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Beetles
mookaloid - 16/5/10 at 07:21 PM

My Daughter is going to be taking her driving test soon and she is 'bugging' me to buy her a classic Beetle.

Any tips on what I should be looking for when looking at one?

Cheers

Mark

CRAIGR - 16/5/10 at 07:25 PM

Let her pass her test and then let her go for a test drive in one. That should be more than enough to put her off ever wanting one . Yuk!!!

Mark Allanson - 16/5/10 at 07:28 PM

Don't - they are spiteful, malignant things, you will spend more time under it than in it.

eznfrank - 16/5/10 at 07:34 PM

There's one for sale at the end of my street, going for £975, but it's a bit ''average'' does have 10 month MOT though, i thought even a sh1theap would be double that??

tomprescott - 16/5/10 at 07:36 PM

The price! Decent condition classic beetles pull in a ridiculous price - a friend of mine has a custom classic beetle, if I get him to send me the pictures I can illustrate how crappy and small they are. That said, your daughter is probably quite a lot smaller than me!

Cousin Cleotis - 16/5/10 at 07:45 PM

My best advice would be to take someone with you that doesnt have to ask what to look for.

Beetles seem to need alot of servicing to keep them running and usable all year round.

Have you tried to get her interested in other classic cars? Ive run a Beetle and Triumph Dolomite(well a 1500TC) everyday, the triumph was far superior, faster, more economical, handled better, quieter, more comfortable, heater worked always not just when it felt like it, in the winter the beetle was either freezing or the heater would nearly melt my leg off

Paul

rayward - 16/5/10 at 08:00 PM

I've got one, and to be honest there not something a new driver should be looking at,if you can let her have a drive in one before parting with any cash.

you cax expect to pay £4k upwards for a half decent one, even then there's not guarantee you ll get a good one

Ray

speedyxjs - 16/5/10 at 08:00 PM

Id love a classic beetle but when i was looking for a classic car (when i had money ) they were all waaaaay too expensive. I beleive Mr Whippy has/had one. May be worth sending hem a U2U

skinned knuckles - 16/5/10 at 08:02 PM

if your daughter is determined to have one then i strongly recommend getting a new daughter. these little b@stard cars are more evil than the nazi tw@t that wanted them built in the first place.

they should only be used as examples of cars that people shouldn't have any nostalgia for. leave them well alone. the stuff of nightmares

T66 - 16/5/10 at 08:35 PM

My brother bought his daughter a Beetle Classic when she passed her test....


1)Crash test rating zero

2)fuel consumption terrible

3)Crap heater

4)drives like a half track

5)Old cars need constant tweaking

6)Can you be arsed, do you have time ?

7)Now in his garage where its been for 10 years after she gave up driving it.



Understand her train of thought as they are cool, but classics need a lot more than petrol to keep them running.


Good luck

[Edited on 16/5/10 by T66]

T66 - 16/5/10 at 08:39 PM

How about one of my favourites, a Lada !


http://www.lada.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9734

mangogrooveworkshop - 16/5/10 at 08:41 PM

Nothing wrong with a beetle.......Ive had loads of them But the Metal was getting tired 25 years ago and they had a continuous oil leak problem.
German made spares got scarce and Mexico and Brazilian sourced spares were of less quality.
I would say to run a beetle everyday now would be hard work.
People can say what they like but we really had fun in those days with the bugs.

Baja bug, beach buggy and a 1600tp or the 1303 all had fun traits.

As for a young girls car no way, better a mk3 golf cheaper and as cool in young circles. Above all they are reliable unlike a classic aircooled beetle

mookaloid - 16/5/10 at 09:12 PM

Thanks Guys, I have shown her this thread and it has had the desired effect

I knew the answer anyway but if I had said it first then she wouldn't have believed me and I would have had the 'it's not fair' and 'you never let me have the stuff I want' comments.

I knew I could rely on you

Cheers

Mark

MikeRJ - 16/5/10 at 09:20 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
Don't - they are spiteful, malignant things, you will spend more time under it than in it.


An excellent description, I was trying to explain this to someone the other day who thought they were the pinnacle of "cool".

McLannahan - 16/5/10 at 09:20 PM

What about a new shape one?

Don't know why - I know loads hate them but always had a soft spot for one!

3.5k BIN?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2000-VOLKSWAGEN-BEETLE-GREEN-2-0-/110533664625?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item19bc51df71

trextr7monkey - 16/5/10 at 09:38 PM

Talked my daughter out of the crazy V dub wayof thinking -she had an old Mk 3 escort from a family member then moved into a Jimny which is ideal for a young person without too much baggage/ passengers, has a few of the new fangled trapings found in cars these days and has a raised driving position which is good. Worth a look?

