Faults:

Door handles peel

EPC Light On

Noticeable reduced power and gas mileage when carrying passengers in the back or items in the trunk.

General Comments:

Love the way it looks.

Love the way it runs.

Hate to have it serviced because I know it will cost a fortune.

No one locally will touch it to service it more affordably.

SMELLS LIKE CRAYONS for some reason and always has... no matter what!

Good car overall.

Faults:

Let me start in June 2006 me and my lovely new wife bought her "cute" but "ugly" beetle. Within the first two weeks of having the car check engine light came on, Now the list starts.

*57,600 miles, EPC Emissions control box was cracked= $350

*58,000 miles, Radio turner goes out. We put in a after market radio= $175

*58,000 miles, Beetle has a mind of it own the alarm will go off when ever the car feels necessary.

We take it to VW dealer they say it's a passenger side door latch= $275

*59,000 miles door latch was a WASTE of money didn't not help the car at all I couldn't lock my car due to the love of sleep.

*64,000 miles My smart bug is telling me that something is wrong with the cooling system. I take it to get checked out. Just the radiator cap, GREAT! that's just $18 WRONG!!!

*64,000 miles car is dead, Head Gasket is shot ($48) Water pump is shot ($68) Timing Belt is stretched ($60)

*64,000,miles the dealer gave up and told me that the car needs a new engine. I don't know how much this is going to cost. But I can only guess around $5,000.

TOTAL=$5,994 OVER HALF OF WHAT I PAID FOR THE WHOLE CAR!!!

General Comments:

Car was horrible! Stay Away!

Faults:

Fuel hatch stopped functioning, just required an adjustment to the cable, although dealer tried to make a big deal of it.

Intermittent starting problem at about 30000 miles and about 3 yrs old. Sometimes wouldn't even crank. Changed the battery and this solved the problem, although was difficult to diagnose.

Both door handles peeling. Headliner came down and needed replacement at 43000 miles. Side door panel fabric coming loose. Car is not parked in full sun so is rather due to poor quality. The dash board will show a permanent scratch if you so much as sneeze on, very poor material.

I have the turbo, and the turbo spoiler never seems to go up, (I can't hear or see it, do not get the indicator light that it is deployed) even at 90miles per hour. The indicator light does work if I put the spoiler up manually while parked. Dealer gave me some bull story that the light won't indicate when driving and that it shows for manual function only. End of story: I don't think this works properly, but couldn't make headway.

I heard from another driver that there was a recall concerning the headlights. I need to find out more and take to the dealer for this replacement under the recall. You all should too.

Gas mileage: about 26 mpg avg.

Fun to drive, especially with the turbo. I always use the synthetic oil, and change every 5000 miles.

The cup holders broke immediately, also very cheap plastic and poor material.

Now some of the a/c vents are beginnnig to break. Whats with this? What wear and tear do these get?

I wanted to keep this car for 10 years, since I put low mileage on it, but I am reconsidering.

Good design, VERY poor quality and materials. High cute factor, but very low quality. Overall, the dealers are crooks and try to turn everything in to a multi-hundred dollar issue. I have been to several. Find yourself a good private mechanic for maintenance and talk to other owners, many minor issues can be dealt with cheaply yourself.

I wouldn't buy another.

General Comments:

MPG about 26.

Very hot in the florida sun, due to the large front windshield.

Powerful a/c though.

I like that the rear seat goes down, I can get my bicycle in if I take off the front wheel.

The turbo makes it fun to drive.