Looks cute. Goes fast. When it goes.

Pretty much everything

I got my Beetle used because I always wanted one. Yea, I'm not very smart. The head gasket went in under 6 months. The day I picked it up the passenger side auto window went out. Have to get the part from VW dealer. Pricey. My headlight went out. That alone is $400+. For a light. The brakes wear out almost as soon as I replace them & there's always some wonderful engine light on at any given time. Can't wait to get this money pit paid off. Car is pure evil. I wish I had read these reviews before I made this huge mistake.

Vary reliable solid car, low maintainence costs

too many blind spots, small boot and parts are expensive

I have driven the car for 10 years now and just hope I can buy another one as reliable

Easy to park, fun to drive

Everything about this car is a nightmare! It is cheaply made, not reliable, and very expensive when something tears up (which is often!)

I bought the car brand new and the very same day I bought it the CEL came on. The dealership told me that it meant the gas cap wasn't on tight and that it meant nothing. Well needless to say the nothing ended up being the MAF sensor ($350). What I've replaced in 5 years time included: MAF Sensor, ABS, leaky brake line, Brake sensor, window motors, temperature sensor, gas cap release, and on and on. The headlights go out every couple of months, paint on the outside and trim is peeling, lots of interior parts have broken, the airbag light stays on, dash stopped illuminating. The real kicker is that my transmission is very jerky and doesn't transission well every now and then. I was told I would need a new transmission for $6,000 and that may not even fix it! That is more that the car is worth!! I know that at least 40 other new beetles have had problems with the transmission and have filed a complaint. SAVE YOUR MONEY and buy something else!

looks adorable, good fuel consumption, very easy and fun to drive, good visibility (i do think so despite all the other reviews that state otherwise), lots of room in front, catches the eye in traffic for its looks, perfect for women

not quite enough space in the back, especially for tall people

I bought this car about 5 months ago from a family friend and I never had a problem with it. I do admit parts here (I live in Romania and the dealership is Porsche) are quite expensive (a thief broke the small window and it cost more than 500$ to replace it) but except for this incident I didn?t have to replace a thing and neither the guy who had it before. It is lemon-yellow with a blue interior, it looks great, it is the kind of car you see first in a parking lot, very easy and fun to drive. I used to drive my father's old car and it was a nightmare, and when I got this car I got in Paradise. I never had problems with the trunk, I think the visibility is excellent, mirrors are big, it drives excellent outside the city too. There is a slight problem with the space so, if you do need space, simply do not buy this car! Personally, it never occured so far to need more space that it offers. After all, I did know from the very begining the trunk was small and I could only carry other 3 people. The only problem I experience is the fact that the music system does no longer work in the back, but then again, this is how I bought it. Another thing I noticed by reading other reviews is that people generally had problems with newer models and the convertibles. So... just buy a slightly older one! My car is just great. I wouldn't change it for anything.

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1987 250D Mercedes

-Quick power with the turbo
-Smooth ride
-Fairly good gas milege
-Roomy for the size
-5 speed MT is responsive and easy to shift, has a tight pattern
-All the options of the Sport Edition are remarkable,although I'm wondering why they put a cassett player in it? Are cassetts still being made?

-Day running lights work when they want to
-Don't dare make the gas cap mistake and "click" it too much or not enough, causing the Check Engine Light to come on
-Hard to start after refueling
-Have to press the trunk button twice to open the trunk

The wife really wanted a "New Beetle" after we owned 2 olds bugs(70 & 71). We found a Black 1.8T Sport 5speed with tan leather in very good condition. She bought it...so this is her baby, I occasionally drive it. I've gone to several websites now to see if people are having similar problems with theirs...YUP! After having owned it now for 2 weeks we are already taking it to have it worked on. It has 85k miles. It came with a really good warranty, which I have a strong feeling we are going to be falling back on it a lot.
Our family of 4 loves to take it on road trips, open the sunroof, and enjoy the smooth ride. It is definitely an eye catching car and quite often we find ourselves being challenged by(what appear to be high school kids)cars at stoplights. I take off at a snails pace in any incident of that manner. We really needed something that got better gas mileage than the tank we drove everyday! Have you ever opened a new box of crayons and smelled them(having a 5 yr old and a 3 yr old,I've smelled plenty!)? Its a weird smell, and that is the smell of the inside of this BUG! Maybe they planned that...makes a person feel like a kid inside it.
Anyway its a nice little car and fun to drive. Almost as much fun as the '71 we had, but this one has A/C! Hehehehe

umm hello! It gets amazing gas mileage and it now costs me with gas at $1.90 only $27 to fill it when almost on empty. With our economy every little bit helps.

I love the sound system and the available iPod jack. The sunroof is amazing. The heated seats have been a life-saver! To wash this car by hand, with waxing, it seriously takes me only 15-20 minutes.

