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.

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.