Volkswagen Beetle "Old New shape" - Used Beetle's

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Wed 28 Oct 2015 13:10
Volkswagen Beetle "Old New shape" - Used Beetle's - sdousley

Hi

I'm looking to get a Beetle for the other half, and wanted to ask some people's opinions on what to look for.

The car will mostly be used for hte 6 mile commute to work each day, with occasional weekend use that will be a little further. So annual mileage will be minimal.

What sort of things would people look for in a used beetle? Would you be put off by cars with over 100K miles already on the clock? Would you avoid diesel, or does the diesel/petrol argument not matter that much?

Out budget is around the 2.5K mark, and for this value, we're seeing cars ranging from 35-140K miles, which is quite a broad range for 12-14 year old cars.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 28 Oct 2015 13:32
Volkswagen Beetle "Old New shape" - Used Beetle's - RobJP

Some bad news :

The beetle was, basically, a re-bodied 'trendy' golf. So for your £2.5k, you're buying £1000 worth of car, and £1500 worth of 'image' and 'hipness'.

The good news is that that generation of Golf was pretty easy to work on, and parts are plentiful. In addition, the diesel-engined versions don't have DPFs.

However, the diesel versions will have dual-mass-flywheel clutches, which are expensive to replace (quite a bit of work and the parts aren't that cheap).

They will all have the TEVES ABS unit, which can be expensive to fix or replace.

Basically, when you test one, make sure everything works. On switching on the ignition, ALL the warning lights come on, and they ALL go off again (favourite trick of people with a faulty ABS unit is to disconnect the light). When driving, make sure the clutch bite is clean and true, and the car drives and brakes in a straight line.

You can check all past MOTs now, including failures and reasons for failing, at mot-history.net/

Lastly, don't get attached to a car. You might be driving a fair way to look at it, the seller might be (claiming to) be holding on to it for you to see it, etc. Forget that lot. It's right, or you walk away.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 28 Oct 2015 19:37
Volkswagen Beetle "Old New shape" - Used Beetle's - DavidGlos
We ran a 2001 2.0 petrol Beetle for 11 years and 120,000 miles. Glad of the warranty initially, but fortunately very reliable once the warranty expired.

Had a thirst for both engine oil and petrol. Very low geared, so 5th usable around town, but not a comfortable motorway cruiser.

I never really warmed to it, but SWMBO was sorry to see it go. To be fair, it served us well for many years and aside from being thirsty, it was cheap to run.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 28 Oct 2015 20:00
Volkswagen Beetle "Old New shape" - Used Beetle's - Galaxy

There's only really one real Beetle and that's the one that's got an air-cooled engine!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Our honest used car pricing is a little bit different to all the others. You can get to our values through make or model - you don’t have to follow a prescribed route. Plus, it’s live, which means we can react to changes in the market quicker than any printed price guide.

Honest Used Car Prices

From which small car to buy at which price point to the best UK-built cars, our Top 10s have the lot. Click now for your shortlist.

Unsure of what to buy? Our Top 10s are here to help you....