If you are going on a road trip with more than two to three individuals who are heavy packers you are going to have some space issues.

It seems to be a common issue that there is a malfunction with the trunk. Sometimes you have to push the button twice, but to me in the grand scheme of things, I consider that relatively minor.

If driving with multiple individuals you really have to be considerate of your tall passengers. It's best to have them in the passenger seat because there isn't much leg room to be had if they are demoted to the back.

If you need to have a car seat for younger children there isn't a middle seat belt. Therefore, there is not an overall safe option for buckling in your children.

I have absolutely love my beetle(s)! For the record I have had two. My first beetle was my first car, and it was a 1998 with over 120,000 miles. To be honest I never had a major problem with it. The biggest thing that had to be fixed was just replacing fuses which can be bought for $3.00 at wal-mart for a multipack. For a high school student, now a college student, this car has been amazing when considering gas mileage/gas. I loaded packed my friends in my car when we would go out because it was so cheap to fill it again when gas was over $4. I sold my first VW, I owned it for four years, only because someone offered a great deal to purchase it. I would have had no problem keeping it through my college career. When I had limitless possibilities for a new car I really couldn't think of a better car for a girl my age on a poor college kid's income. I had to have another beetle. I have yet to experience any issues with my newer VW beetle.

From a single, childless, college student this car is optimal for me, therefore, I can only rave about this product.

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VW Beetle--year- 1998

Great in winter, very safe

way too many problems...see above

I love my bug, it was my first car, but it has been absolutely terrible in so many ways. I have had nothing but problems with the engine, electrical, air bags, transmission, the dealerships...you name it, I have had problems. I got the car brand new, and less than a month later, had to have it towed because it leaked all the oil all over my garage. I had to make at least 6 trips to the nearest dealership about an hour from home to get the air bags fixed...the seat kept cutting the wire, but they couldn't figure that out even though i pointed it out to them evey time. Then, just before my warranty was up, my passenger door handle stopped working. At first you had to pull it 2 or 3 times to get it to open from the outside, and the dealership told me it was a safety feature!! Eventually, it just stopped working and could only be opened from inside the car. It also took several trips for this to get fixed, but what really upset me was that they kept saying that it just needed to be lubed, but then as soon as my warranty was up, they decided the door latch needed to be replaced. Thankfully a few calls to Volkswagen took care of that bill. Let's see, there was also the ignition control switch that was replaced twice, then there was the electrical in my dash that had to get fixed, and the day i picked it up, the electrical in the driver's side door was messed up. The dealership refused to fix it and said it was not their problem and it would be about another $400 to fix it...forget it, I've spent enough already. So now my interior lights don't come on when you open the door and it relocks by itself(not cool, learned that the hard way!!). As others have mentioned, I too have had problems with the trunk, it doesn't close. It just bounces back up when I try to shut it. Within the past year, I started having problems with my transmission. I have an automatic and it does not seem to want to shift properly. It shakes while driving through the city, and takes forever to get going on the highway. I used to get awesome gas mileage, but not any more...was about 30 MPG, now about 20 MPG. They told me this was impossible and my car would not be running if this had happened. Well obviously my car is running, pretty crappy, but still running, and they can't find anything wrong with it. My car has not been all bad, just very frustrating most of the time. I love how much room I have, and that it is great in the winter. I will say as far as safety, it is amazing. I was rear-ended on the highway and there was very little damage to my car. I was able to drive it to the dealership where they replaced the rear bumper. I was quite impressed.

cute,

trunk release must press the button twice to open

Cute car, runs great
bought with 37111 miles
it was taken care of an very clean..

good gas mileage 35hwy,great with gas prices at 4.20
will update when I have had it for a while

Cute car, has enough space in the front.

Electrical! My car has been in the shop at least 15 times, car wouldn't start, couldn't get it out of park, headlights out, airbags replaced? ( never been in a fender bender and I had to get the replaced because the sensor went off). Every part I think has been replaced.

The new beetle is a cute car but don't buy the older one's. They are nothing but trouble! I bought my new ( which was stupid) and I've had tons of electrical problems. I would be ashamed if I was VW.

Engine is quick to respond and breaks are sturdy. I love the sunroof, sounds system, iPod jack, and overall design. While the trunk is small, I am able to fit much more than I thought. Overall, I love the look, drive and safety.

The trunk release button has acted up and I have to press the button twice. The dealer will adjust free of charge.

I absolutely love my new beetle! It's Gecko Green with tan leather! Previously I had a 1999 Toyota Corolla. Extremely reliable but, the beetle is so fun to drive and I feel extremely safe. The doors are heavy and the long dash makes you feel very safe. I love the pep and Sport mode (which I call Super Beetle mode). I've taken this car on two road trips: Las Vegas and LA and was very happy with the engine performance and comfortability. I highly recommend the beetle!

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1999 Toyota Corolla
1956 Beetle (Baby Blue)