New-ish to the Samba and new to Volkswagens.

[drluvbug]

Hey everyone, I’m relatively new to the forums, and looking to get advice. A wise man once told me, The Samba is the place to be. So what would you advise for someone who would like to own a classic bug as their first car. I wouldn’t be using it as a show car, it would be a daily driver. The climate being Canada, Eastern Ontario. We do get some snow in the winter. But I’ve heard classic beetles can cut through snow pretty good if equipped properly, Etc. What about heaters channels? I know that’s a lot to take in, but I’m new and eager to learn.

Thank you!
- drluvbug.
(Beginner to the wonderful world of Volkswagen.)

[riva]

"The cheapest bug is the most expensive bug." It is what they tell me.

[baldessariclan]

Classic beetles were fairly good snow cars (at least as compared to other contemporaries back in the day), especially when equipped with decent snow tires with studs. However, they also tended to rot away pretty quickly when used on heavily salted roads, so I'd definitely keep that in mind if you plan to drive one up there in the wintertime. Heating could also be bit of an issue, especially in the far north. I grew up in Alaska, and remember many of the 1960's beetles and busses there being equipped w/ auxiliary gas heaters -- i.e. since puttering around town at say 25 mph on 10F or lower days, the stock heating system just wasn't going to cut it.

To a first car / new ACVW owner, I'd also offer a few other pointers:

- These are 50+ year old cars nowadays, so prepare on spending a fair amount of repair and restoration time and $$, if you want to get all the various components and systems working decently. It really helps if you're able to do the majority of this work yourself.

- Unless you really like body work and are a good welder, heartily recommend you avoid rusty specimens. They tend to rot from the bottom up, and repairs for that sort of damage require a substantial effort (and note once again the caution above about using on salty / wet roads...).

- Avoid cheap aftermarket parts, and the outfits that peddle them. A lot of that stuff nowadays is unfortunately pretty much complete trash right out of the box. You'll want to invest some time in learning how to source good quality parts (e.g. used or NOS original German stuff, quality aftermarket brands, etc.).

- Get a copy of the appropriate Bentley shop manual for your bug, and start getting familiar with the proper maintenance and repair procedures for it.

- Visit "The Samba" often and search out all the good threads and links for any questions or problems you're having -- there is an absolute wealth of information contained in this forum! Welcome and good luck!!
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1971 Standard Beetle — fairly stock / driver

baldessariclan -- often in error, never in doubt...

[KTPhil]

Avoid rust. Avoid salted roads. But the most rust-free car you can find; all else is replaceable/repairable.

Some hints here once you bought one and have it drivable:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7329039
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=263528
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=584315
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2350791

[finster]

is there a vw club or owners near you? if you have never driven a classic vw then I would strongly suggest you try one out before thinking of buying one. the reality, especially for an everyday car, can be quite different from the dream.
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"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[DocNexil]

Hello and welcome!

First piece of advice I can offer is don't be afraid to ask the "stupid" questions. Some of the subforums even have a dedicated sticky thread for them! Also, there's a good chance your potential question has already been answered, so try out the search function in-site here or google "thesamba [your issue]".

My first car and my current daily driver is my 1971 bus. I look at the issues my bus throws at me like a therapist: There's been 50+ years of misuse and abuse to work through. Sometimes an issue goes deeper than it first appears.

Along those lines, no VW is the same. They all have a personality and it will show itself to you eventually. Learn to love the quirks, and the car will love you back.

At the end of the day everyone's here because we all love these weird old cars and want to share the experience with each other. Don't get discouraged, everyone enjoys these cars differently!

Like stated from others, the reality of these cars, especially as a daily, is very different from modern cars. Temper expectations (especially for "new" parts), but know that the reward is worth it. Well, it's worth it to me at least. And the thousands (millions?) still driving these cars today. Good luck!
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1971 Dormobile "Juliett"
1970 beetle "Rudie"

[oprn]

All I can say is OH! WOW!

Buying and driving a 50+ year old car as a daily in Ontario! That is an ambition that is bordering on... well, I am not sure what adjective to use for fear of offending you!

