Soak's White 2000 GLX

[soak]

Hi All!

our story
I joined the org a couple of weeks ago because we decided that we wanted to get a used NB. We've been driving an 8-cyl. Explorer nearly everyday for the past 5 years and decided with gas prices probably reaching $4+ this year that it was time to start saving some money. Since we only get about 14 mpg avg. in the Explorer, we figure we should be able to cut our gas bills in half if we can get at least 28 with a Beetle. So I came in here to start learning, asked some questions, and was shopping around. One of our obstacles was that we specifically wanted to get a white one. The reason for this is that we own a store that sells bath & body products and we want to put our store's logo (see avatar) and other information on the car and white would be the best choice! That's also part of the reason we chose the New Beetle because it looks so bubbly and will fit perfectly with the theme of our store!

We finally made a deal on a 2000 white GLX this week with 94k miles on it. The only problem was that I'm in the suburbs of Chicago and the car was in Minneapolis. Well, after many emails, questions, and pictures back and forth, I decided that this was the car for us. The seller was nice enough to meet us part of the way (if you're out there reading this, thanks!) in WI and when I saw it everything checked out. I made it home fine yesterday and am happy so far. It's not perfect..it has it's blemishes...there are a couple of things to fix, but it runs great, shifts great, and is quite zippy!

mods/repairs
The only mods I know of currently are an upgraded exhaust (borla?) and it has a chip in it. I have paperwork & receipts for maintenance and service dating back to new. The first two owners did a good job of keeping track of things. As I get time to go through all of it, I will share more, but I know the water pump & timing belt have been replaced, the tires are practically new, and a few other small things have been done too.

name
Name? What's in a name? Haha! I originally planned to call our NB "Bubbles" because it fits so well with the theme of our store. But since we ended up getting a turbo and since I've driven 'him'...I'm just not sure he feels like a "Bubbles". Haha! Any suggestions??? The name of our store is Soak. We want to advertise the store on the car...tastefully!!!...and may also use the car to deliver gift baskets occasionally.

plans
The plans right now are...
--Fix/replace minor items i.e. broken air vent, light bulb, etc.
--Mild tint on the windows
--Add vinyl graphics of our store's logo & info(I already have 2 or 3 people that want to do this for me! )
--Clear corner lenses for the front (so simple I know, but I think the white cars looks so good with these!)
--Drive & enjoy! Any suggestions??

--Mark

Here's the 1st pics taken with the cell phone...the first one was taken on the way home at Mel's Diner somewhere in WI...yes, they do serve chicken! I'll post better pics when I get a chance to take some. Thanks for all the help with my questions...I'm sure I'll have more soon. And I'm open to suggestions on how to make him better. Thanks!

[dnyed]

I just lovelovelove white New Beetles!

[KatieBug27]

hey! welcome! good choice on the car! love it!

[callisto9]

Great story and wonderful little Beetle you have there. Welcome to the .org!

No thoughts on a name though. It'll come to you!

[Beetlemania]

Congratulations, and glad to have you aboard! Enjoy the "rolling ad" with personality!

Jacob

[soak]

Thanks! Here is some clarification to mods that have been done previously according to receipts...

12/2000:
-MTM Stage-1 UCU Upgrade
-Techtronics Stainless 2.5" Exhaust W Borla
-K & N Air Filter

04/2001:
-H & R Springs
-Koni Sport Front & Rear Strut

And I've done my first mod...stopped into Auto Zone this am and got some wipers! I think they were long overdue!


Anyway, I do have a couple of questions...(well, after writing them it's really four)

1. I can find a receipt for the water pump being replaced, but can't find one for the timing belt. Is there a way to tell if it's been updated just by looking at it or would I need to have a dealer check it out?

2. The brake light switch was just replaced in March on the recall, but I have a brake light coming on occasionally and I need to know if it's the same one that should have been fixed in the recall. The light that's coming on is at the bottom right of the speedometer and looks sort of like (O) ?? If it's the same light I assume I can go to a dealer and they will fix??

