Cockroach like Beetle?

Wife has a thing for Beetle convertibles. Not my cup O tea but what do I know. She puts on about 60 miles (mostly freeway) a day so they rack up fast. Thoughts on buying an early to mid 2000's Beetle with this kind of daily commute? I'm prepared for a certain amount of maintenance/repair costs with such a car. But if it's running "right" is there a reason this Gen Beetle can't rack upwards of 300,000 miles in its life? Or is money better spent on buying a newer one? Or if there is another somewhat fuel efficient 4 seater convert ($7k tops) that I could try to sway her to I'm all ears.

In reply to drainoil:

Oh god no... Just... No. These really are bad cars - worse than the typical MkIV Golf/Jetta even.

Does she like the smell of crayons?

I'm a 6'-3" 250 lb man and want a "New" Beetle but I won't because of the nightmare maintenance. From my research, it seems like it's the amount of maintenance and repair AND the difficulty of doing them.

This is the level of disassembly you have to do in order to replace the radiator.

How about a Toyota Solara? We've kept my wife's 2002 as a third vehicle and it's at 240,000 miles. It needs a new top and some weather stripping, but no major repairs yet, and I've seen reports of the Toyota v6's going for 300k. It's definitely a more grown up car than a beetle though.

Basically a convertible Camry, for better and worse.

My daughter has one. I would not buy another, and when she goes off to college next year it will be in something else because I don't trust it.

Jambo wrote: How about a Toyota Solara? We've kept my wife's 2002 as a third vehicle and it's at 240,000 miles. It needs a new top and some weather stripping, but no major repairs yet, and I've seen reports of the Toyota v6's going for 300k. It's definitely a more grown up car than a beetle though. Basically a convertible Camry, for better and worse.

Yes I think I could sway her on the Solara. With the durability factor quite a bit higher than a Beetle, they will be in contention.

I will be showing her this thread so keep the info/advice coming.

Read the title and came in to recommend a Karmann Ghia.

G_Body_Man wrote: This is the level of disassembly you have to do in order to replace the radiator.

My buddy's old B5 Pisspot, er Passat I mean, required a similar level of disassembly to do just about anything. "Put the car in the 'service position'" is pretty much step 1 in any DIY how to and is basically shorthand for "take the whole berkeleying front end apart."

Veedubs of this era are generally loathesome POSs.

One wants to think this level of disassembly requires little effort?

A 4 cyl Camry or Solara that has had regular oil changes is pretty cockroachy.

In reply to NOHOME:

Undertray, bumper, headlights, fenders, bumper beam, wheel well liners, corner lenses, and shroud (car in pic isn't fully apart). Lots of bolts to snap and clips to break, a surprising amount of hard to access hardware, and the panel alignment will never be the same again.

My dad owned one, it was a terrible car for a bunch of little crappy things. Secondary Air pump system leaks, eating an 02 sensor everytime it sprung a new leak in that system. Oil consumption like crazy. I was happy when he traded it in for a kia.

Are early 2000 Golf based Cabrios more reliable? I would think they would easier to work on and interchange parts with a few billion vw's.

ebonyandivory wrote: I'm a 6'-3" 250 lb man and want a "New" Beetle but I won't because of the nightmare maintenance. From my research, it seems like it's the amount of maintenance and repair AND the difficulty of doing them.

I'm about the same size. We were thinking about getting an RV, and had interest in one for flat towing. I couldn't get my knees out of the dashboard, and felt like I was tiptoeing the pedals. I found it to be uncomfortably snug.

My only experience with them was a 1.8t with a manual. Ridiculously floppy suspension compared to what I was expecting, and all that space that it should have inside from the bubbly shape is pretty much consumed by the dash that is a half mile long.

drainoil wrote: But if it's running "right" is there a reason this Gen Beetle can't rack upwards of 300,000 miles in its life?

Yes...because VW

For that money (I know, I just shopped this exact market...though I compromised on the 4 seat requirement and went Miata), you could get:
Solara
Eclipse
Mustang V6
9-3
C70
G6

How about a VW Eos? They're convertible and seem to be fairly reliable. DrBoost rented one a while back and told me it was a hoot! I see them on ebay for under $7k. Here's an example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2009-Volkswagen-Eos-Komfort-/252782442478?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3adb01f7ee:g:-0cAAOSw-0xYaxTs&item=252782442478

How about a nice Volvo C70 Vert? Or a Saab? I see nice ones for sale quite frequently.

jr10cross wrote: How about a VW Eos? They're convertible and seem to be fairly reliable. DrBoost rented one a while back and told me it was a hoot! I see them on ebay for under $7k. Here's an example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2009-Volkswagen-Eos-Komfort-/252782442478?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3adb01f7ee:g:-0cAAOSw-0xYaxTs&item=252782442478

Because VW. That's probably how the roof is stuck...

jr10cross wrote: How about a VW Eos? They're convertible and seem to be fairly reliable. DrBoost rented one a while back and told me it was a hoot! I see them on ebay for under $7k. Here's an example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2009-Volkswagen-Eos-Komfort-/252782442478?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3adb01f7ee:g:-0cAAOSw-0xYaxTs&item=252782442478

Brother has one with 60k miles - burns a quart of oil between changes. VW says it's "Acceptable"

In reply to DaveEstey:

LOL roof is probably stuck there. Gotta be the crank vent tube that's broken. But yeah that is acceptable for VW and actually Audi. The RS7 drinks about a quart every 3k, Matt Farah talked about it.

In reply to jr10cross:

Nope, it's the rings. Crank vent tube has been replaced.

I suspected the answers given but wanted to see everyone's input so thank you! In an aside it makes me wonder with so many widespread problems for so many years how is VW still even in business?

After a few problematic Fords in our lives we likely will avoid anything blue oval. She likes the newer body Sebring 'verts which became the 200 but in good shape for some reason seem awfully high priced especially for being a Mopar product. I don't know much about Volvo or Saab 'verts in this realm which kinda makes me hesitant of them. Solara may be the focus for now. Although she found a very clean Del Sol (yes I know only a two seater and older age wise than the aforementioned criteria) she likes. Having had a Civic of this same era that provided cockroach like dependability and great mpg's, this could be a candidate as well.