New Beetle Owner! But kinda sad :(

[Tiffanynmandy]

Hello all from snowy Omaha, Nebraska! I just purchased a used 2001 NB with 66,000 miles and have only had it for 2 days and the "EPC" light is on and so is the "CHECK ENGINE" light. Took it back to Carmax to have them look and fix the problem. Is this just bad luck or should I take advantage of the 5 day bring back program and look for another beetle? Anyone else have these problems? I love my Beetle and would love to keep it, but can't afford costly repairs. Any advise? Please and thank you!

[PaliPrincess]

Originally Posted by Tiffanynmandy

Hello all from snowy Omaha, Nebraska! I just purchased a used 2001 NB with 66,000 miles and have only had it for 2 days and the "EPC" light is on and so is the "CHECK ENGINE" light. Took it back to Carmax to have them look and fix the problem. Is this just bad luck or should I take advantage of the 5 day bring back program and look for another beetle? Anyone else have these problems? I love my Beetle and would love to keep it, but can't afford costly repairs. Any advise? Please and thank you!

Hiya! Congrats on your New Beetle!! I'm assuming your Beetle is a 2.0? My old Beetle had the "EPC" light come on and by the low mileage I'm also assuming the recall for your brake-light switch might have not been done. The main reason the "EPC" light comes on is due to the failure of the brake-light switch. This is the switch that the brake-pedal hits every time you press down on the brakes to turn on your brake lights What you do is call up the dealer and tell them you want to check if there have been any recalls on your call model(give them the VIN#), there should be the brake-light switch recall and the sunroof drain recall(if you have a sunroof). Don't let the dealer fool ya, the old brake-light switch is purple and the new ones are green. As for the "Check engine" I would go to Autozone first and get it done for free, the dealer charges $95 for a full car scan. Hope this helps

[PaliPrincess]

Oh, really quickly, do all 3 of your brake lights come on? Or do you have any blown bulbs?

[IndyTom]

Originally Posted by Tiffanynmandy

Hello all from snowy Omaha, Nebraska! I just purchased a used 2001 NB with 66,000 miles and have only had it for 2 days and the "EPC" light is on and so is the "CHECK ENGINE" light. Took it back to Carmax to have them look and fix the problem. Is this just bad luck or should I take advantage of the 5 day bring back program and look for another beetle? Anyone else have these problems? I love my Beetle and would love to keep it, but can't afford costly repairs. Any advise? Please and thank you!

WOW, that is some very low mileage for a 2001. What type of motor does it have?
One thing that you need to have done almost imediately is the Timing Belt and Water Pump service. Normally that service isn't done until the car gets to 75k miles but that car is 11 years old and that timing belt also ages regardless of the mileage and once that timing belt goes so does your engine.
Most VW shops will charge you about $750 for this service and it should include a new timing belt, a new water pump, a new accessory belt, new tensioner and tensioner pulley. The thermostat should also be replaced at the same time but they will charge you extra for it. Don't take it to the VW dealer they will charge up up to 1600 Dollars for that same service.

Also does your car have a manual or automatic transmission? If it has an automatic it has one of the worst transmissions VW has ever put in a car. I would not consider ever buying a VW between 1998 and 2005 with an automatic transmission. Their failure rate is astronomical and it is not if it will fail but when.

New Beetle's in General have a higher maintenance schedule than most other cars. So it helps if you like to tinker a bit with cars otherwise it can be a costly experience taking it in the shop every time that light comes on.

I do love my beetle but I like to work on cars and can do most of all work on it myself. Even so it still can be a challenge at times. Someone like me calls it Fun others may see it as frustrating.

[Tiffanynmandy]

Thank you for your quick responses...... it is an sutomstic and upon doing more research on that year I found all sorts of problems and issues. I think i will take advantage of carmax's buy back program within 5 days and let it be someone elses problem. Thank you again for your help!

[IndyTom]

Originally Posted by Tiffanynmandy

Thank you for your quick responses...... it is an sutomstic and upon doing more research on that year I found all sorts of problems and issues. I think i will take advantage of carmax's buy back program within 5 days and let it be someone elses problem. Thank you again for your help!

I think your are making the right choice. Especially if you can't afford to fix the car when something goes wrong.
If you like Beetle's and want a bit less to worry about look for a 2006 or newer Beetle with 2.5 engine. Those motors have a timing chain instead of a timing belt and the timing chain never has to be replaced. Also the auto transmissions have gotten a lot better by then.
Good Luck to you whatever you choose.

[littlekelly]

Originally Posted by Tiffanynmandy

Thank you for your quick responses...... it is an sutomstic and upon doing more research on that year I found all sorts of problems and issues. I think i will take advantage of carmax's buy back program within 5 days and let it be someone elses problem. Thank you again for your help!

Or your other option is to get an extended warranty, like I did when I bought my 98 used in 2000. I don't work for or sell extended warranties , mine just saved me some very expensive repairs that I could have never afforded You might even be able to negotiate something with the dealer you puchased your car from, say a 2 yr. Extended warranty???