1971 Volkswagen Beetle 1.6 liter from North America

Summary:

Never again

Faults:

Heat exchangers rusted out, rendering the defroster useless.

Accelerator would stick.

Brakes were poor.

Generally rusty.

Engine blew (broken valve) without any warning, even when oil was changed regularly.

General Comments:

I bought the vehicle as a winter car. Mistake number one. The heating system never worked right, even though it had a blower motor (unlike earlier models).

It needed frequent tune-ups; the points would not go very long without adjustments.

It was "OK" for getting to and from work, but not the kind of car you wanted to drive on a long trip (>1 hr).

This was the last VW I owned. I had already owned/maintained 3 VWs previously, so it wasn't like I didn't know what I was in for, but after the issues I had with this VW, I decided I was finished with the car line.

A southern climate might be easier on the old Beetles, but I would stay away from them if you live in the northeast.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 7th September, 2011

9th Sep 2011, 19:08

Before commenting people, consider that this car was only 10 years old when the reviewer owned it back in 1981.

30th Oct 2011, 23:45

If you knew the heater channels were rusted out, how could you expect the heat to work properly?

It sounds like you got burned by buying a Bug that wasn't in the best condition. (Japanese cars rusted badly around this time period too. People love to attack things.)

17th Nov 2022, 18:28

That is actually an interesting review from an actual "back in the days" tine. What is also impressive is the car had 120000 miles at that time, to me that sounds like quite a durable inexpensive option. As for the engine, obviously maintenance by the previous owner(s) is paramount.

1971 Volkswagen Beetle from North America

Summary:

Fabulous

Faults:

Distributor wore out. Windshield wiper assembly wore out. Speedometer cannot seem to remain fixed. Only complaint is that new parts, replacement parts are now twice as expensive as they once were. My car is now a "collectors' item", so it is worth it. I am fortunate to live in Los Angeles, so hard to find parts are more readily available here. There is a thriving aftermarket parts market on the Internet as well.

General Comments:

I looooove my Bug. At work, at stoplights, in parking lots of malls, I am besieged by people wanting to buy it. (It does have some charming pin striping, a custom paint job, and artful decorations) However, it is reliable, reliable, reliable transportation. If anything is about to go wrong, (little does) there are "warning signs", noises the car makes, to alert me to schedule a stop at the garage.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 18th May, 2008

1st Sep 2012, 07:23

How can you possibly give this thing a "10" in the performance department? VW Beetles turn 22+ second quarter mile times; longer than it took to read this review!

In reply to 1st Sep 2012, 07:23

1st Sep 2012, 17:14

Give the reviewer a break. Although VW's are notoriously slow, they don't feel that way from the driver's seat, and are actually quite quick off the line... at least for the first 30 to 50 feet. :)

Seriously, in my younger days I owned 3 Beetles, and never found them lacking for power, well except for one hill on Route 2 heading west out of Cambridge towards Concord, MA. In my 1970 Beetle, I would always need a running start to make it up the hill at anything over 40 mph, and that was riding solo. Other than that, I never found any of my VW's lacking in performance.

Would I give them a 10? Personally, absolutely not, but I wouldn't give them a 1 either. Besides, driving a VW Beetle is like driving your very own whimsical carnival ride to work, and where does it say that performance directly correlates strictly to the 0 to 60 mph time of a vehicle anyway.

I'd give the reviewer a mulligan on this one. If you ever owned a Beetle, I would think you would too. :0)