2000 Volkswagen Beetle tdi from North America - Comments

At 111,400 miles, my dealer wants over $3,000 for maintenance repairs.

Drive and Timing Belts (I understand need replacement) dry rot. I had them replaced at 60,000. $1,182.

Glow Plug Relay and wiring harness + Water Pump w/coolant= $900. I had two previous Check Engine visits where they told me there was a fault with the glow plugs, but woudl just reset the computer. Now it costs me. They claim it's a different computer code.

Coolant Temp sensor = $78 OK.

Mass Air Flow Sensor = $818. Engine needs it, I suppose.

Fuel Filter = $110. replaced a year ago because the silly people didn't tell a new diesel owner that diesel gels below 15 degree Fahrenheit.

Oh, and once these repairs are done, the turbo may need to be replaced. = $2000. They don;t know until the 3K of work gets done.

Thye swore up and down that this was a great car that would run long. Repairs would be far and few between. I have spent nearly 1/2 of the original $18K in repairs and have 6 months left in payments.

Maintenance has been *expensive* form the get-go. It's $50 to replace a headlamp.

It rode great at the start, but performance decreased over time.

I loved its handling! She hugged the road tight.

The electrical in the windows goes wacky after a while. Other Beetle owners asked me if it happened to me yet whenever we met.

Volkswagen service is way too expensive.

Beetle owners: get rid of your car now. get something that costs less to repair.

I'm with person in the comment above on the headlights: real cheap, you don't have to own a screwdriver to change.

As an owner of a jetta tdi with 180,000 miles on it i'll tell you this as an example: right now I need a MAF and dealers have quoted as low as 90 dollars and as high as 250 dollars on it. Your dealership price is way WAY too high, find a different dealer and you'd be much happier (hint: tdiparts. com sells your car's maf for $80 I believe.) Also, if you use a local repair shop (hint: www.vwvortex.com and look around for a specialist in your area) then you'll find much better quality of service, and lower costs per hour. Timing belt, including a new water pump does NOT cost over 800 dollars to replace (including labor). So yeah, def. try a different dealer/ other local shop so you don't continue to get ripped off. importantly also: its probably NOT your turbo, when they tell you it is. (tdiclub.com or vwvortex. com will tell you why...) cheers!

I too paid the $50 for a new headlight. For those that think it should be less (or easy to change yourself), I suggest you look under the hood before being judgemental. While headlights in other cars ARE easy to change, it's a major undertaking with the beetle. (Remove the battery, remove the filters, etc.) Easy...No. Poorly designed...Yes.

I am shopping for a used beetle tdi with <100k miles, 5spd manual (a must) in good to excellent condition. I've read the comments and find them informative. I have owned 3 VWs of the few cars I've purchased and feel that although they are a tad on the spendy side, they are still my favorite all vehicle quirks considered (compared to a couple of used domestics and a subaru impreza outback). One comment I can make for anyone, not just those who are mechanically inclined, but everyone who is even willing to try, check out alldatadiy.com. For a reasonable yearly m-ship fee you have access to a very detailed online manual with diagrams and replacement part numbers. It's best to also purchase the manufacturer's maintenance manual, but I was able to perform a significant amount of the maintenance on my last couple of vehicles with the information on alldata. Also, not meaning to be a corporate plug, but an AAA membership at $39 a year gives you discounts at many of the common automotive parts chains, ie, napa, jegs, autozone. I found that the membership fee is very quickly saved in discounts on parts at participating stores. My father inlaw is an automotive guru and informed me that the cost of parts is based on how many are made, pretty simple. So it's not difficult to understand why the headlamp for a ford focus or toyota camry is cheaper than one for a vw beetle. I look at vehicle expenses as throwing money down a rathole, so I try to find any shortcut possible for the things I feel confident about maintaining myself.

Just found a mass air flow sensor for $109 at Auto Parts Warehouse. com - there are lots of instructions for replacing these things yourself if you check the boards on the internet.

