Trying to find a new beetle in todays market

[PunkinBug]

...is ROUGH!

Ive been looking for a TDI new beetle somewhere within 500 miles from me under 12k and it has been brutal. Ive run into some pretty shady people, some pretty messed up bugs, and I am so frustrated that I need a little pat on the back, here!

We had our hearts set on this cute little techno blue 2000 tdi and had gotten everything ready. I mean, I was stoked. Then it dawned on me.

It had 55k, drove perfectly, but the price was 4k under bluebook and hadnt sold in a few weeks.

It didnt dawn on me until I was going on and on about it and I heard myself say "Its six years old and the front bumper is perfect. No rock chips."

Crap, its been wrecked. I chunked up for the carfax (I was trying to find someone who had an account so I didnt have to pay the outrageous fee but meh) and sure enough, in 2001 it had been in a wreck.

Cue hysterical crying at work I had my heart set on this beetle, and its been in a wreck. 10,000 dollars is just too much to justify a wrecked car. He wont take less for it either as Im sure he will be able to sell it to someone who doesnt know about carfax. There just isnt another beetle anywhere near me in an automatic that is within my price range, and as it was I was going to need a second job.

So we're fixing Lulu and hoping the radiator is all thats wrong. Honestly, she would make an awesome parts car for someone but I really want to upgrade to 1. an automatic and 2. a tdi.

Im just frustrated. I know good things happen to those who wait but Ive been looking for a tdi beetle since may of this year and have only run into wrecked beetles, beetles who are in terrible cosmetic condition, and five speeds (Dont even get me started on driving a stick, Ive tried for 4 years to learn and just dont have the coordination or will to try anymore). Rawr!

[BettyBug]

I'm not sure how detailed the carfax report was (I can't remember) but back when I bought my old explorer it had been in a wreck that was reported on carfax. That wreck turned out to be an 18-wheeler showering it with rock chips - nothing more. But it was reported to the insurance company and therefore was on the carfax report... so anyway, may the "wreck" wasn't so bad?

[PunkinBug]

10/12/2001 Arizona
Police Report
Case #--------- Accident Reported
in Phoenix
Vehicle involved in crash
or collision


I really dont want to spend the ten bucks to view the report. Besides, anything reported to insurance damages the resale value of the car if it shows on carfax and I dont want to risk that.

It said it was minor as well and doesnt compromise the safety of the vehicle but really... that still scares me.

[HudsonValleyVDub]

Originally Posted by PunkinBug

10/12/2001 Arizona
Police Report
Case #--------- Accident Reported
in Phoenix
Vehicle involved in crash
or collision


I really dont want to spend the ten bucks to view the report. Besides, anything reported to insurance damages the resale value of the car if it shows on carfax and I dont want to risk that.

It said it was minor as well and doesnt compromise the safety of the vehicle but really... that still scares me.

Do yourself a huge favor..especially if you'll continue looking for another Beetle....Pay the $12 or so for Carfax. It's already saved you an expensive headeche. Remember, you can get, as I did, the Carfax you can use as many times as you like for a full 30 days. It's cheap and, as you already know, helps keep you away from junk cars. Best of luck to you!

[PunkinBug]

I did pay for the carfax. Its 25 bucks too BTW. I would have to pay another 10 to see the police report and I am not buying a car with an accident history, period. Even a fender bender can cause internal problems and Im not taking that risk. Thanks for the luck I need it apparently.

[HudsonValleyVDub]

Originally Posted by PunkinBug

I did pay for the carfax. Its 25 bucks too BTW. I would have to pay another 10 to see the police report and I am not buying a car with an accident history, period. Even a fender bender can cause internal problems and Im not taking that risk. Thanks for the luck I need it apparently.

Oh I'm sorry, I thought you meant you didn't want to pay the $10 for the Carfax report...because you can buy individual reports. Yeah, I wouldn't need to see the report either. The fact that it wasn't disclosed is enough...let alone the simple fact that it was in an accident to begin with.
Remember this....everything happens for a reason so...there's a car out there for you. Keep looking. I once drove 2.5 hrs to see a Beetle that was "sold" an hour before I got there. I was piiiiiiissed! The car I ended up BECAUSE of this was cheaper, had 25k less miles, 15k left on the powertrain warranty, a sunroof, heated leather and CD changer.

