How reliable are the VW Beetles?

[spaceman]

any experience with them?
good gas mileage?

i noticed the older ones are pretty cheap 1999 ish.
i need a commuter vehicle.
TIA.

BTW i know they are goofy looking.I dont really care
I cant seem to find a truck, and im thinking of just getting one of these.

 

[aphex]

Bad idea to ask around these forums.... Too many VW Haters amongst the croud...

I love VW's but HATE VW Dealers!

<--- Love my 2002 Passat!

 

[optoman]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Let me repeat myself,

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


The beetle is full of bugs. Wife has one and has had nothing but problems. They are uber expensive to fix if they are out of warranty which a 99 Beetle is going to be. You would be better off with a Honda or Toyota.

 

[Scootin159]

Originally posted by: ncircle

i noticed the older ones are pretty cheap 1999 ish.

Anyone else see the error in this statement?

Anyways I've heard that the mexican ones have problems of the engine blowing up. Not real sure about which engines are effected or what exactly goes wrong, but basically you either get a lemon or a beast. Try vwvortex.com to see if you can figure out which it is you're getting?

 

[Angrymarshmello]

Wasn't 99 the first year for them too? First run car, no warranty - bad idea imho

 

[Scootin159]

Originally posted by: Angrymarshmello
Wasn't 99 the first year for them too? First run car, no warranty - bad idea imho

it's basically a VW Golf though, so all the important things should've been debugged by then.

 

[optoman]

Originally posted by: Scootin159

Originally posted by: Angrymarshmello
Wasn't 99 the first year for them too? First run car, no warranty - bad idea imho

it's basically a VW Golf though, so all the important things should've been debugged by then.

No, it was the first year of the car not the third generation.

 

[WebZeus]

Well Consumer Reports says that they are not reliable cars and I find that they are usually a pretty good source. In fact this years April report says to even stay away from the new jetta as its reliablity has fallen. Also I have heard that VW are the "in" thing right now meaning taht you are going to have to pay for it (more than it is worth.)

~Web

 

[Phuz]

http://forums.vwvortex.com

 

[Scootin159]

Originally posted by: optoman
They are uber expensive to fix

That's kinda weird to hear considering all the parts on mine that are from the VW parts bin are like 1/4th the price if I go to the VW dealer (or any other VW supplier).

 

[toant103]

go with Honda

 

[optoman]

Originally posted by: Scootin159

Originally posted by: optoman
They are uber expensive to fix

That's kinda weird to hear considering all the parts on mine that are from the VW parts bin are like 1/4th the price if I go to the VW dealer (or any other VW supplier).

Wait till you have electrical problems and the stupid parts are $300-400 a pop. Thank god the beetle is still under warranty. The dealer has replaced over $3000 in parts alone. Even if you take a quarter thats around $750 plus labor. VW service is awefull and if you do get one, don't go to the dealer.

Also, make sure that the defective parts that haven't been replaced can be replaced later if you buy the car.

 

[0roo0roo]

newest consumer reports magazine out sez they are sh1t

 

[Colt45]

get one of the old beetles with the aircooled boxster.

 

[Thegonagle]

You just want a commuter? Look no farther than a Civic or a Corolla. Both get close to 40 MPG, and both have statistically very few problems.

You might be able to get 1.9% financing on a new Civic. You can in my area.

 

[Sid59]

i'd like an old school black VW rag top ..

 

[MustangSVT]

The beetle is full of bugs.

PWAHAHAHH!!! LMAO!!! TEEHEHEE!!!

 

[0roo0roo]

and remember, even in the manual they recommend against using the flower vase they put on the dash. "safety concerns" go figure

 

[skateallday]

i wouldnt get a VW ive seen one start on fire and wasent a pretty site

 

[bozack]

I am editing this because I bothered to read the rest of the thread....

I am amazed at how many people quickly recommend Honda or Toyota...personally I would never consider either of those cars no matter what the model (well S2000 and Supra are excluded but they are out of this persons budget I assume). I guess there just must be a whole mess of practical people here who can live with ugly cars...not saying the Beetle is good looking, but at least it has some style to it...Hondas and Toyotas are about as boring and as ugly as you can get in my book....heck even Subaru look better.

If I were the poster I would look at either a Jetta, GTI, Passat or spend more and go Audi...leave the Hondas and Toyotas for the ricers and the boring people.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: bozack
I am editing this because I bothered to read the rest of the thread....

I am amazed at how many people quickly recommend Honda or Toyota...personally I would never consider either of those cars no matter what the model (well S2000 and Supra are excluded but they are out of this persons budget I assume). I guess there just must be a whole mess of practical people here who can live with ugly cars...not saying the Beetle is good looking, but at least it has some style to it...Hondas and Toyotas are about as boring and as ugly as you can get in my book....heck even Subaru look better.

If I were the poster I would look at either a Jetta, GTI, Passat or spend more and go Audi...leave the Hondas and Toyotas for the ricers and the boring people.

Hmm.. If Hondas and Toyotas are ugly and suck, then what is good looking and doesen't suck?

 

[Alternex]

Originally posted by: optoman

Originally posted by: Scootin159

Originally posted by: optoman
They are uber expensive to fix

That's kinda weird to hear considering all the parts on mine that are from the VW parts bin are like 1/4th the price if I go to the VW dealer (or any other VW supplier).

Wait till you have electrical problems and the stupid parts are $300-400 a pop. Thank god the beetle is still under warranty. The dealer has replaced over $3000 in parts alone. Even if you take a quarter thats around $750 plus labor. VW service is awefull and if you do get one, don't go to the dealer.

Also, make sure that the defective parts that haven't been replaced can be replaced later if you buy the car.

Hey optoman,
I remember your "VW almost killed my wife" thread a while back. Unfortunately my wife still has her heart set on getting a beetle so we'll probably get a new beetle convertible w/ the 150hp engine (when they come out later). We'll lease it so the warrantee should cover most of the term.

Oh, if you lease, does the warantee stay the same as if you bought the car instead?

 

[bozack]

Originally posted by: EliHmm.. If Hondas and Toyotas are ugly and suck, then what is good looking and doesen't suck?

Well Eli, personally i am a fan of Audi, BMW, MB, heck even Lincoln, Caddilac, Ford, Chevy and Dodge make better looking cars than the Camry, Civic, and/or Accord....if I were going to go with a Jap car it would either be an Infinity, Subaru, or a low end Acura as they all have a little more style IMHO than the ugly civic, accord and especially the Toyota solara or whatever that pos is called.

Simply my opinion though.

 

[vi edit]

At this point, the only VW I'd feel comfortable purchasing would be a Passat. Outside of the current coilpack issues, the Passat has done quite well on reliabilty reviews. Much better than the other cars in their lineup.

My Passat has been very problem free in the 55k miles of it's existance thus far.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: bozack

Originally posted by: EliHmm.. If Hondas and Toyotas are ugly and suck, then what is good looking and doesen't suck?

Well Eli, personally i am a fan of Audi, BMW, MB, heck even Lincoln, Caddilac, Ford, Chevy and Dodge make better looking cars than the Camry, Civic, and/or Accord....if I were going to go with a Jap car it would either be an Infinity, Subaru, or a low end Acura as they all have a little more style IMHO than the ugly civic, accord and especially the Toyota solara or whatever that pos is called.

Simply my opinion though.

They aren't ugly.. they're functional!

I agree that there are cars with more class, but saying they suck is going a little far. Reliability is the biggest criteria for my "suckage meter", and Honda and Toyota excel there.