thinking of buying

[bigz]

i test drove 99 Beetle with 5 speed tranny today (may buy it in morning) for my wife, the car has 160k miles, it drove good and ran good the best i could tell.. car is in good shape, it has some interior parts peeling but from what i can tell its normal wear. the body is in good shape and paint looks good other than the spoiler is faded. The asking price is 3400. i dont know how the value holds on these cars or how long the life span seems to be so i asking for yalls expert advice.. thanks

[Tesla]

Good choice. 2.0 will run and look good for a long time. All it takes is some tlc and some cash, like any other car You might get addicted to driving your bug or going to shows and gettogethers, not to mention customatizacion and DIY, followed with thorough parts research and learning about every bolt. After 3 months you might have your bugs hot photo on your desktop and by that time at least 1:18 model of your bug on your desk at work. You also might join this wonderful community of great people around the globe and start shearing photos and stories, lunches and coffees gaining friends and miles.
I'll go for a bug out of the blue. Did it once and still loving it.

Good luck

[Lnzbug]

It all depends on how well it was maintained. I have 232000 so high mileage is not unheard of. I expect to have mine for at least another 80k

[Smileybug]

The only thing I would do is see if you can find out when the timing belt and water pump was changed last. Might be something you need to get done.

Otherwise, 2.0 5-speed is darn near indestructible. Its a great, simple engine with a solid transmission. I say go for it!

[orienteer]

I have only recently started driving and delving into the odd problem with these groovy looking new cars (Mine 2001 2.0) and it appears that:

1. Cambelt must be changed by 60,000miles.
2. The water pump has a plastic impellor that after about 4 years fails causing overheating. Ideally change this at the same time as your cambelt to save money. (The pump is £20 or so)
3. The 2.0 engine will use about a litre of engine oil in 10,000miles which is ok.
4. If the aircon becomes ineffective one of the two fans may have stopped working. They are changed as a pair I believe.
5. If electrical components start behaving erratically it could be the ignition barrel.
6. If the fuel flap doesn't open then, as I have to, change the release cable after first checking the small electric actuator is working.
7. If you have more significant running problems it could be a dying battery, the throttle body needing cleaning then realignment (VAG-COM), the mass airflow sensor is dirty or vacuum hoses are splitting (with age/heat) or your throttle pedal switch is faulty. (Use VAG-COM)
8. If the engine misfires it could be plugs or leads breaking down. Could also be the coil packs failing. If your brave run the engine at night and spray a water mist over the connections to look for arcing (!) otherwise .. (Use VAG-COM)
9. We have worse weather in the UK but water has been known to sit under the roof gutter strips and cause corrosion which leads to roof lining staining.
10. If your car fails to start try using a spare key as they have an immobiliser transponder in the.

Try Googling VAG-COM and buy one. The software can be downloaded free from Ross-Tech: Home

Knowledge is power and remember … better the devil you know than the one you don’t !!

It may sound bad but I have a BMW 320d and it has a similar list of known faults but costs more to fix

Regards, Ian