I need help convicing my dad to get a bug

[bdub475]

A daily driven vw will need a full day of maintenance once a month and it seams like something is always going wrong. When you get your license you going to want something you can jump in and it start every time with minimal maintenance.

[Jack square]

This is the the third time I have type this but any way
I'm 16and drive a 68 squareback and yes it has no safety fetures (seat belts) and is allways needing stuff done but I love it and fix I by my self coz dad isent intrested I worked hard and bought it my self so dident have to convince anybody but dad knows I'll look after it and not just let it sit I drive it almost daly sometimes 60k a day stuff brakes I fix it
I bought mine to be different and coz I liked it not because I thort girls would like it
So look at why you want one and if it's just because they are cool move on you have to love them but also love working on them
To be honist girls don't go out not go out with a guy coz he drives a vw or a wagoner
Not trying to put you off just checking you want one for the right reson if not drive a safer cheaper car and it won't make a difference to if you get a girl or not I
Buy a mk1 or mk2 golf that are still pritty cool but will be easer for your dad to fix an safer anyway clasic vw make great first cars but only if you are into fixing them
Hope that helps

[wcfvw69]

[KTPhil]

[retroman]

A couple years ago a suburban with 5 was sandwiched between 2 semis. The front semi had stopped on I-80 and the suburban behind stopped too. The second semi didnt. Squish.....5 dead. All relative.
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1967 bug recovering from a PO
1987 Vanagon Wolfsburg Weekender "Otto" been all over the place with never a problem!

[Bret2094]

[mikec4193]

If you live out in the sticks where you dont have to play with much traffic I would say go get a beetle....my son (17 at the time) had one in 1999 -2000 era and he loved it until it was broken and then it got parked....we sold it years later...that photo of that wreck is scary for sure...

Maybe a little safer plan...look at getting a Baja Bug with a 6 point roll cage in it...then at least if you screw up you might have a chance to climb out of it alive...

These old Beetles are about as safe as a motorcycle with 4 wheels instead of 2....be very careful if you do get one...they dont handle like anything we drive today...

My smelly old 2 cents...
MikeC
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Dad bought his first Beetle on Dec 17, 1953.

[BotanyBandit]

My little brother is turning 17 and getting his first car in a few days. He has been watching me restore a 65 bug for a few years and really wanted a cool car like his older brother, but honestly I had to tell him how unsafe it would be as a first car and talk him into something else. Both of my older brothers had totals on their first vehicles (one destroyed 3 before he slowed down) and I also crashed mine. Sure, It would be cool to have something else in common with him and see him in one of these classic cars that i love, but I love him enough to not want to see him drive one until he gets some time logged. Just my 2.

[bdub475]

I never said VWs weren't reliable. I said they need more maintenance then a newer vehicle and they do. I drive mine daily year round 1200-1500 miles a month.I take a day a month and really go over it. I change my oil, adjust my valves and brakes, grease the front end, clean the oil bath air cleaner and give
all the nooks and crannies like engine bay and chassis a really good cleaning.
I spend a good solid day a month because I have OCD when it comes to my vehicles.
In my eyes an old vw is not a good first car for everyday use for many reasons.

[bdub475]

I would take the jeep, save your money and buy a vw to fix up or drive on the weekends or nice days.

[tb03830]

Don’t get me wrong I want to say yea get a bug. I love them but…..
I can talk from firsthand experience. I gave my 1964 Beetle to my 16 year old son. I am very proud of him and he is GREAT Driver. He is very mechanically minded so maintenance was not an issue with him. About two weeks later I took it back and gave him my 2008 SCION TC after gnashing and weighing the safety issues. He was happy either way because he know he would be able to drive it anyway from time to time. About a year later my son and daughter were in a rear end collision that was not their fault and the car took the whole force and was completely demolished. a F250 Dually pickup truck ran into them at 50 MPH when they were at a dead stop. Break failure, inattentive, not sure. They had minor injuries but lived. In a bug that would NOT have happened.
This is one of those few times I am glad I listen to my wife (Very few) and thought about my sons safety over what he/I wanted. I would go with another car but not a Wagoneer????
Here is how I would put it to him. “Dad I want a safe car but I want you to teach me how to work on bugs what do you think about me getting a safer car to drive daily but getting a project bug to work on together.” Trust me all dads “want” good relationship with their sons and cars are good way of being together but not being one of those odd dads. Yes I know not all dads are not good dads but you get the jist.

Just for effect here is what my son walked away from with his sister setting next to him.

_________________
"Sic Vic Pacem, Para bellum - Pray for peace, prepare for war."

1964 Convertible Bug - 1600cc SP engine with a stock H30/31 Carb and SVDA Distributor - Swing Arm Highway Flyer Tranny, Gene Berg's Temperature Dipstick, 2.5" drop spindles, 2" narrowed adjustable front end. Chromed OEM fan tower.

