To Keep or Not To Keep NB Just Purchased! Need Feedback.

[LoLoBug]

Hi Gang,

Happy to be here, been reading threads and enjoying everyone's Bug pictures and names

I am totally in love with my 2008 NB Ghecko Green Convertible! My daughter is getting ready to get her license and wanted my little green baby and I contemplated and contemplated and I just couldn't part with it being her car and getting a new car so off to shopping I went. Asking her if we bought a used bug what does she want, she wanted light blue convertible of course. Found an Aquarius Blue one for sale out of Texas, looked great asked questions and of course being at their mercy took a chance. It has 81,700 miles on it 2006 NB Convertible. It shows up cute as can be.....reading and researching for the past year on used bugs and transmission problems I was scared to death buying used one. I started looking into extended warranty's. Paid $10,811.00

OK so we get the car the front two tires are not bald but tread is worn way down as close to almost being bald! I never heard of a dealer selling a car with worn out tires! Still liking the car bought 2 new tires for it. Car was delivered last Friday so I've owned it a week. Had friend check it over for me and he said the trip tonic isn't working ( I never use on my bug ) and the transmission has issues!

Wondering if I can demand the dealer take car back after I've had a week or buy the extended Warranty which will be approximately $1850 for Powertrain only and will add additional 100,000 Miles/5 years to Warranty. Or trade it in locally! :/

Advice, suggestions and opinions would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Lauren

[LoLoBug]

Wondering if we should get rid of it before it has major problems or would you keep it and get power train warranty and just keep fixing it. I expected to have to put some money into it here and there but would you mess with a car with transmission issue?

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

The Tiptronic tranny has and extended factory warranty but I think at 80+k miles you have just exceeded the miles. Some used cars Dealers will have a three day or a 30 day warranty. Some cars are simply sold "as-is", and they are just that, "as is"! Caveat emptor! Had the Dealer put tires on the vehicle, it would have been added to the price, Texas is a "safety and emission inspection" state, so the tires would have had to have what ever tread is required under state law to pass inspection. Should be a windshield inspection sticker on the front lower drivers side. Did you buy this sight unseen, no test drive, inspection, etc.Before buying an extended warranty, read it very, very carefully, and then read it again.. As a comparison, I bought my 2.oL, 6 spd Tip, '05 NBC Special Edition a year ago, with 40k miles for $10k and change. Needed nothing.

I don't think returning it to the Dealer is an option, unless of course there is a warranty, and then their only obligation is to repair it, not take it back. Trading it isn't much of any option either because any Dealer is going to immediately detect the tranny issue, and take of the repair costs from the wholesale value, not what you paid. Double whammy.

That said,

Welcome to the Org!

You might find something useful here in a thread I put together for all our Newbies, actually for anyone needing some basic NB info, and even though you've owned yours for a while, I'll bet you learn a thing or two, if you read through all the links.
Newbie Welcome Kit!

MORAV

[LoLoBug]

Morav, thanks for response. We really like the car will probably go with extended warranty. I've been researching and researching companies, I think Warranty Direct will be my choice if I go this route. I guess I want to hear are you crazy? Get rid of it! I bought car not seeing it, expecting to probably put some $ into it. I also started looking into warranty's before I picked a used Bug. The tires did not pass the penny test! Heck, you could see almost the entire penny! . I'm wondering if they switched tires on it since it was coming out of state. Theres no way those tires would have passed inspection. Oklahoma does not test emissions/tires. Our bank told us the 2006 NB Convertible with 81,700 miles they had valued at $13,600.

The car actually drives nice, I could only tell slight difference between the 2006 and my 2008 with 20K miles. After friend pointed out some things to me could I tell. He said it can go awhile without transmission problems or can have right away. I'd have to take to have professionally looked at.

OK so please tell me why the NB's have so many transmission problems? Is it because of the self contained transmission fluid?

I have already learned a lot from the ORG! Great source of information. Wish I found it sooner. . Sounds like you got a good deal on your Bug!

[The NEW Ringo]

Hello,

Congrats on the decision to buy a new beetle. When they are running they are a blast. I love them so much I have owned several of them.

That being said please use the search button up top in the purple banner and search the topic extended warranties in the forum section. You will find out that most of them are a scam. They are expensive at best. They find ways not to pay for repairs that will be listed in fine print; these may include not getting regular maintenance like oil changes etc. I speak from experience on this. We had an extended warranty on a beetle and we fought and fought to get the repair done. When it was done it still didn’t work right. They only had to stick a used tranny in under their contract. So guess what the used one had the same issues and the old one. My advice, stay away from the extended warranties. You can read all my post on that thread as well as others. Good luck to you.

