Starts every time, handles good, brakes ok, decent gas mileage(350 mi per tank)city

See Above

I was so excited to hear that VW would be coming out with a new Beetle. I bought the car used with 30K miles. Soon after, the power assist for the rack and pinion failed/broke, VW paid for half of the repairs, the window switches came off, the car would not shift from park, we replaced the brake switch for that and have had no problem for a year, until yesterday. My window mechanism broke, which was covered under warrenty. During the process to fix that, the mechanic didn't connect the cable to my gas door switch, so when I was on empty, I had to pry my door open. Needless to say, it took three trips to the VW dealer and in the end they said my cable was bad that connects from the switch to the door. Funny, I never had a problem for three years opening my gas door, until they fixed my window. My engine lights have been on, possible oxygen sensor. The car is low enough that it got caught on the rail that pulls you thru a car wash, pulling the engine cover off. When you need to fold the back seat down, you have to put your seats all the way forward just so it goes all the way down in back, very uncomfortable for a 5'9 driver and 6'4 passenger. Always (try not to) rubbing your shoes on door panels when getting out, the sunvisors are to short to block and sun.And there is a moldy smell coming from the AC

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I will try a Honda or Toyota for my next car

its in good condition

Fun to drive, looks nice.

POOR QUALITY construction! My New Beetle has been in the shop 7 times since I bought it a year ago. Numerous problems from taillight being out, faulty exhaust, burning oil, to gas lid not closing and plastic underbody panel falling off.

Nice car for single or married people with no children- no room in the backseat. Fun, smooth, enjoyable ride. Solid feeling, decent safety record. I have NOT been satisfied with construction quality- MANY trips to the shop for mostly cosmetic items- a couple engine/electrical items.

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Toyota Camry, Mitsubishi Mirage- both purchased new- ZERO problems with these two cars- MANY problems with the New Beetle.

Peppy little engine, haven't decided about the gas yet. It seem to use more than my V6 magnum engine did, maybe it floats.

none at the moment,, That could change though

I'm actually kind of scared now. I just bought my beetle today, and I found this site. I know that you can have problems with any vehicle, but I'm starting to get a little nervous. I drove it home about 40 miles from where I bought it and it was a dream. One button has fallen off of the driver side door but I put it back on and it works fine. Someone email me and let me know of good stories as well a bad ones.

Good looking sporty car, fast, great turning radius.

Problems so far, window mechanism broke three times - finally VW resolved problem. Airbag and check engine light came on - VW fixed. So far all under warranty. But now the car is not under warranty the trunk light keeps flashing on intermittantly whilst driving (although trunk is shut) and then the car alarm goes off for no apparent reason. recently teh air conditioner failed but restarted after I shut the car down and restarted. The car interior door handle is peeling, the arm rest latch has broken. All this for a car less than 3 years old with 25,000 miles! Car sits low on the ground!

I love the turbo, keeps me abreast of those car racers. However, minor problems which mount up to major problems makes this car a hazard! Electrical problems is the major issue and should be resolved since accidents could occur if owners leave these problems unfixed. VW should own up and make a major effort to help those who have bought VW beetle prior to 2002. I am certainly looking into trading the car in as soon as I can for a more reliable one. nothing worse than driving in something whcih you know could break down for no reason!

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Mini - however car too small

Diesel gets incredible gas mileage. Small car has an amazing interior space - I can get two adults and two bikes inside comfortably. Great acceleration, quite ride. Comfortable driver seat. Very cool instrument panel. Easy radio controls. It's fun to see kids punch each other when I drive by.

You can't open the sun roof with both windows up. If you try, the pressure might pop your eardrums! And when you have it open with the windows cracked, it's very noisy! Lots of little problems - my factory CD changer was replaced under warantee - my driver side window mechanism broke and was replaced under recall (after class-action lawsuit). Now, at 44,000 miles, my instrument panel needs to be replaced. I'm still driving on the original wipers, brakes, clutch, and tires, but my instrument panel needs replacing? Getting service from the dealer is always frustrating - I had to throw a fit in front of other customers in order to get the new CD player. I had two indicator lights come on - "check engine" and the "airbag" light, and the dealer wanted to charge me $90 per light just to investigate.

