My gf is looking to trade up from her Clio and she says she wants a new model Beetle, Does anyone have any experience of these cars? Are they reliable? I have done some research and I'd be looking for an early 99/00 one with a budget of around £5k.
I have read that there are problems with Oil Consumption on these engines? I was thinking of the 1.6L as it seems to be highly recom. for MPG. Is there any reason other than performance to choose a 2.0L? I gather that these engines are CamBelt driven, can anyone let me know what the change interval is please? Plastic tensioners breaking-Can these be changed independantly of the cambelt?
Also I've learned that when the Beetle first came on the market it was in the LHD model but I want to avoid this however I have read a few sites that say to check the VIN to see if the car is an original RHD???? What does that mean? Have they converted from LHD to RHD? Would that affect the resale value/Insurance/servicing of the car? Is there a particular code to look for in the VIN? Should I only accept Original UK cars? I presume it would say on the V5 if it is an import/registered as new in the UK after import within 6 months of Manu?
I also read in the cbc that a load of Beetles were dumped in the UK market without A/C, is it good to avoid cars without A/C?
And finally can I please ask if there are any other common faults that I should check for ?
All comments are much appreciated!
Clouddz
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see if you can find any beetle/vw forums.
people usually use any car makers forums for a good moan(including me)about faults and so on never for praise!!
dont let forums put you off whichever car you want because their full of negative as well as helpfull comments?
and the best line,you dont wanna buy wanna them ,you want wanna these!!!!
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Thank you, wantone.
I took your advice for my own car, a Toyota Estima Enima import.
I simply did a Google on the full name and, Hay Presto, there it was: the Toyota Enima owners club / website.
There was in deed an active discussion forum on all aspects of ownership of this car. I have been very pleased with my car but there have been a couple of niggling points that I have not been able to resolve in the 3 years I have owned the car. Within 10 minutes I had read some credible answers to my concerns.
I don't want to invade a Beetle thread; but, if anyone is interested, one point was "Why does the orange turbo failure light come on?", the second point was "Why did my local (Warrington) Toyota main dealer say they might want nearly £300 (sic) for a new battery?"
I live & learn.
Final comment: the Google search on 'Toyota Estima Enima' also produced some anal herbal suggestions for poor spellers.
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I donn't know about these cars technically,but there is a vase so you can have a flower on the dash.What more do you need?;)
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Its a Golf Mk4 in different clothing - so same things to look for on the mechanical side. It was the car the 'trendy young things' went for before the new Mini was launched.
You *can* replace the plastic tensioner seperate from the belt if you want, but given the work involved you might as well pay a few quid extra and have a new belt too!
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Bought wifey a 1.6 4 years ago - peerlessly reliable (unlike my Corolla); handles better than the Golf or Bora, so great unless you want lots of rear room - but then I don't think the Golf has loads either - more practical than you think - the boot is quite a good size.
Not sure £5k will be enough, though - perhaps an early imported left-drive model with the 2-Litre engine. The 1.6 & 2.0 RHD ones all around £7k+ I've seen ....
The performance of the 1.6 is similar to the 2.0, but uses less petrol, hence s/h 2.0's the same price as the 1.6, oddly, although not many 1.6's with air-con (an extra).
The 1.8T is the nicest, since the Beetle is one damn heavy car for its size, this engine actually uses less petrol thean either if the other two !
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I drove about 20k miles in a 1.6 from 2000. It was OK, pretty reliable but not terribly economical, especially on m/ways as it is very low geared. Ours was let down badly by detailing, breaking switches, radio going out to lunch, rattling trim, mirrors not operating, etc., plus the supplying dealer was hopeless and really didn't care once the car had been sold.
Small boot was a real nuisance, especially where there is a CD fitted as this clutters things up a lot. This was corrected later on by fitting the CD changer in the armrest.
Lack of AC was a real issue and I would not entertain one without. Also, I found the distortion through the rear window very disconcerting.
If she wants one then why not? They are pretty inoffensive things really and if you go into it with your eyes open then there is no problem.
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In exactly 20 months time, when SWMBO has graduated from nursing college, I will be in the same boat as you.
She wants a Beetle, has always wanted a Beetle, and has promised herself one as a reward for graduating.
I like you, know that I will be getting a Beetle, it just depends on which model. Incidentally, last year I got a Beetle brochure as I reckon it will be roughly a 3 year old Beetle she will be buying so the brochure should be accurate for the cars she will be looking at. If that makes sense?
Please keep us updated with what you decide.
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My thread never got far, hope I don't have the same affect on yours!
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=20035&...e
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As the "New Beetle" was a fashion statement a few people couldn't wait and had an import. VW started to import LHD drive cars in 99 to stop this trade and so you could end up with both official and grey import LHD cars. After the initial fuss calmed down the value of these LHD models fell like stones, I could see why many would have been converted.
