2008 Volkswagen New Beetle

Fun but Faulty

By EAS10 (FL) on Sunday, May 19, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 117,000

Pros: "Fun to Drive"

Cons: "Unsafe, Cosmetic Flaws"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 1

"This was my first car in high school, and my parents have major buyers remorse! I am now a junior in college and it is falling to pieces. Going to college in Florida, this car is so much fun and I almost always have the top down. That being said, I don't think it is worth all the cosmetic trouble that the car has put me through. -The air vents "spit" foam out at me -The leather side panels all fell off -The door handles keep breaking off the door. (I have had to epoxy them many times) -The paint is peeling off -The lining of the roof keeps falling into the already small line of vision out the back window. On top of all these fixes, VW's are really expensive to have serviced/cosmetic work done to them. The battery has to be removed to replace the driver side headlight. That is frustrating because I know how change any other car's lights, but not my own. I have to take it to a car shop for silly repairs like that. Like all bugs, the engine in really packed in there! So if you're looking for a car that you can tinker with on your own, I would look at other options! One time I was driving and my breaks failed. Apparently a casing around one of the break tubes burst. When it arrived in the shop, the mechanic told me he had never seen this happen to another car before. I do not feel safe in my car at all. Driving on the highway can get a bit scary. If any kind of car hit me, chances are I would get hurt. It makes me nervous to drive anyone else in my car. I do love the manual transmission I have and love the fun factor. I love getting a tan while driving and seeing kids play "punch buggie" when I zoom by. With that in mind, of you're interested in this as a first car for your teenage daughter, I would say try a different direction. I know that my parents regret putting me in this vehicle!"

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2000 Beetle

By chris (OR) on Saturday, May 18, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 162,000

Pros: "small, fast, cute"

Cons: "costly repairs, no trunk space, rides low so grind"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 3

"Fun to drive! Decent gas mileage; not great! But when it comes time for repairs break out your wallet! Just had new motor mounts and tranny mount to the sum of a grand. Just had a new clutch this week, put in, for $980. Any little thing that goes wrong is super costly to fix due to German engineering and genuine German parts. Even an oil change is $40 and up as it requires special oil so do not plan on being able to get the $19.99 jiffy special!Super cute and easy to drive, though but other than for vanity reasons I wouldn't recommend buying one due tot he costs. I bought this one a yr ago from a dealership and have put in over $4000 just to keep her running!"

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Fun Little Car

By J.J. (CA) on Tuesday, May 14, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 122,209

Pros: "Peppy Base Engine, Fun to Drive"

Cons: "Sketchy Automatic Transmissions"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 9

"I've owned my 2001 new beetle for about three months. Its a great little car. Its really fun to drive and gets decent gas mileage. Though not a sports car, steering is responsive and precise. I especially love the long list of standard features. Performance is surprisely well even with the base 2.0 liter engine. It rarely feels underpowered. I recommend buying a stick though as the automatic transmission on these cars has a lot of problems. Beware of VW's 01M 4 Speed Automatic Transmission and 09G 6 Speed Tiptronic Automatic Transmission! On 1998-2005 models, the 01M valve body can self destruct which is a cost of $900-$1500 to replace. In rare cases, the 01M can totally fail needing a whole new transmission or rebuild which is a cost of $5000-$8000. On 2005-2010 models, the 09G usually self destructs at 70,000-110,000 miles which needs a whole new transmission or rebuild with a cost of $5000-$8000. If you don't like driving stick and you really want an automatic transmission be sure to look for problems in upshifting and downshifting especially 3rd gear into 4th gear. Pay attention to way the transmission behaves. The only thing to ignore is a slight delay in the transmission engaging when shifting into drive. This is a normal feature of the transmission and is there to warm up the automatic transmission fluid faster. Explained to me by a VW Master Technician. You could play it safer by buying a model with the 01M transmission. However, I strongly recommend just playing it the safest and buying a stick."

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Cute Orange Lemon! BUYER BEWARE! DO NOT BUY! BAD!

By Sucker (FL) on Sunday, May 12, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 90,000

Pros: "Cute Girly car"

Cons: "TOO MANY TO LIST! SAVE YOUR CASH BUY ANYTHING ELSE"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 1

Over 14 thousand dollars and looked good on my wife! Now, I can't get 2000 for it! I HATE VW!

"Plastic Oil Dipstick crumbled into the block the first week I had it. The following week, the drivers side window power motor burned out! The next month there was a bad battery caused by a short in the fuse box. The next week, the passenger side rear window motor burned out and then the convertible top motor burned up! Now, it turns out that the "Impeller" Propeller on the water pump is also plastic and it broke off in the cooling system, clogged the thermostat and the engine overheated very quickly and blew the engine! DO NOT BUY THIS PIECE OF POOR GERMAN ENGINEERING!"

3 people out of 3 found this review helpful

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Love it

By .. (IA) on Wednesday, May 08, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 160,000

Pros: "fun to drive"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 9

"Nice car, cute and comfortable"

2 people out of 3 found this review helpful

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