[Flyinsquirrelman]

I understand the safety factor that you guys put into it. I might save and go get a junker though to work on

[Flyinsquirrelman]

I understand the safety factor that you guys put into it. I might save and go get a junker though to work on

[wcfvw69]

This is from 1983. I was 18. I should of been killed. Spun out w/brand new Michelin radials on the front and bald bia's ply's in the rear, in front of a 70's station wagon on a wet mountain road. I did a full 360 spin in front of it coming at me at 45 miles an hour. As you can see, it went down the drivers side of the car. The momentum from the spin pulled me out of the drivers seat so I sustained no injuries..

I'm glad your reconsidering your thoughts on not getting a bug as a first car. If one of my boys HAS TO HAVE a bug, the only way would be installed a full roll cage in it with four point seat belts. That alone would dis way them from wanting one.
_________________
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Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.

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[ultralite]

I got my first Beetle in college (in GA btw) at the end of my teenage years. I felt like it encouraged good driving skills in me by slowing me down and enjoying the "cruising" nature of the car.

Later in life I was in a head on collision (other drivers fault) while driving an Accord. I'm glad I wasn't in the Beetle.

Now I have my kids hooked on VWs (I'm visiting from the Westy forum). They want a Beetle for when they start driving. I told them they'll get a daily (modern) beater for every day use and we'll do a Beetle for fun and weekends.

Accidents are a combination of factors; skills, environment, and other statistics. I figure we'll reduce the amount of drive time in a Beetle to mitigate what risks we can. But in the end you can't totally eliminate risk.

Defer to the dad for now. Get that job that'll help you get the Bug you want. Hope to see you at some local shows!
_________________
Godspeed

'76 Beetle (sold)
'69 Beetle (sold)
'72 BMW 2002 (RIP)
'69 Westy
'02 BMW wagon AWD w/stick shift(sold)
'67 Beetle (sold)

[BotanyBandit]

I'm turning 27 this December, so some would even say i'm on the young side! But I drive about 100,000 miles a year for my job and have seen a lot of nasty crashes. The thought of being in a crash in my bug is not a pleasant one. I've been concerned from the get-go about my 65 beetles steering column. Id like to put a later style accordion column in mine before I paint it for daily driving. Just imagine a metal shaft impaling you during a fairly minor collision. It could end up a not so pleasant day. Just something else to think about with these older cars.

[Jon Schmid]

No A/C = dealbreaker for me, especially in Georgia. Seriously, as mentioned, drive the Jeep, get a job and save up for a beetle as a second car for weekends/dates. Times have changed, still a lot of idiot drivers but now with more excuses (texting, etc.) to be idiots. Good luck.

[my59]

Bugs are fun, but a black Jeep wagoneer, wood grain applied, red leather interior with electric everything- we didn't call it the lay-z-boy on wheels for nothing!
Plenty or room inside for all you friends who are paying for your gas, and all the space you need for action with the GF- but then I never dated girls or women who gave a crap about what kind of car I drove.
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my59: Well son, my grandfather died before I got to drive it, so does that answer your question?
our79: sunroof bus w/camper interior and 2.0 FI
Other:'12 Jetta, '77 Benz 300D, and a 74 MG Midget.

[DeutchKraght]

This thread is F'N depressing!!!
Yeah fine, Beetles are old. They are unsafe, but I bet they are harder than most small cars and are, in my mind at least, way safer than a motorcycle.
If I really wanted to be safe I'd stick to walking (still would worry about getting killed if some drunk scrapes me off the sidewalk) or I would try to get a real army tank (would have to control roadrage). So the safest would be to just stay at home (where someone could get in and kill you anyway). You get my point....... I hope.

Then there is this ''image'' getting drawn that in order to drive an old vw, you need to be a qualified machanic with as much driving skill as Japanese drift racers and be on the ready, because the vw WILL break down and you wont get to your destination in less than 2 days even if your goal is just to get the car out of the driveway. YES I UNDERSTAND THAT A 40+ YEAR OLD CAR IS GOING TO HAVE PROBLEMS, BUT REALLY.......????
New cars don't even need maintainance. Just needs a service once in a while (there are exceptions, usually cheap chinese cars that break probably as much as pld vw's). Newer cars are less work and money to maintain than a Beetle. OK, but you people make it seem that a Beetle will suck a millionaire dry in no time if driven daily and that it will let the owner down everyday.

There is alot of sarcasm in this thread and I am sorry for that, but you guys are really making vw's out as old ,flimsy ,super expensive deathtraps that will break or kill you in a trip from home to work or vice versa.
Just my 2gold coins.

[Cusser]

Remember: the early child seats would get laughed at today for providing "any" safety, but they were likely light years better than my mom holding her arm outstretched.

My daily driver 1988 Mazda B2200 truck - like my old VWs - has no air bags, no ABS, no third brake light, but I still drive it. Everything has its risks, nothing is foolproof.

So everything is relative. Even my mom....
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297