[Lona]

Just stick with it. I looked for months for a new TDI, and it was equally hard to find. I got on VW's dealer website every other day and checked inventory in surrounding states. Then, if I'd find one, I would call, and 9 out of 10 times it was either pre-sold, or dealer traded. It was super frustrating and when I had almost given up, I waited a few weeks in between looking on the dealer sites, I found one, called about it, and boom, it had just got off the truck! I had to put a deposit on Lucky, but I drove all the way from KY to Indianapolis the next day after working a 12 hour night shift. And he's so worth it. Just hang in there and you'll find one. I remember I got really excited because one dealership had a TDI, it was black, and they wanted $32,500 for it!!! Some of the dealerships, sadly, aren't really truthful and just want to sell you a car rather than keep their integrity. That particular dealership gave me a long-winded explanation as to how "VW has increased prices to cope with demand." I bought Lucky three months later for MSRP price. I recommend Tom Wood VW if you are anywhere near Indiana, they had quite a few used New Beetles on the lot that all looked really good. Also, go to VW's website, and do a dealer locator, go to their inventory and just look for used New Beetles in your area, you may be able to find one that way. Good luck!

[Breez]

Anna, do remember as well that you are in a price range that is kinda hard and also you are looking for a TDI the year VW isnt offering one (no TDIs new with "2007" on them)

So you might have to just hang in there, Ill help shop with you hehehehe.


On the topic of the owner with the Techno Blue TDI:

I guess a car in a fender bender wouldnt bother me AS MUCH if the owner was just up front about it... thats sad

lol I know I cant lie or keep my mouth shut on situations like that... I just go honesty all the way lol.

[PunkinBug]

Thats why its been frustrating, obviously. Its been six months of searching KBB, craigslist, the org, tdiclub.com, swtdiclub.com, autotrader, and having two people personally watching for cars for me at the auto auctions.... within 500 miles, and in St. Louis (so my mom can drive it down). Price range or no, lack of tdis or not, thats still a long time to be looking as hard as I have been. Its a combination of both the lack of cars in the range, cars that fit what i need (automatic under 12k), and cars that ARENT wrecked. Looking for a car is frustrating enough, looking for such a rare car is excruciating. We just cant settle for anything else though. I already settled for the Golf, theres no way we can be a beetle-less family that would be terrible.

[FlwrPwer]

I have to say, my beetle was in an accident. I kissed a telephone pole. It was very attractive, I just couldn't help myself. I reported it to insurance. It caused no internal damage and I paid to have all the body damage taken care of. It has been 2 1/2 years since this "accident" and nothing is wrong with this car.

I think dismissing a car just because its been in an accident when you don't know the full details is silly, no offense. My airbags didnt deploy and i drove the car for weeks with the body damage cause I couldn't get an appointment to get it fixed.

Not all accidents cause internal damage. And if the car has been running for years after the accident, I would say you're in the clear.

Just my .02.

[Breez]

Originally Posted by FlwrPwer

I have to say, my beetle was in an accident. I kissed a telephone pole. It was very attractive, I just couldn't help myself. I reported it to insurance. It caused no internal damage and I paid to have all the body damage taken care of. It has been 2 1/2 years since this "accident" and nothing is wrong with this car.

I think dismissing a car just because its been in an accident when you don't know the full details is silly, no offense. My airbags didnt deploy and i drove the car for weeks with the body damage cause I couldn't get an appointment to get it fixed.

Not all accidents cause internal damage. And if the car has been running for years after the accident, I would say you're in the clear.

Just my .02.

Good point Karen, My Jetta at 3 months old (spring of 1998)... well was in an accident without me. She was parked and someone backing up hit the gas and not the brake.... what happened? well the bumper was knocked off... and we had it looked at by 4 places to check for further damage then the bumper... everything was fine, I let the kid pay me back for it, because he was nice enough to come inside and ask "who owns the black jetta" ... anyways, I drove the car for another 8 years and nothing ever gave me issues execpt those damn VW windows lol.

You might want to just ask the owner what happened Anna. Then ask for him to knock the price down more hehehehe. If anything get the story and ask for any paperwork he still has.

You checked the history of your golfs engine rebuild/headgasket and that Golf has been a good VW... you might want to follow up on this one.

Anyways you said to me that when you drove it, well it seemed solid... but you make that final call.