VIN numbers are broken into sections indicating make, year, model, and other info such as check digits, but you are best off talking to one of the VW groups to find out what each group means.
There are far too many silly faults with the design. On the first models even the door mirrors interfered with forward vision. This was changed on later cars.
I'm pretty sure the 1.6 was introduced a lot later than the 2L so I doubt that any of these needing coverting.
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Sorry meant "need converting!"
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Until 6 mths ago, I had a Skoda Octavia, with the 2.0 petrol engine. I think the 2.0 engine in the Beetle would be similar. The Skoda's engine is certainly the same one as used in the Golf.
My car got through oil at the rate of 1 litre per 2,200 miles. When I complained about this fault to the dealer, they said it wasn't a fault, just a characteristic. They also said I was lucky, and that most 2.0 petrol engines get through 1 litre per 1,000 miles!
There are loads of websites with complaints about petrol consumption on the 2.0 Golf.
While I accept this is a minor problem, I wasn't happy with this situation. As I said to the dealer, I don't personally expect to have to fill up oil in a modern engine. The only other car where I needed to do this was a Morris Marina 20 years ago!
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to have to fill up with oil so often makes you wander if you need oil changes in a service!!!!!
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Thanks for the replies everyone!
Aprila I dont know if you can confirm wether the older 2.0L VAG engines have metal Cambelt tensioners as the CBC says the broken Plastic tensioners mainly afflict the 1.6L?? and the Golf IV say the 1.4/1.6L engine suffer from this too. Have you heard of the Plastic Water pump impeller disintegrating on the 2.0L engine? I have heard of this prob, but it sounds terminal? Is the only way of avoiding this by regular renewal? I wonder if the 1.6L engine has a plastic impeller too? Also mayo under the Oil cap seems to be "normal" on this engine? what on earth causes this without the HG going?
Arnold2 can I ask if you have the same Oil consumption problem that the 2.0L suffers from? Also do you know when the Cambelt interval is on this engine? 40K?50K?
Alright BobbyG! I know what you mean mate,I dare not risk her wrath so if she wants a Beetle she can have it! You should be OK thou as in 20 months time a 3 yr old will be mid run of this Beetle model so it should have most niggles sorted already. But some other faults I've found are rust in roof racks mainly in the early models due to poor galvan.,faulty Elec heated mirrors-expensive to replace,Mayo on the cap seems to be a common *characteristic* of the engine thou!,Oil consumption, Plastic Tensioner/water pump impellor failing,Lamdba sensor/prob failing.
BartyCrouch I have now looked but cant seem to find a VIN checker to tell wether its a RHD or not? Although there are loads for the Older Beetle!
website.lineone.net/~dr.dub/vininfo.htm
www.autoinsurancetips.com/volkswagen_vin.htm
Thanks
Clouddz
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Mayo under the cap- too many short journeys where the engine hasn't reached normal operating temperature. The 'mayo' is emulsified oil, where it has mixed with condensation etc!
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The 2.0 engine is a different design and IIRC the tensioners are proper ones (i.e. steel!!).
Plastic water pump impellers crop up on various German cars, inc. VW's. What on Earth they are thinking of, I don't know. Crazy idea. The plastic goes brittle and the impeller shears off at the root. I fixed a nice BMW Diesel that had boiled on the motorway thanks to this - fortunately the HG had not gone.
If the impeller fails then the engine will overheat, so you need to stop the engine and get a tow to a garage and a new waterpump fitted. The best course of action with these engines is to consider the WP a consumable and change it out along with the timing belt & tensioner, about every 50-60k miles.
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The 2.0 engine is a different design and IIRC the tensioners are proper ones (i.e. steel!!).
Is it possible to get metal ones for the 1.6 VAG engines? (The next car I get whether Seat, VW or Skoda will be a 1.6)
Plastic water pump impellers crop up on various German cars, inc. VW's. What on Earth they are thinking of, I don't know. Crazy idea. The plastic goes brittle and the impeller shears off at the root.
Again, can you get decent metal pumps? I know that on the Mondeos it's possible to get an uprated water pump due to some sort of problem with the standard Mondeo ones (On the 2.0 I think)
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The 1.6 in the Beetle is the older 8v design, not the newer 16v one fitted to later Golf IV's which had a plastic water pump impeller - the one in the 1.6 Beetle is metal;
Cambelt change is at 60K - not expensive, even at my local VAG dealer.
The 1.6 was never available as L/H drive - only the 2.0, which was imported before the RHD models arrived.
In fact, VW actually ships the Beetle bodies for the 1.6 from the US without any engine, and fits the engine in Germany - I know, because when I ordered ours, which was had optional alloys and paint so wasn't a 'stock' car, it took ages to arrive...
Oil consumption on the 1.6 is fine.
Incidentally, there are THREE variations of the 1.8T engine - Throttle Cable from 1998-1999, Drive-By-Wire 2000, and Drive-By-Wire 2000 VVT late 2000.
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