Trouble in Paradise

[Reenie Of the Dead]

Never seen this problem before. My husband hates my Bug. Between the water pump and timing belt that went out in 2010 (which was entirely my fault, I should have had them changed) and the transmission going out this year. He says that it sucks down all my money and etc, etc.

I do love Bella and want to do better at doing more repairs myself. She is our only running car. I have been doing more myself. Hose clamped the pipe that comes off the secondary air injection pump that kept coming off. Also removed and cleaned my maf sensor yesterday. She is running smoother.

Has anyone else had arguments over their loving their Beetle?

[IndyTom]

Sorry for all the trouble you've been having. The timing belt service goes without saying. Depending on your mileage you should have had it done around no later than 75K miles.
$750 dollars is better than $3000+ Dollars for a rebuilt head once the timing belt breaks.
Also never buy a VW with an automatic transmission. Those early O1M suckomatics were Horrible! Did you get the entire transmission replaced or just the Valve body?
I hope you will have better luck in the future but to be honest a beetle isn't a great car for an "Only" car. It's a fun car if you like to tinker and you have another "reliable" car to drive to work. Don't get me wrong I love my beetle as well but I wouldn't trust it to be my only car. There are too many things that can give out and then you are stuck until it is fixed. If you want a reliable beetle. Get a 2006 with a 2.5 engine and a manual transmission The 2.5 doesn't need a timing belt ever (It has a timing chain that never needs replacing). If you must have an automatic, then don't buy one until 2008. That's when they got a bit more durable. (I still wouldn't buy one with an automatic). If you like the power of the Turbo Beetle you are in luck. The 2012 Beetle with it's 2.0 TSI motor also has a timing chain that never needs replacing and comes optional with a DSG transmission which is the only auto tranmission I would ever consider buying.

That said, I truly wish you the best of Luck and just be sure to keep up with the maintenance and you should be fine.

[300exoh]

Speaking from experience...you will have these kind of problems with [I]any[I] 10 year old car...especially with an auto trans. I have a 2000 monte with 125K miles that is on its 2nd trans among other issues so it could be worse. I wouldn't give up on your bug though. It sounds like you have the biggest issues ironed out. Unless you can afford a new car you are going to have occasional issues that usually rear their heads at the worst times...just part of owning any used car. Hang in there...the NB is a great little car.

[05yellowbeetle]

My family thought I was crazy to look for another beetle after the issues with my '98, it had all kinds of little quirks plus I had to replace most of the ac/heater systems at some point as well as the water pump leaving me stranded. I sold it on a Saturday, drove an '05 beetle home on sunday night, Herbie was almost 3 with less than 8,000 miles. I would have traded the '98 earlier knowing what i know now. Love my '05