3. Is there something special I should know about closing & locking the hatch? I shut it sometimes and it doesn't lock. I can just pull it right back up again like it didn't even catch. Should it be this way? I've tried turning the key in the hatch, hitting buttons on the key, but it just seems to work when it wants. Am I missing something or do I have an electrical problem? I'll be checking the manual too...

4. The spoiler doesn't come up automatically...I got up to 100 and never heard it. I found the switch and it seems to operate it up or down at any speed, but it will always go down when I come to a red-light then start going slow. Is there a way to fix this?

Thanks!!!
-Mark

[soak]

got the windows tinted finally...yaay!
vinyl coming soon...

[pasadenagrand]

Welcome to the org...LOVE your Beetle!!

[mybugrocks]

the white beetles always look awesome...urs is no acception...always love tinted windows!! ur car looks GREAT!!

[soak]

thanks! we're really enjoying it! the only problems i have so far is not enough money to do the things i want to do...but it's coming...

[D2Beetle]

Originally Posted by soak

... name
Name? What's in a name? Haha! I originally planned to call our NB "Bubbles" because it fits so well with the theme of our store. But since we ended up getting a turbo and since I've driven 'him'...I'm just not sure he feels like a "Bubbles". Haha! Any suggestions??? The name of our store is Soak. We want to advertise the store on the car...tastefully!!!...and may also use the car to deliver gift baskets occasionally...

Nice pics, what % level tint did you get?

How about "Soak'N"?

[soak]

"Soak'N" is nice....it'll go on the list.

I'm not sure of the %, but he showed me four levels....light, medium, dark, & limo. I went with medium and it turned out exactly what I had in mind. Standing right outside the car looking in you can make out who's in the car and see their movements. I've heard the police can require you to have tint removed from front windows here so I didn't want to push it, I definitely didn't want it to get tacky or trashy looking, and it is going to have some business use so I wanted to keep it clean. It turned out just right for me...

[scarabY2k]

Originally Posted by soak

thanks! we're really enjoying it! the only problems i have so far is not enough money to do the things i want to do...but it's coming...

I hear ya. Never enough mod money, still we get by. Love your beetle and the tint really makes the white 'pop'. Enjoy your new beetle experience and stop by (post) when you get a chance- don't be a stranger

Welcome

[soak]

clear corners added...


and this picture shows a couple of exterior cosmetic flaws that I'd like to address...
-one is a dent under the passenger side...not sure how or if it can be fixed...people looking at the car in person don't generally notice it though so not too concerned...
-the other is the cracked grill around the driver's side fog light...there is actually a bit missing there...I've thought about removing this grill all together in addition to the fog lights, but I haven't actively researched the replacement yet so I don't know how much it is...can anyone point me in the right direction?

thanks,
-mark

[PolarTurboBug]

HEY WELCOME TO THE ORG.

I'M PARTIAL TO WHITE TURBO BUGS MYSELF.....=)

LOVE THE LOGO IDEA ON YOUR CAR.

TRYING TO THINK OF A NAME THAT IS THEMED WITH YOUR BUBBLE BATH

STORE????...I'll KEEP MULLING IT OVER....=)

[soak]

Hi all...

It's been a while since I've been around, but I wanted to give you an update on our Beetle. We had graphics added all around to advertise our store. We tried to do something fun and a little different. These aren't the best pictures, but they give you an initial look at how it turned out. These were taken during the 4th of July parade in Barrington, IL where our store is located. The graphics were added the day before...

I will be taking it out in a couple of days to clean it up and get some better pictures...

Hope you all like it..
-Mark

[soak]

having trouble adding more than one picture per post...

[soak]

only one i currently have that shows any of the back...

[clmonahan]

haha I love it! Very cute

[ShiftyTDI]

I hate to say it but the white was so clean looking I'm a little disappointed to see the graphics all over it. That being said, I understand you have a business to promote so I forgive you.