[The NEW Ringo]

Yes, on the automatic tranny this is the reason for its failure. Again there are many posts or threads on this issue. You can find them in the search. Basically this FOREVER transmission is a joke. NO tranny can hold up to the heat and wear and tear with the same fluid in it for ever. Metal shavings in the transmission don’t just go away. There are threads on here as well on how to get the parts and change the tranny fluid as well. You have come upon a wealth of knowledge on this site. You just have to search the topic you want the info on and plan to read it for hours. If you feel up to doing it yourself the pictures are a big help. In the end if you spend the money on the repairs and the beetle gets running right I am sure you and your daughter will love taking rides with the top down. If you make it to a GTG or get together. You will find most of the beetle owners are great. They love their cars and other beetles as well. I have had the most fun at these events. Make sure you get to the tail of the dragon in May of 2012.

[IndyTom]

Originally Posted by The NEW Ringo

Hello,

Congrats on the decision to buy a new beetle. When they are running they are a blast. I love them so much I have owned several of them.

That being said please use the search button up top in the purple banner and search the topic extended warranties in the forum section. You will find out that most of them are a scam. They are expensive at best. They find ways not to pay for repairs that will be listed in fine print; these may include not getting regular maintenance like oil changes etc. I speak from experience on this. We had an extended warranty on a beetle and we fought and fought to get the repair done. When it was done it still didn’t work right. They only had to stick a used tranny in under their contract. So guess what the used one had the same issues and the old one. My advice, stay away from the extended warranties. You can read all my post on that thread as well as others. Good luck to you.

I second that on the aftermarket type extended warranties! I purchased one for my 2004 Audi TT which at the time cost me close to 3000 bucks and then when I actully needed a repair they didn't cover a damn thing. I complained and raised some hell and they ended up paying 300 dollars for a 2400 Dollar repair I needed. You do the math. It was not worth it and most of those so called extended warranties are a Huge Scam!
Personally, I would take this lemon back to the dealer. They more than likely knew about the transmission issues and the tires should never have been bald. That is another reason I would never buy a car without inspecting it first or giving it a good test drive. If they hot rodded the car where the tires are bald you can be sure that there are other issues that will surface and I woulnd't risk my daughters life on a car that isn't safe. I at least would call that dealership in TEXAS and raise Holy Hell with them. The Squeeky Wheel gets the Grease. I wouldn't take this laying down and accept this lemon. You paid good money for this car and even without an implied warranty from the dealer I believe it is totally illegal to knowingly sell an unsafe car. Talk to the dealer and see what they will do for you. Then contact the better business bureau and complain. Take it back if you can, if not get rid of it or pay the price. This 10k car will more than likely end up costing you more than a brand new base beetle would have cost you.
Either way, Good Luck and I hope it will all work out for you.

[LoLoBug]

Thanks for replies Indy and Ringo! Still up in air on extended warranty leaning more towards not getting one now. Found company in business 30+ years rated A+ with BBB. But still, they all say car needs to have regular maintenance and I don't know how this bug was taken care of start saving for transmission?

I emailed dealer last night on issues and asked how are we going to resolve this. No reply yet. I'll give him till Monday.

I do want to have full inspection on it, if I can get it up to perfect condition doing some repairs we would love to keep but not if it's a lemon. I already replaced the two bad tires. I agree not wanting to put my daughter in an unsafe car!

I have a feeling I'll be keeping this bug and reporting to the BBB. I did sign an As Is Warranty however, when asking questions about the car he either did not reply (on tire question via email) or said he drove around for a week and it had no problems (on phone).

I have been reading past threads and I am loving this forum! Never belonged to one before Wish I had a crystal ball to for see this cute Blue Bugs future! We really like her.

[LoLoBug]

Going to look up tail of the dragon event. ????

[katiex10204]

While I can't really offer much help, I do want to wish you good luck with your situation & I really am hoping that you get a great outcome You seem to have a great attitude about the situation and I really hope it works out for you!

[LoLoBug]

Thanks Katie! I want to make this work!!!!!

[LoLoBug]

I asked questions, have emails to verify dealers responses. Dealer said if I'm not happy with the car I could send it back......it was from out of state and the as is paper had box checked with warranty if any still applies not just the as is box but we all know the warranty is expired. People buy cars without seeing them all the time. I guess finding the exact car we were looking for made me a sucker as you say. I would think if I pursued suing this dealer in court and proved he lied I'd win. But it all cost $.

I did pull CarFax on car too and was clean.

The car is running fine right now, feels good with new tires but my friend seems to think it will have tranny problems at some point. If I can put couple thousand into it and get it perfect I'd be happy. Body in good shape, interior like new. We bought for $10,811.00. Bank said worth $13,600.00. I just don't want it to be a non stop battle of problems.

[IndyTom]

Originally Posted by LoLoBug

I emailed dealer last night on issues and asked how are we going to resolve this. No reply yet. I'll give him till Monday.