I have a 2000 beetle, but no manual... Does anyone know what the yellowish orange squiggly line that lights up is for? I am assuming it's some brake indicator, but I just changed the rear brakes, but that light is still flashing and now my cruise control won't work. any ideas?

Thanks!

Squiggly lines = glow plugs...

We went to a dealer and found out a volkswagen beetle 2000 gls with a 90,0130 miles on it. how would I know if this beetle had already been replaced the timing belts etc. during its 60,000 miles? is the price right at 7,988USD? need comments pls!!! thanks

Hello,

i bought a 2000 beetle this past July and it runs great! I just recently had my headlight go out and my stepdad replaced it in about 10 minutes. I am just curious about the following if anyone knows... my odometer is electric and it started to go all crazy and blink/flash. Then next to the miles it says Service 1. I called a VW dealership and they want to charge $95/hr and charge me $40 just to run a diagnostics test. I really don't want to pay an arm and a leg for something that could be easily fixed in a matter of minutes. my stepdad is a diesel mechanic and told me to find out the problem and let him know. Can anyone HELP me?!

I bought an '04 Beetle last Feb. (It has been) nothing but major problems after the dealers 30 day warranty was up. Air bags and seat belt sensors, two blown major fuse boxes located on the battery, and now the speedodometer has quit working. The brake lights also stayed on (later found out that was a recalled sensor). Does anyone know what the blue thermometer on the dash means when it stays on? (no owners manual came with the car)

I would never buy another VW!

I just purchased a 99 New Beetle. The biggest problem that I encounter in these comments and in my experience is the high price of VW Dealer parts. For instance I just balked at purchasing a $40 fuel filter from them and found my aftermarket supplier to have an OEM one for $24. You can search the internet for a mass air flow sensor for $200 or less and install it yourself in 10 minutes.

The VAG-COM software from Ross-Tech pays for itself in verifying that components such as the MAF are really faulty (if cleaning does not work).

My point is that the maintenance nightmares can be avoided by either doing some homework and a little Saturday afternoon maintenance or by finding the right suppliers and mechanics. Beware of the VW specialists as they are often just as bad as VW. Any good dependable and experienced mechanic with a decent rep can do the job.

9 feb 2008...you need a temperature sensor or somthing related. That light is only to be on when the engine is too cold to use full-power (flooring the gas pedal).

Hmmm, I am looking for a used TDI... and understand the comments. We have a Mercedes and luckily, my husband is mechanically inclined. He does his research online. We were told the wipers were gone and needed a new motor, for $1300. Well, it only needed some oil and has worked great ever since! The dealers are huge ripoffs. We had a new Jetta TDI and it ran great. Sold it and now am looking for a cheaper and older TDI. Any older car, will need work. We want a good on gas car and the TDI's are one of them! Oh, and even a woman can change a headlight! Especially one that is tight on her money and knows mechanics love to rip women off!

The oil specs for these engines are critical VW 505.01 or 506.01 ONLY.

Use an oil that doesn't meet these specs and the cam lobes that drive the unit injectors will eventually grind themselves into filings and reduce the engine to scrap.

Grade and synthetic content are not relevant. VW505.01 or 506.01 is. Should also say "suitable for PD engines" on the can somewhere.

I am currently in the market for a used vehicle. As I have read a lot of information on a lot of vehicles I find that VW... you either love them or hate them, so I did some checking. MAF sensor 1st web site I went to sold MAF for the TDI at 120.00 with free shipping. Now I am not one of the best mechanics in the world but I can read a book. The headlight issue from what I was showed from an individual that was selling his was a simple flip of a switch under the hood and the head light came out with ease and watched him with the same ease reinstall it. I have owned diesel engines for a long time and lets face it with few diesel mechanics around that makes for a few good ones but by looking they can be found. I like this car.

I hate VW for life because of my girlfriend's stupid Beetle. Some genius made that thing almost completely out of plastic. Everything breaks! Not to mention, the maintenance that thing has to go through is way too expensive. I bought it for her thinking it was a great car to have, but I was wrong. I recommend that you get rid of your Beetle immediately!