Just bought another new Beetle!

[StarFinder]

Hey everyone! I had posted here once before, back when I had a red 2002 VW Beetle GLS 2.0. Unfortunately sometime after that my parents decided that they wanted to move to the mountains and insisted that I trade/sell the Beetle and get an SUV instead. So, for a period of time I was stuck driving a '02 Ford Explorer XLT. Thankfully the move was called off due the the lack of career/social opportunities for my brother and I in such a small, semi-isolated mountain enviroment. But that still left me with the Explorer.

After a scary experience in the Ford involving the need to swerve hard to avoid a speeding motorcyclist who was headed right at me, I realized I simply HAD to go back to a Beetle. SUV's are far too tippy for my tastes and, safety issues aside, spending $80/week for gas was utterly ridiculous. So the search began. I already had a GLS 2.0, so I began searching for something a bit sportier in the Beetle lineup. The 1.8 Turbos caught my eye, and along with them, the Color Concepts. I found a few within 50-some miles of me. Three Snap Orange ones, a Blue Lagoon, and a Double Yellow.

They all had high mileage though..except the Double Yellow, which had a mere 39.9k miles. So, yesterday dad and I went to go see it. It was parked in a small, cramped parking space at an apartment building. It was filthy, inside and out. Obviously this poor car's owner did not realize what a rare, beautiful car she had, or simple didn't care. Still, I fell in love with it and after a bunch of paperwork and fussing, I took it home last night!

It has since become quite a project and a costly one at that. It's check engine light came on sometime today, causing it to fail it's smog check (it would have passed with flying colors, the guy said, if it weren't for that check engine light issue). So tomorrow at 8:45AM she's off to the local VW Dealership for diagnostics and a good fixin'. Other than that, the car is fine....except for the cosmetics. The previous owner apparently doesn't believe in neither car washes nor interior detailing. So I picked up some Lexol Leather Cleaner and Conditioner today and after 4 hours I managed to get the arm rest console and the two front seats as clean as they can get. The driver's side seat still had some light scuffing/staining which simply refuses to come out, but it's no where near as noticeable now as it was before. Unless you really stare, you won't even notice it at all! Tomorrow I have to do the rear seats, then detail the rest of the interior and wash/detail the exterior. Poor car's gonna get some much needed soapy love. I'll snap photos tomorrow to share with you all. She's definitely a beauty! I would have snapped some photos today, but in the condition it's in, y'all would wanna lynch the previous owner for 'Beetle Abuse'.

I am a bit disappointed at the fact that the previous owner mangled this car's beautiful rims. The yellow inserts are thankfully pristine (just caked in filth) however the rims have been rubbed up against something so badly that not only did the paint come off but they have grooves scraped into them! I'll have to see about getting some new ones. I love these Take5's too much to give them up, and it pains me to see them in such miserable condition.


Well, my experience with my new Color Concept is off to a rather rocky start, but none-the-less I love it and I'm so glad to be back to driving a Beetle. Plus..that speed activated spoiler is 10 kinds of awesome...and will make for a fun way to startle my passengers. *Thunk* "What was that?" "Oh..just my speed activated real spoiler" Beetles are a blast to drive too, turbo or not!

Expect a huge photo-post from me tomorrow once she's all cleaned up!

[Lnzbug]

Hi and welcome back! It sounds like you got to that precious cc just in time! Good luck getting new take5's. I hear they cost a pretty penny. At least you don't have to buy the inserts. I look forward to seeing those pics

[StarFinder]

Originally Posted by Lnzbug

Hi and welcome back! It sounds like you got to that precious cc just in time! Good luck getting new take5's. I hear they cost a pretty penny. At least you don't have to buy the inserts. I look forward to seeing those pics

Yep, poor baby, she was so neglected. I mean..I reached down towards the driver side door at one point and my hand slipped on what appeared to be a big, black blob of grease/oil. I need to see how much some touch-up paint will run me at the VW Dealer as well, because there are a few small paint chips here and there that I want to fix. Paint chips weren't too noticeable on my red Beetle, but on this yellow one they show up like ugly little black spots

And yeah, I hear those inserts are horribly expensive. At least the ones my CC has, while black with grease and grime, are not scratched or damaged. Tomorrow I'll wash them thoroughly and inspect them further, but they seem to be perfect. I wonder how much a set of rims without the inserts would run me, or if it's even possible to find them like that?