What could be a wonderful car is ruined by lots of faults with little support from VW. Great curb appeal. Great gas mileage. Great use of space. Incredible headroom and front leg room. Yes, the back seat area is small but if you need lots of back seat space you shouldn't buy this car. Unfortunately, the car is full of flaws. Every VW owner I meet asks "have you had any problems with yours?". Not a good sign. I work with two other owners of NewBeetles. One had a certifiable lemon and had her entire car replaced by VW. The other is ready to trade his in because of all the repairs. Repairs are expensive, and it feels like I'm getting robbed every time I bring it in. Very bad warantee - mine was only 2 yrs/24,000 miles. Co-worker bought extended warantee, but it doesn't cover any of the actual problems he has had. For the first two years I owned this car, I recommended it to everybody. Now I won't recommend it to anyone! I will not be buying another VW, and I am not alone.

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Mini Cooper S (what an amazing car!) Toyota Tercel

Roomy interior, and quiet ride. Solid car and consistent performer. Turbo engine really has proven to be a lot of fun. Fun and very comfortable car. Performance springs made ride a little stiffer, but it handles great in and out of the corners. No leaks or annoying interior sounds.Â

I have had a problem with the turbo spoiler on occasion not coming up when I reach the speed that is supposed to activate it, and sometimes not going back down. The electric windows came off track last weekend 8/10/03, but were fixed in a day as part of a warrenty/recall issue. Back seats lack on passenger headroom.B

I have owned my bug since Nov 99, and have had very few if any problem's with it. I am very rough on cars and this one has been put through a lot, and it has been very reliable. I have already put over 60,000 miles on it driving to North Carolina and back, and all over Missouri and it has been very dependable. I was in an accident 3 years ago with the car, and clipped a pole and other various objects, and this car came out still running great and is as solid as the day I drove it off the lot. I have had mine lowered and put 17" rims and additional performance upgrades (exhaust, air intake, chip, etc). Luv it!!!

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I had a 73 VW Beetle back in 1979-81. Whay a difference. I loved that car too, and I had good luck with it until I ran into the back of someone-front end looked like a camera bellows extension©

Cute and when everything is tuned perfectly it is a lot of fun to drive.

Things break easily. Indicator lights come on frequently. Torque is unreliable and the trunk release still doesn't work properly.

After driving a very reliable, but unexciting van for years, it was time for me to return to a fun vehicle so I was thrilled when the new Beetle came out, especially the turbo version. I drove it and fell in love. Unfortunately, owning it has not been nearly so much fun. At first, I had small and annoying problems like indicator lights and trunk latches. For the first three years of about 10,000 miles each, the annoyances were numerous, but the car remained generally reliable, though sometimes substantially unresponsive. Then, about 6 months ago I began to hear funny engine noises that turned out to be a throw out bearing in the transmission that was covered by the extended warranty I invested in.During this repair at 35,000 miles the clutch was examined and I was advised that it looked OK. The car now has 41,000 miles on it and the clutch has gone--without warning or previous predictability and it is not covered under the warranty. Sunnyvale VW is quoting close to $2,000 to repair it.

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BMW 300 series Toyota Camry Mazda Pickup

Cute car.

In the shop more than you're driving it.

Piece of junk. Never ever, ever buy one. I've had this car for a year and it's been in the shop at least a dozen times. A/C went out twice in two months (for different reasons), check engine light has come on four times, left me stranded twice because it wouldn't start, rear defroster stopped working, button to open the gas tank broke (of course I didn't discover this until I was almost out of gas). I've heard a lot of others complain of the same types of things. Don't buy one!!!

Good fuel mileage with diesel, but can't reach fuel filter to drain water. Per dealer if you do, filter valve breaks. Fuel savings in no way makes up for costly service.

Electrical, plastics, lights, brakes, cost of parts (useless plastic cover under engine is $300). Owner's manual covers everything about radio, but nothing on how to maintain car...absolutely useless. Good indication that they expected owner to dispose of it after 1-2 years.

Absolute crap. Car is totally unserviceable. Constant electrical failures, light bulbs constantly fail. Impossible to replace. Impossible to repair rear brakes. Cheap plastic used throughout. Constant electrical problems. Term "engineered" should not be allowed to describe car. Basically is an expensive disposable car. Buy a Honda or Toyota. Drive 200,000 miles and do nothing but change oil.

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Any Japanese car will outlast it 10 to 1