2001 Beetle. What to look for?

[Velocite]

Hello, newbie to the site. I am looking to get my daughter a 2001 beetle with 150,000 miles on it. What should I be looking for? I know nothing of the new beetles. If it was a 67, I would have no problems! Any help would be appreciated!!!!! CV joints? Transmission, windows, electrical? Please help,

Thanks

[oasis]

Well, you should check everything anyway. The two concerns I have heard is (1) the smoothness of shifting (if it is an automatic), and (2) consumption of oil (if it is the original 2.0 gas engine for that year).

There is no way to conclusively know about consumption of oil without having the car for a while. It might be worthwhile to see if the owner has records available for inspection (depending how long he or she has owned it). I always check the level and cleanliness of the oil before starting the engine for a test drive. From there, I ask when the oil was last changed. Later, I might ask to see any repair and maintenance records; then again, I might not. Depends on my confidence at that point.

Those New Beetles are on a Golf IV platform. Most things are pretty good. You are always going to have wear and tear items (like CV joints) come up. Goes with the territory of buying a used car (and owning a new car for any length of time). Some people will report a horror story about this or that, but I usually discount the person over the car itself in this case. If a particular car has "an easy fix" needed, it's time to question the car's ownership.

My last piece of advice is to check the timing belt or have someone check it. It doesn't hurt to ask when the timing belt was last done. (If done at 70-80k miles, it may be needing another one.) That's a fairly pricey repair. It's even pricier if it blows up.

Nothing wrong with New Beetles. I considered getting one for my daughter for high school and college, but she preferred an older Jetta. I made the timing belt an issue to lower the price, and got it replaced first thing after purchase.
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Now: 2003 New Beetle Turbo S / 1990 Single Cab Transporter / 2014 Tiguan R-Line 4motion / 2013 Tiguan S / 2002 Golf GLS TDI
Past: 1974 Thing Acapulco / 2009 Eos Komfort / 1997 Jetta GT / 2002 Cabrio GLX / 2002 Passat GLS / 1971 Super Beetle / 1993 EuroVan MV Westfalia / 1981 Pickup LX / 1985 Vanagon / 1986 Jetta GLI

[Velocite]

Thanks for answering. I have read about a wiring harness problem. But that was some time ago. It has the 1.8 Turbo engine. Any hints or suggestions on that motor. Thank you oasis

[oasis]

The Passat we inherited from my dad when we forbade him to drive was a 1.8T. Nice engine. Some people had sludging problems but I think if you follow the manual you will be fine. We had the Passat eleven years from new, did everything to specs, literally never had a problem with it. If the owner did things responsibly, the New Beetle with the 1.8T should be fun and reliable. Sometimes one has to size up the seller in order to size up the car.
_________________
Now: 2003 New Beetle Turbo S / 1990 Single Cab Transporter / 2014 Tiguan R-Line 4motion / 2013 Tiguan S / 2002 Golf GLS TDI
Past: 1974 Thing Acapulco / 2009 Eos Komfort / 1997 Jetta GT / 2002 Cabrio GLX / 2002 Passat GLS / 1971 Super Beetle / 1993 EuroVan MV Westfalia / 1981 Pickup LX / 1985 Vanagon / 1986 Jetta GLI

[vwnutts]

They are good cars, the timing belt job is more expensive then the 2.0 motor, due to the timing belt kit being twice as much to buy then the 2.0 kit. The turbo is the only other item to make sure is good, no smoke while running. I have fixed both a worn turbo on a beetle and the beetle motor after timing belt failure, it bent 12 or the 20 valves in the head. Less room to work on the engine then in a mk4 jetta or golf with same setup, so having someone work on it May cost more all depends on the shop, if you do the work yourself no big deal either way. Good luck.
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1970 std beetle, 1991 2 door Jetta (Best 1/4 mile 10.21@147) still a street car, 2001 1.8T 4 door golf, 2001 1.8T Jetta Wagon, 2009 TDI Jetta, 1999 F350.

[Karmannut]

Also check out the newbeetle.org just like The Samba for New Beetles
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Rupert- 64 Sea Blue Beetle with 66 Dove Lodgette tent
Bunny- 84 grey Rabbit Convertible
Pepper-18 Habanero Orange Beetle SE Premium
Air and Water do mix!

[Malokin Martin]

Have you driven one? I had rented one for a week and found the automatic window cracking deal and the seatbelts being so far back completely distracting. A small thing, but I had enough by the end of the rental.

[didget69]

I know 7 people personally that had 2000-2004 Beetles. All had problems.
Electrical issues. Transmission issues. Engine issues. Body/trim issues, etc. And these owners are car fanatics, and had the regular services performed on the cars. All traded for non-VW cars after their less than great experiences.

Dig into websites dealing with consumer complaints on the cars...

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/vw_beetle.html

There are multiple non-fan sites...

My local indy VW shops have a love/hate relationship with the New Beetles. They hate fixing them, but love the money made.

Good luck. Maybe you'll have better results, but in my area, the early New Beetles are dirt cheap. Possibly due to the owners losing faith in their car & tiring of the repairs?

bnc
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I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door.

[jmartin7]

This is my 2001 turbo/stick shift.

There are a few problems that these cars are known for.

Failing window regulators
Bad automatic transmissions, especially the four speeds.
Bad coil packs
Bad coolant temperature sensors
And probably more that I'm forgetting

This being said. I have really enjoyed my car and I recommend one to anyone willing to drive stick and turn a wrench every now and then.

[Derek Cobb]

I have a 2001 1.8T New Beetle five speed. I really like the car. Make sure you don't go past 60,000 miles on the timing belt, the coil packs occasionally go bad, I've had to replace the window regulator on the passenger side, the gas struts on the rear hatch and the stinking side impact sensor for the airbag went bad and finding a reasonably priced replacement is damned near impossible.
On the up side, the car is really fun to drive, gets great gas mileage, is really comfortable and really isn't too hard to work on. I have 112k on mine and I have no plans on getting rid of it any time soon.