2001 Volkswagen Beetle review from North America

Had to get a new O2 sensor.

Brake light recall.

Inside lights don't turn on and off with car door (have yet to get fixed).

Inside paint/interior peeling.

I am now 20 years old, and being the 18 year old I was, I bought the Beetle merely based on its looks. I reviewed the car online, and saw the bad remarks, yet skipped them for the love of the car.

I bought the car for 10k, and for the price I'd say I got a great car. I've put about 500 in the car since I bought it 2 years ago, and had small problems with it since, nothing crazy expensive and nothing seriously out of the ordinary.

The ONLY real problem I've had with the car is the DEALERSHIP. Having taken the car to the dealership to get my recall on my brake light taken care of, I proceeded to pull out of the parking lot, and about 5 miles into my trip back home with my new brake lights, I noticed for the first time since I bought the car that the check engine light was on.

My mom and I took the car back in to the dealership, where they charged us 115 dollars to hook the car up to a machine to see what was wrong with it, and proceeded to tell us that my bug has over 3k worth of problems that I must get fixed. HA.

So we called the GM of the local VW, and he proceeded to tell us that the problems that had shown up on the printout for my car could all have been due to a low battery. He turned the check engine light off and 3 months later, I still have yet to have a problem with my car.

I can't say that I am COMPLETELY happy with my bug, but I have had no REAL problems (knock on wood) with the car, so I hate to bash it. But due to the hassle I've gone through with the dealership, parts and maintenance, I'd never buy a VW/Beetle again. I think next time I'll invest in a Honda.