1965 Volkswagen Beetle 1.3 CC

Summary:

A monument to the absurdity of the belief that

Faults:

I purchased a 1966 Beetle new in January 1966. To date (2003), that car still rates in the top 3 WORST cars I have ever owned.

I purchased the car at the time I was first married, for economy purposes. My Beetle never got more than 17mpg, and that was immediately after the dealer typical service (points, plugs, etc), which seemed to be required about every 5,000 miles.

At 12,000 miles the third clutch was installed (dealer). It still was on the third clutch when I dumped it at 14,000 miles.

While in use, the windshield wiper arms would fall out on the hood regularly. The mounting was a ball type (engineering?) which could not be tightened sufficiently. I eventually drilled a hole through the whole thing and bolted it.

The heater control functionally had two positions, OFF and HOT, nothing in between.

When I traded the vehicle in 1967, the right rear axle seal was leaking.

I submit this antiquated review to rebut a glowing current review of this particular car. I never again considered buying a Volkswagen.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 7th June, 2003

21st May 2008, 10:24

"My Beetle never got more than 17mpg,"

Did you ever shift out of 2md gear?? Seriously. I had a '65 with a 1200cc (purchased in 1971) and regularly got 40mpg on the interstate with the pedal to the floor most of the way. After college I bought a new '74 Super Beetle and got 35mpg. If you only got 17 something was OBVIOUSLY not adjusted correctly.

And the heater controls weren't "on or off"... if you moved the levers it worked just fine.

16th May 2012, 18:45

Wow! To rebut a glowing review...

These VW's were great little cars, after all with 20 million sold, VW must have been doing something right.

Over the years, I've owned 10 VW's (3 of which were "Bugs") the Bugs were great fun, my last was 31 years old when I parted with it, and still got $2500 for a well used Bug.

I also enjoyed the German built Rabbit Convertible/Cabriolet's; my 1993 was one of my top 3 vehicles I've ever owned.

1965 Volkswagen Beetle 1300

Summary:

Classic reliable transportation

Faults:

The only item to need replacing over a three-year period was the starter. Not that I needed a starter with this car... it was so light, I could push-start it by myself.

Other than the starter, I just regularly changed the oil.

General Comments:

This car was the first one I ever owned. It was reliable enough to drive me back and forth to school everyday for three years, was spacious enough to comfortably seat myself and three of my friends, and it required very minimal maintenance. It didn't have a whole lot of power, was a little scary on the freeway, and, of course, didn't have air conditioning, but it was perfect for what I needed it for - getting me to and from the places I needed to go.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th May, 2003

21st May 2008, 10:26

The 1965 VW Beetle had a 1200cc engine, not 1300cc. That came out in '66.

18th Apr 2010, 17:17

I have a 65 Beetle with a 1300 engine???

19th Apr 2010, 12:08

"I have a 65 Beetle with a 1300 engine???"

It could have been removed from a newer Bug and put in yours. This probably happened to the original reviewer as well. The first commenter probably didn't think of this.

19th Apr 2010, 13:05

Maybe the motor was replaced?

8th Jan 2014, 10:07

The 1300cc engine was launched for the 1966 "model" year, with the first new cars being sold from the autumn of 1965 as far as I can remember.