1969 Volkswagen Beetle review from North America

Actually, I owned two 1969 Beetles over the years (1969-78) and (1977-1999). The first one I bought new and drove 160,000 miles; the second one had 92,000 miles when I bought it, and I donated it to a charity as salvage at 485,000 miles.

Each "swallowed" #3 exhaust valve at approx. 160,000 miles, requiring new engines at that point.

I had constant stalling problems with the original California-required 30 PICT-2 carburetors. I replaced the carburetor on each car with an older model 30 PICT-1 unit, but had to install a 31 PICT-3 carburetor on the second car in 1996 in order to pass the required bi-annual California smog inspection.

The first car developed severe body and frame rust from being driven on salty roads in upstate New York. The "coup de grace" for it was hitting a young deer in 1977, causing the entire left

fender, front bumper and luggage compartment to collapse. A few months later, I consigned the vehicle to that great equalizer of all things automotive, the scrap yard crusher.

The second car served me well for over 20 years, as I moved to California, where road salt is not a problem. At 178,000 miles, it too swallowed a valve, and I installed a factory rebuilt engine with "stellite" (hardened) exhaust valves. This engine ran perfectly for over 300,000 miles with only routine valve adjustments and tune ups. Finally, shortly before I consigned it to a charity, both the engine and transmission developed severe oil leaks, which would have required replacing both the engine and transmission.

The second car, despite being in road-salt-free California, developed severe rust in the floor pan under the battery and in the storage well behind the back seat.

In 1995, the windshield wipers began to spin on their anchor spindles, making it unsafe to drive in wet or damp weather. I understand this was due to a design flaw which was subject to a NHTSA recall and to a redesign for the 1970 model year.

The second car also showed complete deterioration of all the upholstery and the headliner. All these factors together contributed to my decision to donate it to a charity for salvage instead of trying to sell it.

The engine oil cooler seals generally started to leak and require replacement every 60-70 thousand miles. It was always a half-day task to change these $4.00 parts.

Twice one of the three forks on the clutch pressure plate on the second VW broke, requiring replacement of the entire clutch assembly even though the disk showed very little wear.

Several times, the throttle and clutch cables or their pivots on each car broke, causing me to have to "jerry rig" a way to drive home.

When the second car was over 20 years old, the insulation on wiring in the engine compartment, to the back-up switch on the transmission, to the master cylinder and to the starter solenoid became brittle and began to break off, causing several shorts and, in one case, resulting in a "fix it" ticket for inoperative brake lights.

A couple of times, the generator brushes suddenly wore out due to roughness on the armature, necessitating replacement of the generator.

The tires on both cars, especially the second one, always lasted over 100,000 miles, always with a very even wear pattern.

Except for replacing the shock absorbers every 40,000 miles as a form of routine maintenance, I never had any suspension or alignment problems with either vehicle.

Likewise, the battery always lasted 5-7 years in each car.

I replaced the second VW with a 1997 Geo Prizm (mechanical twin of the Toyota Corolla). Although the Prizm weighs 600 lbs. more, it gets 10 miles per gallon better fuel economy (35-42 vs. 25-33 for the VW), accelerates and climbs hills more readily and requires far less service. Adjusted for inflation and standard features, however, the Prizm ($16,000 in 1997) cost 50-100% more than the Beetle ($1,700 in 1969).