BenB - 16/5/10 at 10:47 PM

How about a nice 2CV? Not very good on the crash test though....

morcus - 17/5/10 at 01:32 AM

I used to know a guy who had Beetles, he always said the best ones to go for were German Market Cars Built in the late 60's. He had loads of them and he had one that he claimed was a '38 KDF Wagon but I think it was a later car modified to look like one.

I've never driven one but riding in one was like riding in a shopping machine with a washingmachine that hadn't been balanced. 2CV is much more comfy to ride in and much bigger and more practicle but still abit fragile.

T66 - 17/5/10 at 05:00 AM

By the sound of it Mookaloid you didnt want your daughter in a Beetle either ?


So the thread is a success, which will lead to less parental "fretting" when they are out in it.


One of my daughters is currently running about in an immaculate ancient Mini Metro, reliable ish, cheap to run ,


And I hate it, cannot wait for her to buy a modern car in the next couple of months.


Less parental "fretting" is good !

Airhead - 17/5/10 at 06:56 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
Don't - they are spiteful, malignant things, you will spend more time under it than in it.


Sorry Mark I have to disagree. I've had a few; my favourite was a 1969 12v crossover; I used that to commute between Garras and Truro daily for about 3 years without missing a beat. You just need to find a good one. I also had a '76 NOS Bug whan I was at uni at Reading; I always remenice about the time that we had a really cold winter - all the rich kids 'modern' cars wouldn't start and those that did couldn't make it up the road. I jumped into my 'peice of junk' as it was known, started it up and drove down to the supermarket and back without a problem. It felt nice to be the only guy with any food for a week...

That said I'd never buy another one, not now I'm grown up...ish; now a Karmann Ghia - that's a different matter.

mookaloid - 17/5/10 at 08:44 AM

quote:
Originally posted by T66
By the sound of it Mookaloid you didnt want your daughter in a Beetle either ?


So the thread is a success, which will lead to less parental "fretting" when they are out in it.


One of my daughters is currently running about in an immaculate ancient Mini Metro, reliable ish, cheap to run ,


And I hate it, cannot wait for her to buy a modern car in the next couple of months.


Less parental "fretting" is good !


You need to get her out of the metro asap - they have a serious design problem.

I remember some research from when they were still being made. In an accident the windscreen pillar is very close to the head and there is a real possibility if the collision is at the drivers corner that fatal injuries can occur at quite low speeds.

They used to just about pass the crash test ok because they do the test head on but if the angle of attack as it were moves slightly then the momentum drives the drivers head in to the pillar. I think that the way the seam was orientated made it very sharp.

quote from Wikipaedia "In February 1998, the Rover 100 suffered poor performances in EuroNCAP crash tests (despite the improved safety features, including side impact bars in the doors and an optional driver's airbag, the 1970s design was showing its age) - it was at the time the only car tested to receive a one-star Adult Occupant Rating. Other superminis tested at the same time received 2 or 3 stars out of five. The passenger compartment was subjected to severe structural damage in the frontal-offset test and results showed a high risk of injury to all body regions for the driver. Meanwhile, the side impact test also showed high injury risks."

Sorry to depress you on a monday morning

Cheers

Mark

jacko - 17/5/10 at 05:40 PM

Lovely little cars after you have sold them
[img][/img]

MikeRJ - 17/5/10 at 06:22 PM

quote:
Originally posted by mookaloid
You need to get her out of the metro asap - they have a serious design problem.


I'd rather be in the Metro than a Citroen AX!. All the superminis of the era were pretty ropey safety wise, look at the Cinquecento/Seicento. And the Beetle certainly isn't a safe car.

Hope you aren't going to be driving one of those dangerous Lotus 7 style cars any time soon

Badger_McLetcher - 17/5/10 at 06:29 PM

Get her a proper mini instead

Mark Allanson - 17/5/10 at 06:34 PM

My 'love' of beetle comes from people bringing me things like this to restore. I must have spent 800 hours welding welding welding various herbies Rescued attachment typical beetle.gif
Rescued attachment typical beetle.gif

Mark Allanson - 17/5/10 at 07:08 PM

Try again!!

(I bought my daughter a Fiat Punto 1.2 Mk2 - Economical, easy and cheap to fix, very cheap to buy and most important CAT5 safety, airbags) Rescued attachment bug4.jpg
Rescued attachment bug4.jpg

morcus - 17/5/10 at 07:33 PM

You could buy her one, wait till she can't stand to drive it (a couple of weeks, less if its hot out) and then use it to make a Buggy or a Porsche or a Nova or any other Beetle based kit.