[dnyed]

You sound like just the right person, to bring the rare New Beetle back to it's glory. I look forward to pictures.

Congratulations. Your new-to-you New Beetle will love you for adopting it from the bad home.

[Evanrude]

Originally Posted by StarFinder

Yep, poor baby, she was so neglected. I mean..I reached down towards the driver side door at one point and my hand slipped on what appeared to be a big, black blob of grease/oil. I need to see how much some touch-up paint will run me at the VW Dealer as well, because there are a few small paint chips here and there that I want to fix. Paint chips weren't too noticeable on my red Beetle, but on this yellow one they show up like ugly little black spots

And yeah, I hear those inserts are horribly expensive. At least the ones my CC has, while black with grease and grime, are not scratched or damaged. Tomorrow I'll wash them thoroughly and inspect them further, but they seem to be perfect. I wonder how much a set of rims without the inserts would run me, or if it's even possible to find them like that?

WOOOHOOO!!!! Double Yellow Color Concept.... SWEET... that's all I'm saying

I landed my baby in February ... 2002 with only 21K miles on it!

Then after 4-5 months of searching I found my spoiler , had it shipped from New York.. just had it painted and put on.






As for Take 5 Wheels, You can get them from VW... but they run around 300-350 per wheel with NO inserts.

There are certain websites where you can get them WITH inserts, INCLUDING shipping, for around $220 each. It would be cheaper to NOT buy them from VW.

Here is one site... TAKE 5's

Or over here... $788 would land you shipping and 4 new wheels with inserts...
MORE Take 5's



Hehe.. just doin' my part to help a fellow CC owner

ALSO... if you DO happen to buy a new set of CC wheels with the inserts... I'd be interested in making a deal with you to purchase the extra set of inserts. I have a plan

[StarFinder]

Originally Posted by Evanrude

As for Take 5 Wheels, You can get them from VW... but they run around 300-350 per wheel with NO inserts.

There are certain websites where you can get them WITH inserts, INCLUDING shipping, for around $220 each. It would be cheaper to NOT buy them from VW.

Here is one site... TAKE 5's

Or over here... $788 would land you shipping and 4 new wheels with inserts...
MORE Take 5's



Hehe.. just doin' my part to help a fellow CC owner

ALSO... if you DO happen to buy a new set of CC wheels with the inserts... I'd be interested in making a deal with you to purchase the extra set of inserts. I have a plan

Yep, I found some Take 5's online, without inserts it seems, for $204 each. I only need to replace three of the rims, and the inserts are fine so I think I'm going to just go for the insert-less ones. I'm trying to not spend TOO much money to fix up the previous owner's mistakes because I am anxious to get started with my own mods before I go totally broke! I would have been absolutely livid though if those inserts were ruined, given how expensive they are. Thankfully they're just dirty it seems.....very dirty.

Your DYCC is gorgeous btw! I was actually drooling over some photos of it on the forum while waiting to go see the CC that I ended up buying. Your photos are awesome too, what sort of camera do you use? I have a Canon 5D and a 350D and I can't wait to get my car cleaned up so I can get the strobes out and do a proper photo shoot with it. Tomorrow I'll have to stick to snap-shots from my driveway though, as I can't officially get the registration finished (and get the insurance sorted out) until the dealer fixes the car and it passes it's smog without the darn CEL going off (and then it's off to the DMV on Monday!).

[scarabY2k]

Congrats on the purchase and the Beetle Rescue. Make sure you take some before pics too. Don't know if you want to post them or not, but it will be good just for posterity sake.

