Other than the fact the the A/C needed a new compressor and the straw-like padding was falling out of the seats when I bought it, nothing in the time I owned it.
Oh yes, the directional signals worked, but didn't cancel on their own.
I purchased my Super Beetle in 1979
when it was five years old and showed 54,000 miles on the odometer.
The vehicle was a Florida car, so it was even equipped with air conditioning.
(However it was in need of a new compressor to get it working properly).
The car was beautiful. It has glossy
Marina Blue paint, which in my opinion was the nicest color available on Super Beetles. It has a gray vinyl interior.
From the time that I purchased the car, the straw-like padding in the seat cushions was falling out onto the floor. (Due to the Florida heat I imagine). I replaced the straw with foam rubber padding.
The only other issue with the car was that the turn signals worked, but didn't cancel on their own.
I have had other Beetles with the same problem and it is remedied by replacing the turn signal switch assembly.
In the two years that I owned the car, I only put two thousand miles on it.
As I worked within a half-mile of my home.
The Super Beetle was trouble-free, as in the two years I only replaced the battery and had the automatic choke cleaned and adjusted at the local VW dealership.
One thing I want to mention, the heater in the Super Beetle was super indeed! It had a blower fan and it worked well, distributing warm air to the floor outlets and defroster as needed. I should mention that I live in New England and drove the vehicle throughout the harsh New England winters.
I had owned the old Jeep-style original Ford Bronco before the VW, and I'll say this VW never got stuck in the snow. It was excellent!
This is probably a vehicle that I should have parked in the garage, thrown a tarp over it and kept.
As I would love to still own this vehicle today. However at the time
I decided that I just had to have a new Rabbit Convertible (which was/is a great little car). So in 1981 I sold my Super Beetle and ordered a 1982 VW Convertible. I owned that particular convertible for 5 years (and put considerably more miles on it 50k), and to this day still drive a VW Cabriolet.
I do wish the '74 Super Beetle was still parked in the garage under a tarp though. Far too few are still around today. Especially here in New England.
This is a very well-written and accurate review of the Volkswagen Super Beetle. Many Volkswagen traditionalists shunned this model as not being a "true" Beetle.
This is too bad, because in many ways it was superior to the original Bug.
I wish that Volkswagen would replace the New Beetle, with a modern version of the Super Beetle. In my opinion the New Beetle is a huge disappointment. The gigantic dash board is outrageous, and the build quality doesn't come close to the Beetles of old.
Volkswagen still hasn't completely rebounded from the blunder of discontinuing the old Beetle in the United States.
Sure the Rabbit/Golf & Jetta were fine cars, but they still need that little rear engine air-cooled flavor, to anchor the marque.
Smarten up Volkswagen, dump the horrendous New Beetle and get back to your roots!!!
It looks like VW is more interested in being more Audi-like than Volkswagen-like.
Some of the new models look very nice, but they certainly are moving away from what we traditionally associate with the marque. (Solid economical cars.) My old Beetles & Cabriolets were great!
They did bring back the Rabbit name, now bring back those great designs of old!
My '74 Super Beetle was my second car and the vehicle I bought right after graduation from college. I paid all of $3000 for it right off the showroom floor. Canary yellow with black interior. If I recall the option list was short... am/fm radio. I would give just about anything to have that car back today. If VW got rid of the "new" Beetle and made a replica of the "old" Beetle I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
My first car when I was 17 was a 63 Beetle. It was wonderful to drive in the snow, dirt, blacktop and on gas line roads during hunting season... never had an issue with it getting stuck anywhere! Drove it 7 more years and finally put another engine in it. Sadly I had to give it up when it was totally crunched by an El Dorado driven by a 16 year old.
I didn't own another one until 1995. Bought one in pieces as a project car and it still is that. My 1994 Superbeetle is in my garage covered up waiting on the day I put the rebuilt engine back in her and open the door. VW in my opinion is an exciting vehicle and easy to work on. Wonderful peoples car.
CMBaker.
My favorite was the regular 74 Bug vs. the Super Bug as far as handling. The Super Bug rode better on the expressway, but again overall the reg bug was better.
We (different family members) had a 63 blue only 30 hp, 69 blue, 73 light tan, 74 dark tan, 74 blue, 75 yellow, none afterwards.
The heater fan was a plus (vs forced air heat) with the Super Beetle, but my dad had lots of front end strut issues and my front end was basic.
The 74 was the best year, and the 75 stunk; not the same anymore. I wouldn't even want the new ones.
The 74 my father had was kept and sold with over 200,000 miles on it, and is probably still out there today. Great in the winter rear engine and then in hot climates....I drove mine all over Florida and never seemed to care about the lack of A/C.
I've owned 3 Beetles - 1967, 1970 and a the 1974 Super Beetle reviewed here. As far as the Beetle goes I think that the 1967 was really the best year - still had the old style look (no plastic on the dash, old style bumpers) but had 12 volt electrics. I certainly wish I still had my 67! The 1974 Super Beetle did have the best heat/ventilation though.
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