I have 116K on mine and he's running great. We do have a couple members here with over 200K and tons of people over 100K.

[mogwai]

Just got a call from the dealership. They said the "1st issue" is that they need to replace the fuel pump pressure...which runs about $785. They said that might fix the problem...but they can't go any further till this is taken care of.

I'm the girl with the cute beetle that doesn't know anything about cars...so does this sound legit? I don't know what to ask...and I'm probably going to call my regular shop too to see what they think...

[woolybugger]

I have found that the dealerships around here run at least twice what my mechanic charges. I'd try to find a good mechanic to take a look. The dealerships are a ripoff (around here anyways).

[mogwai]

Agree! They said they did a pressure check and it was down 3 psi. They got a 5 and said it should be at an 8. MY shop said that's weird because the pressure was fine when they were looking at just 1 day ago. They also said the range of good pressure is so wide that they don't understand why the dealership is making such a big deal about it. I'm at a loss, I won't pay $800 to have them fix this and THEN look at the real problem.... If I can't figure something out I think I may be forced to look into putting the money I have towards a down payment on something new...

[Genesis]

All VW dealerships are a rip off. I have a 2000 AEG 2.0 with under 60K miles. Yes, 9 years old and under 60K. I've learned my lesson about taking it to the Dealership. I'll seek good mechanic for all future repairs.

[Genesis]

Originally Posted by mogwai

Agree! They said they did a pressure check and it was down 3 psi. They got a 5 and said it should be at an 8. MY shop said that's weird because the pressure was fine when they were looking at just 1 day ago. They also said the range of good pressure is so wide that they don't understand why the dealership is making such a big deal about it. I'm at a loss, I won't pay $800 to have them fix this and THEN look at the real problem.... If I can't figure something out I think I may be forced to look into putting the money I have towards a down payment on something new...

A dealership in Maryland told me the same thing. The told me that they would have to fix the timing belt, tensioner and water pump prior to completing the troubleshooting. For a low low price of $945.00. After fixing the previous listed items, they called me back and said that the valve in my head were bent and that it would be an additional, GET THIS....approx. $3600.00 Wow...the head through VW was $2000.00. Lucky for me, someone on the forums read my post...and I got a brand new head for $330.00 shipped to Virginia.

GOOD LUCK

[LadybugEwa]

What are the codes that the dealership is basing its diagnosis on? Get the #s and post here for second opinion.
These problems (power loss) could also be associated with the MAF like others said, or even the pre-catalyst O2 sensor (bank1).

[mogwai]

The dealership said they just did a pressure check...so there were no codes. They just said it was down 3 psi - a 5 when it should be at 8. They said they "can't" move forward until it's taken care of.

The shop that I normally deal with said the pressure was fine the whole time they were looking at it...so they feel like the dealership is just trying to milk me and fix everything they find BEFORE even looking at what I asked them to look at.

At this point I don't know if the repairs are worth it. I love my beetle so much but I just don't know if I should spend over $1,000 on repairs when I could use that money towards a new(er) car. At 10 years old and 116,000 miles....

I'm so torn....

[Smileybug]

There is still a lot of life left in the car. Unless you buy a new car, you are likely to have similar headaches with a used car, as you never really know what you are getting.

Did you have a CEL come on at all? Is there any way you can get the car to your other shop to have them look at it again? Dealerships are a rip-off and will get as much money as they can from you. I either do work on my car myself/my fiance does it, or I take it to a local shop that I have 100% trust in. If you really aren't sure of the problem, I would say take it to a shop that you trust. Heck, I know whats wrong with my car half the time and when I have taken it to the dealer, they never believe me and do diagnostics and charge me an arm and a leg for it before addressing the problem...that I told them about exactly when I took the car in (That was to replace the microswitch in the drivers door...I told them to just replace it and they gave me the run-around...turns out, the microswitch was bad!).

[Blugg]

Originally Posted by punchbuggy

Your problem sounds very similar to the problem I just had with my 2000 2.0L. Mine was a mass air problem...cost about $500 for a new mass airflow meter and a good fuel injection cleaning. I've had absolutely no problems since, and my car is about to turn 100K...I plan on getting 250K from mine!


Punchbuggy

Originally Posted by mogwai

The dealership said they just did a pressure check...so there were no codes. They just said it was down 3 psi - a 5 when it should be at 8. They said they "can't" move forward until it's taken care of.

The shop that I normally deal with said the pressure was fine the whole time they were looking at it...so they feel like the dealership is just trying to milk me and fix everything they find BEFORE even looking at what I asked them to look at.

At this point I don't know if the repairs are worth it. I love my beetle so much but I just don't know if I should spend over $1,000 on repairs when I could use that money towards a new(er) car. At 10 years old and 116,000 miles....

I'm so torn....

Sounds like the exact same problem i had. 114,000 miles now.

They cleaned the mass air intake valve, found a split on one fof the tubes. No problems since Touch wood.

If the garage is giving you the run around ask for a quote, not sure if it's the same there, but once quoted over here, they can't keep bumping the price up

[CoriBug]

Originally Posted by mogwai

The dealership said they just did a pressure check...so there were no codes. They just said it was down 3 psi - a 5 when it should be at 8. They said they "can't" move forward until it's taken care of.

The shop that I normally deal with said the pressure was fine the whole time they were looking at it...so they feel like the dealership is just trying to milk me and fix everything they find BEFORE even looking at what I asked them to look at.

At this point I don't know if the repairs are worth it. I love my beetle so much but I just don't know if I should spend over $1,000 on repairs when I could use that money towards a new(er) car. At 10 years old and 116,000 miles....

I'm so torn....

The mileage isn't that high for a 10 year old car. Can you just have your regular shop fix it for you? Did they give you an estimate/diagnosis?

[mogwai]

I'm trying to find another shop either here in the Springs or in Denver that can give me a 3rd opinion.

My shop can fix the fuel pressure issue for about $600 but they don't think it's necessary. They think the issue is the throttle valve malfunction which they said is approx $500-600 to fix but can only be done at the dealership. This is where I am stuck. The dealership won't even LOOK at ANYTHING until the fuel pressure thing is fixed even though it's not an issue.


Smileybug - I don't know what CEL means, can you explain?

Blugg - It's not a bad idea for me to take it back to my shop and have them check that out again....

[Smileybug]

CEL is check engine light. If that has come on, there could be some codes stored that could lead you in the right direction.

[CoriBug]

We have several orgers from Denver....maybe one of them will wander in here. If you're willing to get it to Ft Collins, there's an AWESOME independent mechanic here. He is highly recommended on the Vortex. He knows the TDI inside and out but works on any dub. I haven't used him yet because my car hasn't had any major trouble not covered by warranty. If you would like his number, shoot me a PM. Good luck.

[Yello_jellybean]

Hi guys, you know who we should ask? DZLBUG.. he knows everything. He is a TDI guy but He may be able to help. He can more than likely tell you if your headed in the right direction. I only know body shop guys in Colo Springs. 2 good ones to be exact, but no mechanics. Sorry.