? for owners from a potential owner

[swaybailey]

I am considering a used new beetle for my daughter as her first car. Don't have a ton of money to spend, but have heard they seem to have engine/transmission problems after 100K miles. Is this the experience of owners, or rare cases from people who did not maintain them well? My current vehicle (a Chrysler)has 215K with no motor or transmission work to date. It is obviously a daily driver. I'm looking for dependability, is this the right car? It will probably have between 60 and 80K and an automatic tranny when I purchase one. Thanks for your input.

[Smileybug]

A lot of it is about maintenance. Auto transmissions in VWs are where the problems are going to be. Any reason it has to be an auto? I will say that as a female with the NB being my first car, I'm glad that mine was a manual. I learned to drive on autos and really wanted an auto, but the manual is really a great thing to know how to drive. And its easy to learn on in the NB. They'll last a lot longer than an auto, and are cheaper to maintain and replace (if needed, which isn't often).

My NB is a 2.0L 5-speed 1999. I have 92k miles on it and I've had it for 5 years, almost 40k miles. Its been a great car. Right now the catalytic converter is shot but thats my only big problem. I had the shift linkage go out a few weeks ago too but it was a very cheap, easy fix and she was back on the road in no time. Other than that its all been basic maintenance. I had her my entire time in college, and she's still my daily for grad school.

With the mileage you are looking at, you'll want to see if the timing belt and water pump have been replaced. Thats a big service that needs to be done on these cars in that mileage range. Price for the service varies depending on the engine and where its done. I had a local shop do mine for $450 and I know they've done TDI belts/water pumps for $700.

[akasha1963]

Keeping up with the maintanence is the key to keeping your buggy running for a LONG time. Mine is a 2001 manual with 153,000 miles on her. I got her about a year ago (with 137,000 miles).

The only issue I have had is when the timing belt went last summer. When they go it will take the top half of the engine with it. So just change the belt & all the associated pullies & water pump every 75-90k miles and you wont have the problem. Changing the timing belt is something you would do with any other car, not just the Beetle.

You wont find a more fun car to drive. You just get happy when toodling around. They get good mileage. It is the safest vehicle in its size class. If you can find a diesel you wont regret it.

[SPIKEVW]

After some research, clearly VW has dismal reliability and long term quality issues. Unfortunately mine lived up to that reputation. After 4 and a half years of regular service performed at the dealership, which is not cheap by the way, it needed a new transmission. The dealer wanted about 55 hundred to fix and the local did it for 45 hundred. He said it was the most expensive transmission he's done for a passenger car. So at 63,000 miles, I had to have this done after 4 plus years of regular dealer and VW recommended service for a 6 speed tiptronic auto and anything else they recommended along the way.
The beetle is a neat car, especially the convertible, but be prepared in the event there are issues, they can be very, very expensive to repair. Now I need a new hub bearing on the drivers side front, but that will be nothing compared to the transmission. Mine is a daily highway driver, about 15,000 miles a year. Probably way too much wear and tear for this sort of car, but who knew when I purchased it, new by the way.
I do like driving it, but long term reliability for VW's, well not so good.

[unrlmth]

Originally Posted by SPIKEVW

After some research, clearly VW has dismal reliability and long term quality issues. Unfortunately mine lived up to that reputation. After 4 and a half years of regular service performed at the dealership, which is not cheap by the way, it needed a new transmission. The dealer wanted about 55 hundred to fix and the local did it for 45 hundred. He said it was the most expensive transmission he's done for a passenger car. So at 63,000 miles, I had to have this done after 4 plus years of regular dealer and VW recommended service for a 6 speed tiptronic auto and anything else they recommended along the way.
The beetle is a neat car, especially the convertible, but be prepared in the event there are issues, they can be very, very expensive to repair. Now I need a new hub bearing on the drivers side front, but that will be nothing compared to the transmission. Mine is a daily highway driver, about 15,000 miles a year. Probably way too much wear and tear for this sort of car, but who knew when I purchased it, new by the way.
I do like driving it, but long term reliability for VW's, well not so good.

Sounds like another good reason to go with a manual. My least favorite part about my car is the horrible 4AT and its rough shifts and clunking into gear. IMO it would be a much more enjoyable car with a manual. (and reliable)