26th Sep 2008, 19:39
I recently bought a 1971 VW Superbeetle convertible. It was very scary. I have always wanted one and the oportunity came up so I jumped. Driving it home the first time it made a screaming noise (kinda like a cat in the front trunk) found out later I needed a new speedometer. Love the car-learning process. I AM ordering the book though. I have the most fantastic guy in OKC, OK who works only on air-cooled VW bugs.
28th Jul 2009, 09:12
I am thinking about buying one of these amazing cars. I've wanted one since I was 4 years old. I think they are the cutest thing ever. But I don't know if it would be easy and cheap to maintain. Is it?
23rd Aug 2009, 01:42
Easy to maintain? Yes. Cheap to maintain? No. These cars are built very simply and are easy to fix when something goes wrong. But unfortunately with these cars, a lot of things go wrong. If you're wondering about these cars being cheap and easy to maintain, then I'm guessing you don't know much about cars, which means this is not the car for you. I'd recommend getting yourself a mid-90's Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. Those are excellent cars. Bullet-proof engines that never die, and build-quality that will last a lifetime.
25th Aug 2010, 11:29
I have a 1971 Beetle sitting in my driveway, so I have decided to try to fix it. Only problem is, I don't know squat about Beetles. I hooked up the battery, and all the lights turned on and everything, but it wouldn't even crank, I didn't wanna try anything else because I don't wanna end up making it worse. Any tips on what it could be?
18th Jun 2017, 19:19
I had a copy of John Muir's "How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" and I agree that he is hilarious in places. Very simple instructions for repairs and entertaining as well. I bought a '71 Super Beetle with the Auto-Stick transmission in '72 as a demonstrator model (my soon-to-be wife couldn't drive a stick at the time). It was much nicer than the '58 and '62 Beetles I had owned previously, but it wasn't my most dependable car, especially being my only new car with only 4,000 miles on it to start. Just off warranty at 28,000 miles, the first CV joint started going out. Later the struts went bad, a servo unit for the auto-stick went out and finally the 2nd CV joint started to go at about 50,000 miles. That was my last VW, and while I have purchased many kinds of cars, I am basically a Toyota man.
20th Jun 2017, 11:24
Try a 73-74. I had 63-69-71-73-74-75. 73-74 were outstanding; 60 HP vs the 40 on review. Drove everywhere. Great in the heat with air cooled. Didn't mind not having AC then. The 75 had fuel injection. Had issues. I like the regular Beetle as it didn't need struts. Also handled better than a Super. After 75 I would pass, even including today.
22nd Jun 2017, 22:26
Seems like any '75 or newer Beetle that you now find for sale has been converted from fuel injection back to carb anyways...
23rd Jun 2017, 13:10
If you can possibly find a 73-74, those are the years to buy. If you can find one in decent shape and miles. A VW Bug was my first car and my oldest son's first car. I paid 600 for mine back then for a 63 and my son paid less in 91! But we put in a motor, new gas tank, easiest ever to change in his. He didn't even have a license yet so it was restored in time to drive it legally. The younger kids started with Hondas. Probably the latter a better choice today. But the old air cooleds were pretty cool. It's nice to see well restored ones today. If we only had bought a bus with all the sky windows and windshields that popped out back then. They are getting a mint for them today.
11th Apr 2008, 16:40
Sounds like you killed it!