New Beetle - possible the worst car ever made - problem after problem - PLEASE READ

[scarabY2k]

Originally Posted by Billsbug

In before the ban!

Me too. It seems when I read down to the bottom of these threads and i'm about to post....Arrrrrrrggggggghhhh....."THREAD CLOSED". Not this time.

Oh yeah, Buttercup is now approaching 90k miles. Apart from her A/C going out and this slight wobble she's experiencing, just the basic maintanence and recall stuff.

[gilligan]

for you to blame all vw vehicles as being bad because your's is bad, is like me calling you a taliban because your a human. not every car made is a piece of carp, just your's is.

[mentalVdub]

someone gave me negative rep... cute!

[BeetleCouture]

I unfortunately have a similar case, and even though I love my bug, she's been a P.I.T.A!

First day I had her, the break light came on, had to have them replaced again (they were replaced a month before I bought the car and I have the recipt from the garage that did it.)

Second week my CEL came on. My O2 censor or something?

Third week, CEL came back on, and car wouldn't come out of park. Another O2 censor, and break light switch had to be replaced.

That night my heat & a/c fan resistor broke (so I have been without heat and a/c since the winter.) It's going to cost me $300+ to have that fixed.

Eight weeks later my timing belt blew and broke my water pump in the process. That cost me $830. Everyone else is probably pissing their pants because I paid that much, but when you MUST fix it they'll charge you anything.

So far nothing mechanically has happened since then but I wouldn't doubt that my windows won't roll up or something like that will happen down the road.

Don't mistake this for a "I hate my New Beetle!!!! I wish I had never wasted my money on it!!" If it was I would still be at "MyVWLemon.com" but instead I am over here with the people who love their bugs, and that is exactly why I am here

Maybe you should trade in yours for a Honda, but trust me, that's what I drove before my Beetle and it was just as bad.

Good luck!

[dgoldbe2]

My advise to anybody buying a Beetle is DONT...save your money and buy an American car. German car companies are all run by accountants....Audi (the TT suffered from terrible problems); Mercedes (build quality has fallen massively); VW (they break down...the Golf has water pump probs, as does the beetle); BMW (suffers from water pump probs).

Buy American?

That's good. I or my immediate family have owned more than a few American cars. They all have been junk.

As someone said some time ago on one of these "VW's Suck" threads, VW's are not plug 'n play cars.

If you don't care for them, they'll get you in the end.



To the Boddington's vs. Guiness question?

Guiness is food.
Boddington's is nectar.

I like food, I love nectar.

[Porkchop]

I was actually thinking about this thread on the drive home last night. I think the reason some have been so offended by the original posting is it directs people to not buy VW. Had he merely stated the facts of his situation and titled it something like "My Beetle blew up, wife almost killed!" there would not have been nearly the backlash. But as soon as someone says "Don't buy a Beetle" things get a little heated.

My advice to people that ask for my opinion on whether or not they should buy a Beetle is "It depends.". And what it depends on is someone's tolerance for repairs. As consumers, for the past 15 years we've gotten used to cars that just plain work... and keep on working.. until we trade them 5 years later. Those who buy used have gotten spoiled with 5 year old cars that then go another 5 years with almost no issues other than maintenance. Most of the problems we have with our Beetles would not be particularly noteworthy if we were talking about a car in the 1960's or 1970's (okay, so there wouldn't be a CEL, but you get the idea..). Manufacturing processes have gotten more efficient with less defects. I'm currently taking a graduate level supply chain class and it we've compared defect rates from 30 years ago vs. today and there is an exponential difference.

It seems VW's biggest problem (which Mercedes is having the same problems right now) is they are not doing a good job of controlling supplier quality - which is how they get poor quality MAF's, rubberized interior coatings, plastic that gets brittle quickly as in the case of water pump impellers, dipstick tubes, console latches, etc. Many seem to attribute the problems to "Mexican built" but that's just the assembly plant... I haven't had any problems that were related to the assembly of the car - the problems stem from the manufacturing of the parts.. many of which are stamped "Made in Germany".

Since our Beetle is currently inoperable and the only car I have running is a Jeep with 120,000 miles, I also got to thinking about "What would I buy if the Jeep died suddenly and I needed to buy a vehicle today?". First off, I would not buy new... its a waste of money with high insurance, depreciation loss, and taxes (both sales tax and property tax). So it'd be something 5 to 8 years old with great gas mileage. Have you looked at what a 5 year old Honda Civic is going for? Over $10,000 in many cases... meanwhile a Beetle about the same age is worth about $8,000 - and the Beetle cost more new. So this arguement about resale value is a little silly. For one thing it just isn't true.. and for another thing, resale value is only a plus if you're getting rid of your Beetle, not if you love it and plan on keeping it.

[John Pemberton]

Thank you my friend - thanks for sticking up for me...you are right £5k is a lot of money, and I am sure the next lucky owner of my hunk of junk will be spending the same as I did...oh here she is by the way:

Originally Posted by slothfulchemist

I don't get why everyone is giving this guy such a hard time
It's not his fault he's had to dump so much money into the car. Why is everyone so opposed to hearing ANY negative opinions about a make of car ? I suppose ignorance is bliss?

Since the .org is one of the first sites to come up in a "New Beetle" google search, I would assume that VW is aware of the site's existance and monitors it to see what type of comments you are providing to the public. If you turn a blind eye to the NB problems and chase off people who have valid complaints, is it likely that VW will work to rectify genuine problems with the NB ?

THis guy's experience is a part of the truth about owning a NB. 5,000 pounds is a lot of money; I can't imagine writing " I love my Beetle, but it has one tiny problem: It ate 5,000 pounds of my money."

[John Pemberton]

I have 2 Porsches myself (a 986 Boxster and a 911 3.2 Carrera) - the Beetle is my wifes car...like most guys, one wants their partner to arrive at work safe and sound, not get phone call after phone call from a distressed women saying:

"John, my car has stopped on the motorway (freeway), and smoke is billowing out...the Police and taking me home"

and:

"John, the car's broken down again...[crying] i am sick of this car...can you pick me up please [weeping more]"

sigh!

Originally Posted by BeetleCouture

I unfortunately have a similar case, and even though I love my bug, she's been a P.I.T.A!

First day I had her, the break light came on, had to have them replaced again (they were replaced a month before I bought the car and I have the recipt from the garage that did it.)

Second week my CEL came on. My O2 censor or something?

Third week, CEL came back on, and car wouldn't come out of park. Another O2 censor, and break light switch had to be replaced.

That night my heat & a/c fan resistor broke (so I have been without heat and a/c since the winter.) It's going to cost me $300+ to have that fixed.

Eight weeks later my timing belt blew and broke my water pump in the process. That cost me $830. Everyone else is probably pissing their pants because I paid that much, but when you MUST fix it they'll charge you anything.

So far nothing mechanically has happened since then but I wouldn't doubt that my windows won't roll up or something like that will happen down the road.

Don't mistake this for a "I hate my New Beetle!!!! I wish I had never wasted my money on it!!" If it was I would still be at "MyVWLemon.com" but instead I am over here with the people who love their bugs, and that is exactly why I am here

Maybe you should trade in yours for a Honda, but trust me, that's what I drove before my Beetle and it was just as bad.

Good luck!

[CrazyJames]

Closing this thread, the man said what he had to say..

And I'm done reading it EVERYWHERE