New proud owner.

[joemac]

I am 69 years old and just bought a 2006 auarius blue 2.5 gas NBC. My wife of 49 years asked have you lost your ever loving mind, my daughter claims that I hit my head in a recent motorcycle accident, and my son hints it's a gay car. I have machined an adapter and mounted my Garmin GPS in the flower pot and it works great. Ha.

I may have lost my ever loving mind, I didn't hit my head in the crash, and I am definitely not gay. I just bought the car that I wanted. I have never had a convertible, have never been in any style of beetle, and I am loving it. I drove a Mini Cooper twice in my search of a small gas efficient fun car. I told the salesman at the same VW dealership that I had never had the Beetle experience and he said pick out one and he would get the keys. I drove it and bought it. That's my story and I am sticking to it.

I have a few questions, as this is a Certified Pre-owned, and I checked what service they completed in the certification of the car. The questions are;

1. I live in Texas and would like to use 10W40 synthetic, as the 5W-40 is hard to find around here.l It gets very hot here and not very cold. My wife has a Mercedes and it uses 5W-40. I have to go to the dealer to find it.

2. I guess that I have the Tiptronic transmission in this car. The car has 44k and they did not change the oil in the certification check. When should I get the transmission oil changed?

3. Air filter choice. I have been a fan of the K&N for many years, but have read some in favor of, and some for paper on this forum. I will probably make up my own mind, but would like some constructive input on this.

4. Has anyone cut out holes in the pan under the engine to change the oil without taking the pan off?

I haven't named her (yeah it's a her) yet but I am sure I will.

Joemac

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Originally Posted by joemac

I am 69 years old and just bought a 2006 auarius blue 2.5 gas NBC. My wife of 49 years asked have you lost your ever loving mind, my daughter claims that I hit my head in a recent motorcycle accident, and my son hints it's a gay car. I have machined an adapter and mounted my Garmin GPS in the flower pot and it works great. Ha.
Age is quite simply a state of mind. If your riding a bike at 69 a Bug is nothing but a new adventure! (lol) Don't let you wife drive it, or you might easily become a two Bugger family. I'm a straight male, pushing th 60 mark, and still have my love affair for the automobile, and still am an adrenaline junkie. Fast cars, fast boats, and (not so much anymore) fast women! Own three Verts! And two Bugs, an NB1.8T and a NBC "Spec Ed"
Like a former business partner and close friend says "F-U-K-U-M.!"

I may have lost my ever loving mind, I didn't hit my head in the crash, and I am definitely not gay. I just bought the car that I wanted. Good for you! I have never had a convertible, have never been in any style of beetle, and I am loving it. Why own a car you can not drop the top on. I drove a Mini Cooper twice in my search of a small gas efficient fun car. I told the salesman at the same VW dealership that I had never had the Beetle experience and he said pick out one and he would get the keys. I drove it and bought it. That's my story and I am sticking to it. Perfect!

I have a few questions, as this is a Certified Pre-owned, and I checked what service they completed in the certification of the car. The questions are;

1. I live in Texas and would like to use 10W40 synthetic, as the 5W-40 is hard to find around here.l It gets very hot here and not very cold. My wife has a Mercedes and it uses 5W-40. I have to go to the dealer to find it.
Summer oil 5W40, Winter oil 0W40. Here in Texas, 5W40 year round, period! Just find it and order in a case! Special anti-freeze for the bugs. Also, nothing else, period.

2. I guess that I have the Tiptronic transmission in this car. The car has 44k and they did not change the oil in the certification check. When should I get the transmission oil changed?VW just issued an extended warranty for the tranny, details are in this thread
Tiptronic Auto - VW Extended Warranty I do not show ANY scheduled maintenance for the tranny in my Owners Manual service guide.
I have p/m'd you a .pdf doc with a synopsis of all the scheduled maintenance through 105k miles, for your reference, until you get a manual.

3. Air filter choice. I have been a fan of the K&N for many years, but have read some in favor of, and some for paper on this forum. I will probably make up my own mind, but would like some constructive input on this.
No comment really, I use all OEM parts.

4. Has anyone cut out holes in the pan under the engine to change the oil without taking the pan off?
I've not heard of this, however, there is an aftermarket plug, sold here OEM / Performance Parts for Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Mini, Porsche & Volkswagen - ECS Tuning that a lot of Orgers use.

I haven't named her (yeah it's a her) Of course, after all, we are Texas gentlemen! yet but I am sure I will.

Joemac

A BIG Texas Hello! and Welcome! from a fellow Texan!

Some other comments in red above in your text!