It is very easy for them to blow you off via E-Mail. I would be on the Phone to them right now and not give them until Monday. Just be polite but FIRM and tell them about the issues you are having. If they are a reputable dealer as you say they are they may meet you half way and at least help to cover the repairs. I wouldn't count on a reply to any E-Mail other than "Sorry, you bought it it's your problem now".
People take advantage of people every single day if they think they can get away with it. I am a very Patient and Polite person but if someone is trying to screw me over I will turn Incredible Hulk real quick and they won't like me if I am angry.

On a lighter note. You may want to keep on checking the VW Parts Outlet center. They have some fantastic specials every month. I have seen 4000 dollar transmissions go as low as $299
It's usually for their overstock or older items but you never know what you may find. I just purchased an 800 Dollar Stainless Steel exhaust system for my beetle for 103 bucks. These items are brand new and VW parts not knock offs.

Anyway, here is their website. You can't buy through them directly but you can go through your local VW dealer or VWOEMPARTSONLINE.com and place the order. The online dealer I posted here has the cheapest prices of any VW dealer I have found. They even discounted the discounted part.

Volkswagen Parts at Huge Discounts In The VW Outlet Center

Good luck and I hope you will get this straightened out. Also since nobody has mentioned it yet you probably will need to get the timing belt/water pump kit taken care off in the very near future. You don't want the timing belt to go and destroy the engine which will set you back anywhere between 3000-7000 dollars.

Good Luck to you.

[LoLoBug]

IndyTom thanks for the links, I will look into!

I heard back from the dealer, he said he did not see a question on the tires and that they passed Texas state inspection and had 5,000miles still left on tread. Wow! There would be no way I would let my daughter nor would I feel safe driving on those tires, they looked bad, guess my standards are higher.

He said there is no transmission issues with that car, he drove it around for a week. That because the triptronic does not work in it does not mean it will have transmission problems. What do you think?

I told him I will try and get it in on Monday or asap to a professional for a full inspection.

[LoLoBug]

Here is the VW 2006 NB Convertible, we'll see what mechanic says. Keeping fingers crossed. She's a beauty isn't she.

[LoLoBug]

I found a boot top I'd like to purchase! Will dealer honor discount prices listed?

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Originally Posted by LoLoBug

I found a boot top I'd like to purchase! Will dealer honor discount prices listed?

What color are you looking for, I have all of them for sale, except the red, which I just bought for mine, after a year of searching (lol). Some in new, and many in "as new". Also have a couple "as new" windstops.

M.

[IndyTom]

Originally Posted by LoLoBug

I found a boot top I'd like to purchase! Will dealer honor discount prices listed?

Yes, the dealer will honor the VW Part Outlet discount. Just give them the part number and they will order it from the Outlet center.

Hey, your car is a beauty! Very nice! I don't have experience with the VW Automatic transmissions. I only have driven either the 5 Speed in my Beetle or the 6 Speed in my Audi TT. But my brother has a 2006 VW Passat with automatic tranmission and he seems to like it just fine. He only has about 50k miles on the car but so far the tranny is holding up just fine. I would change the transmission fluid if I were you. I don't believe that fluids will last forever. A fluid change may do wonders. Good luck with the car. She is pretty nice! What motor do you have in there? I bet the 2.5 5cyl? That seems to be VW's favorite motor for the 2006 and up VW's. Not a bad engine. Just not as fuel efficient as it could be but pretty reliable.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Both those boots are black, I'm now of the belief there are different weights. The "D" is an updated part number for the "C". I believe black is designated by the "A64", (Google the p/n's with and without the space separation between the single alpha character and the dash preceeding the last three characters, e.g. C-A84, C-A64, and you will get different results and find the online sellers.)

Both these Online Dealer Parts Depts are discounting the VW Outlet Center Price. I have two new black ones from Dealers, and they were each packed in a 12x12x12 box (unopened), every other one I have, there is no way. 16x16x16 minimum, which is why I think there is a significant difference in vinyl "weight". Now I'm going to have to open one of the "cheapies" and look at the difference.

Google the p/n's with and without the space separation between the single alpha character and the dash preceeding the last three characters, e.g. C-A84, C-A64, and you will get different results and find the online sellers.

Btw, I have several of the "heavier" ones in grey, for sale.

M.

[LoLoBug]

Morav when I went to discount parts site I was able to put in cart but would not let me order, last night. I kept getting a security popup. The D was available at this site and when I punched in the C it said it was overrides by the D model and would bring me back to those options. The blue bug is a power convertible top. My green bug is manual top. Is there a difference in the boots for them? It was giving the option to purchase w/o power top or w/ power top. I was going to bet 1 of each. Yes they were both black. Do you have beige or cream match my interior? How much are you selling them for? I would also be interested in wind stop, how much for that?