[Evanrude]

Originally Posted by StarFinder

Yep, I found some Take 5's online, without inserts it seems, for $204 each. I only need to replace three of the rims, and the inserts are fine so I think I'm going to just go for the insert-less ones. I'm trying to not spend TOO much money to fix up the previous owner's mistakes because I am anxious to get started with my own mods before I go totally broke! I would have been absolutely livid though if those inserts were ruined, given how expensive they are. Thankfully they're just dirty it seems.....very dirty.

Your DYCC is gorgeous btw! I was actually drooling over some photos of it on the forum while waiting to go see the CC that I ended up buying. Your photos are awesome too, what sort of camera do you use? I have a Canon 5D and a 350D and I can't wait to get my car cleaned up so I can get the strobes out and do a proper photo shoot with it. Tomorrow I'll have to stick to snap-shots from my driveway though, as I can't officially get the registration finished (and get the insurance sorted out) until the dealer fixes the car and it passes it's smog without the darn CEL going off (and then it's off to the DMV on Monday!).

Make sure they ARE Take-5's..... there are some wheels that LOOK like Take-5 rims, called the Santa Monicas I believe... but they do NOT take the inserts. Not sure why they did it, but those 'bolts' don't actually come out. It's just for appearance.

Here is another thought for you. Just HOW badly are they damaged? For around $150 each, you can have those wheels repaired to brand new status at a local wheel store. Every city has at least one of them They can repair bends, nicks, chunks, AND they repaint and re-clearcoat the wheels. So there is another option.

So anyway, if you get the wrong ones by accident, you'll have one wheel with inserts and 3 without.

As for my camera.. I have a Canon S3 iS.... only 6MP , and no real SLR options..but it has a 12x optical zoom, but no bulb setting *gah*. I'd sell body parts if it meant getting a Canon 5D or 350D. All my Nikon stuff was stolen in December and I miss all the options of an SLR or DSLR. I miss 'bulb" *whimper*.

[Jharmari]

AWESOME! Bet that's exciting to see her beauty shining through again. You should've done some before and after pics!

I love the speed activated spoilers. I feel like I have a techie car or something. Cant wait til one of my friends ride with me so I can say the same thing and have a good snicker. Gotta admit though, the dealer didn't warn me so my car got first laughs by freakin' me out with the noise first.

And yours makes a 'thunk'? I get more of a 'CLACKY CLACKY'. Is mine wonky?

[StarFinder]

Originally Posted by Jharmari

AWESOME! Bet that's exciting to see her beauty shining through again. You should've done some before and after pics!

I love the speed activated spoilers. I feel like I have a techie car or something. Cant wait til one of my friends ride with me so I can say the same thing and have a good snicker. Gotta admit though, the dealer didn't warn me so my car got first laughs by freakin' me out with the noise first.

And yours makes a 'thunk'? I get more of a 'CLACKY CLACKY'. Is mine wonky?

Yep! With a lot of love, patience, and cleaning products, she's back to her old glory now! I am awaiting on a small batch of touch up paint from the dealer (dad ordered it this morning) and then I can start fixing her paint scuffs.

Yep, those spoilers are awesome! I knew to expect it (been reading the org wayyy too much!) but it was still awesome to hear it, I couldn't help but smile! Mine makes a sort of 'clacky-THUNK' sound, it's quite noticeable if I don't have the radio on, but it doesn't bother me at all.

Btw, I finally posted photos of her over here!. All that hard work paid off!

[AddToChaos]

[QUOTE=Evanrude;326875]WOOOHOOO!!!! Double Yellow Color Concept.... SWEET... that's all I'm saying

I landed my baby in February ... 2002 with only 21K miles on it!

Then after 4-5 months of searching I found my spoiler , had it shipped from New York.. just had it painted and put on.



Hey Evanrude,
I came across this great pic while doing a search for rear trunk spoilers and I really like this one that you had shipped from NY. I've seen it on some other NB's but I can't seem to find it anywhere. If it's not too much trouble, could I get the name of the place you bought it from and maybe a little info on it ie; price+ship cost, is it drill-installed, how has your ride been thus far, etc.? I'd really appreciate your help as, like I said, I can't find it anywhere. Thanks very much. PM me, OK? Thanks.
AddToChaos