MORAV

[pvpeacock]

Last year when I turned 50, I told my wife that I was thinking of buying a car with better gas mileage than my Chevy Avalanche given how high gas prices had gone. She asked what kind of car I was thinking of, and I told her a New Beetle Convertible. She laughed and said, "this isn't about gas prices or mileage at all, it's your mid-life crisis." Well, within the week, I bought a certified pre-owned 2006 light blue convertible (without getting rid of by Avalance, by the way). I wanted a red one, but saw the light blue one in the back of the lot and changed my mind instantly. My first car was a 1972 light blue VW squareback, so I was already partial to the light blue. After enduring about a week of "gay" comments from my friends, I have never looked back or second guessed my purchase. I love this car and have so much fun driving my "go-cart" around town. My wife and kids love it as well, particularly my oldest son, who sees it as his first car once he's old enough and gets his license. I can't help you out on the oil or filter since I stopped working on my cars when they put computers in them. However, let me suggest looking into buying the European style front and rear VW badges to replace the existing ones. The blue in the European version goes well with the light blue. Enjoy and welcome to the club. P.S. I named by car "Ka Pu'u" which means "Beetle" in Hawaiian, since I used to live there. Aloha.

[dnyed]

Right on, Joemac! Have fun driving that NBC, and smile! Naysayers? They are just jealous.


Welcome to the Org, and Welcome to the New Beetle Convertible!

[FreqWiz]

Welcome from Central Texas, I am 43, been dropped on my head a few times as a baby, I am not Gay, but I love my BlueBell.

I have only had two people question my masculinity, but after leaving them in my dust, they do not make them comments again.

I love my 2001 1.8T

[scarabY2k]

Welcome Joemac to the beetle family.

- i haven't lost my ever lovin' mind.... well maybe i did but that's another story
- i never bumped my head, check that... maybe a little
- i'm a red-blooded, straight as an arrow woman-lovin man

And I am a proud beetle owner just as you are. Welcome to the BeetleBrotherhood

I'm amazed how some dudes bash our beetles, YET the majority of them will do a double take when they see one; and i'm not just talking about my beetle- many bone-stock ones too. So fooey on all the dudes who hate on us.... jealous fellas I guess

Like FrezWiz said "leaving them in my dust, they do not make them comments again"- awesome comment BTW

Joe, you guys don't have an O'Rielly Auto Parts or Advance Auto Parts in your area? I would think TX and FL face the same temp extremes and would carry the same products as we do in FL.

Please keep on posting. I hope you become an active part of the org as well as the many activities we have throughout the year. The Tail of the Dragon GtG is this coming May- there's a link in my signature. Also the Roswell convention is in June. both of them are a drive but WELL, WELL worth the dirve. This Floridian will be attending BOTH of them, so that should give you an idea of the scope of there fun.

Also the TX contingency is trying to start a new generation of get together tradition, since the Texas New Beetle Roundup is defunct. I hope you join in with them and help start a new, new beetle tradition in the lone star state

Enjoy your beetle. I'm sure She'll have an awesome name soon.

[SixChuter]

Welcome to the Org Joemac! I'm a 60 year old who just recently discovered the New Beetles and these little cars have changed the way I live my life. Other than my wife, it's been the greatest thing that ever happened to me. Even better than my old flying days. I hope you stick around and become part of this NB family. Keep us posted on your experiences with the new car and post some photos if you wouldn't mind. We love photos here.

[boogety boogety]

Welcome! A ton of good people and information here for you. Congratulations on your sage choice of transportation.

1. I live in Texas and would like to use 10W40 synthetic, as the 5W-40 is hard to find around here.l It gets very hot here and not very cold. My wife has a Mercedes and it uses 5W-40. I have to go to the dealer to find it.

I live in Texas too, for whatever that's worth, and I truly don't understand the thought process in moving from OEM recommendations to something else. If my OM calls for "x" oil, I don't ever do "y" or "z" or even "x²". I use "x" for the life of the vehicle. Buy it at the dealer, they have boxes and boxes of it. And usually, their price is most competitive.

2. I guess that I have the Tiptronic transmission in this car. The car has 44k and they did not change the oil in the certification check. When should I get the transmission oil changed?

With the Tip, I'd go 60,000 miles between changes. It's a nice round number, fits in with other maintenance milestones, and would give me peace of mind according to my experience (former fleet manager experience).

3. Air filter choice. I have been a fan of the K&N for many years, but have read some in favor of, and some for paper on this forum. I will probably make up my own mind, but would like some constructive input on this.

As a former fleet manager, and having been exposed to K&N filters over the years (since many of my friends have bought into the hype), I know one of the greatest sources of engine damage is poor air filtering. K&N adds negligible power gains by compromising filtering ability from stock filters. I always say... no.

4. Has anyone cut out holes in the pan under the engine to change the oil without taking the pan off?

No, I MitiVac my cars, and the oil filter casing is easily accessible from below without even raising the car. You might want to add the filter emptying gadget (available in plastic for as little as $22 elsewhere, search) that allows dripless oil filter changes, works great, and allows you to do a clean oil and filter change in 30 minutes. No holes to be cut, either.

You're going to love your NBC, regardless of age, spousal skepticism, cranial damage, or sexual orientation issues. Put that top down and enjoy it! 99% of haters will be secretly jealous of you deep down, anyhow...

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Saw a thread today about someone (and then by the posts added, a lot of Bugers) not having the locking lugnuts key. For god sake man, check yours, and if you have them, and don't have the key) get one!

MORAV