[PunkinBug]

I plan on keeping the Golf 4Evar too, unless Im really in a spot. I cant say the same for this beetle, so the resale value matters. This guy isnt the owner, he's a dealer and already told us it hadnt been in an accident so theres no way to tell. Would rather not buy from a guy who acts this way. And he won't go down another penny, we've given him offer after offer.. he knows he can sit on it and sell it to someone unsuspecting.. He seems sleazy to me now, he won't let me take it to my mechanic and he won't take it to him himself so Im not going to push through it. Id rather find a nigher mileage TDI from an actual owner who can validate the care of the car and has paperwork in hand than take a "good deal" from a guy who has been sleazy the whole time. We'll get as much mileage from lulu as we can and just keep looking obsessively until The Right Car comes along. I dont feel comfortable signing on a car that makes me nervous. Yeah, it felt solid. Thats ironic to me, makes me iffy on TDI beetles in general. So maybe The Right Car might just be another Golf, Passat or a Jetta or what have you, but you all know I'm watching for Beetles more than any of the above

[66busdriver]

I was just in Denver this week looking for NB TDI's. I looked at one in Ft.Collins as well. There is a Red 2002? with 58000mi. It looked well taken care of. I passed it up due to the Auto transmission. I found the car on cars.com.

http://cars.com/go/search/fs_search_...l&aff=national

I talked to the mechanic in person and the owner on the phone. They both seemed pretty nice. Not sure if this is too far for you, but there's some info.

This one is near the bottom of the link. 11,900 by individual seller.

C

[scooperhsd]

I know EXACTLY what you mean about TDI NB's being hard to find. My wife was at work one day when one of her co-workers had a regional "Used car" magazine that had one - a 2000 Red TDI. We went to the dealership that night and bought it. It was a lease trade-in and came with the 4 speed automatic (I would have preferred the 5 speed manual - but they are even more rare).

We bought it with 64K miles, and now have 157K miles on it - I plan on driving it until it dies (say, 500K miles or more?)( I have driven a 1990 Honda Civic SW to 290K and am still driving a 1988 Acura Integra with 229K miles - this promise is for real). No maintenance history, so we started in with what was called out for in the manual and immediately put in proper diesel rated oil.

After you manage to get one (don't be afraid to go out of state), get over to www.tdiclub.com for help with the TLC that the TDI should get to ensure a nice long life.

[Breez]

Originally Posted by scooperhsd

After you manage to get one (don't be afraid to go out of state), get over to www.tdiclub.com for help with the TLC that the TDI should get to ensure a nice long life.

Anna's golf is already a TDI, so I think she is on that forum as well... but she spoils her TDI golf like mad, so I know that Jim and Anna would be wonderful parents to another TDI beetle

[Breez]

Originally Posted by 66busdriver

I was just in Denver this week looking for NB TDI's. I looked at one in Ft.Collins as well. There is a Red 2002? with 58000mi. It looked well taken care of. I passed it up due to the Auto transmission. I found the car on cars.com.

http://cars.com/go/search/fs_search_...l&aff=national

I talked to the mechanic in person and the owner on the phone. They both seemed pretty nice. Not sure if this is too far for you, but there's some info.

This one is near the bottom of the link. 11,900 by individual seller.

C

That one looks nice... Anna, go for red go for red!!!

[CoriBug]

Ebay - New Beetle TDICould this be Anna's new Bug?

Originally Posted by 66busdriver

I was just in Denver this week looking for NB TDI's. I looked at one in Ft.Collins as well. There is a Red 2002? with 58000mi. It looked well taken care of. I passed it up due to the Auto transmission. I found the car on cars.com.

http://cars.com/go/search/fs_search_...l&aff=national

I talked to the mechanic in person and the owner on the phone. They both seemed pretty nice. Not sure if this is too far for you, but there's some info.

This one is near the bottom of the link. 11,900 by individual seller.

C

Yes I have also noticed a few TDIs around here. There was several NBs in the paper a couple weeks ago. I'll check today's for you right now. Okay, there are only two NB TDIs in the paper today. One is an 06 for $19629 and the other is an 02 for $13995 at a BMW dealer.

Another edit: I searched on cars.com for a Beetle TDI(did not specify transmission)within 500 miles of Phoenix and this is what I got. Oops the link is at the top of this post! I used cars.com to look for a Jetta or Passat TDI for my dad's coworker and found a very nice Jetta, but he couldn't buy it because of some financial issues that came up.

Another edit: Are you willing to try ebay? I've never bought anything from ebay, but I found 17 NB TDIs, including an 02 with less than 40k in Tucson.

[CoriBug]

Any updates?

Cori