First off, old air cooler VWs can be and were at one time dependable daily drivers. I know, I was there and did that but the old VWs you will find today and the replacement parts that we can find now... good luck with that! Your average VW that you find today is a long way from being in that kind of condition. By time you fix the ravages of age, weather, salt damage, poor quality aftermarket parts and the stupidity/ignorance/screwups of the last 3 owners several years will have expired!

My advice to you is buy a good used later model Honda/Toyota/VW water pumper and drive that daily. Unless of course you are lucky enough to be able to go about all of your daily activities on foot or by bicycle. Then take your time finding a nice RUST FREE (that will most likely require a trip outside of the notorious Ontario rust belt) old VW to tinker with in your spare time.

What I have said, while it is pretty harsh, is intended to bring a bit of reality to your dreams. I would hate to see you buy an old Beetle, get totally bogged down in the immensity of the project, throw up your hands in frustration and leave your dreams unfulfilled! Better to go in with lower expectations (yes the daily driver part) move ahead slowly and do it right as you can afford the time and good quality parts.

Keep in touch!
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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[Ceckert64]

It’s not always easy to daily an aircooled but it’s worth it. The winter is defined a struggle. The heat is the worst part, you can make it have good heat but it’s hard. The best winter daily is my Squareback for heat, it gets toasty.

Overall I’d look for a late 60s early 70s bug that’s rust free as said, there are also more of them left in junkyards to scavenge parts from. Get a Southwind/ Stewart Warner gas heater for it. You’ll need a lot of fluid film, I bought a 5 gallon bucket of it and coated my bus. I made sure to get the inner cavities. It took 2 or 3 whole days to undercoat but I’ve been driving it in salt and there has been no rust so far.

You’ll also want a garage if you winter daily it to fix it in. It sucks fixing VWs in a snow covered parking lot, been there done that. I’ve daily driven my bus from mid-March to now and I’ve had problems but still have never needed a tow since March when a CV broke and getting stuck in a foot of snow. Winter tires help a lot. I’ve put 10,000 miles on it since March I think, it’s definitely doable to daily
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1964 sunroof Beetle Restoration "Herbie"
“Joann” 1970 Elm Green Squareback
1972 Yellow Tin Top Westfalia -Sold
“Fitz” 1971 Westfalia Poptop EJ22 swap
“Rome” 91 Syncro

[Erik G]

[Manfred58sc]

Lots of good advice above. I would ad you MUST be willing to do the wrenching, very few garages will take in ACVW's. Local driving ok, road trips??? Not anymore unless you are a bad ass and carry all your own spares. I drive my 69 Bus every day and only carry a spare fuel pump and ignition stuff. That generally can get me back home.

You will dump more into a worn out Honda/Toyota ( once there is a major failure) than a sorted out VW for about the same initial money.

Good luck and happy motoring
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Fat chick owner/operator

[VW_Jimbo]

You only live once. And there is no guarantee that you will be here tomorrow! So, don’t allow people to control your thinking or direction through this life! Grow a pair and grab the bull by the horns!

But, I will agree with most of what has been stated above. The actual car, in running condition is a great car to drive. Problem, as stated above, are the current availability of usable (not even good) parts is getting sparse! You could try the daily driver thing, but you need to always have a back up plan, or car to depend on (I would steer you towards a Toyota).

But again, you live once. And only for a limited amount of time. So, be sure to do what makes you the happiest!
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[Abscate]

Rust protection is poor on these cars. It will last much longer as a three season car with a winter rat to drive in the salt. You can sneak it out on nice days in the winter on occasion
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🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🍊 🍊 🍊

[drluvbug]

Hey everyone, hope everyone who celebrates had an amazing holiday season. Sorry for not posting for a bit, but after giving this a lot of careful consideration as a beginner, I’m starting to agree with the idea of perhaps buying a “winter rat” to handle the winter seasons, that being said. This winter has been incredibly mild so far. (Crossing my fingers it stays this way, but it’s Dec 26th… and snow storms almost always come here in January.)

So on the topic of a decent winter rat, what about a water cooled new bug? Maybe 1997 through 2010 ish? I’d prefer to stick to Volkswagen but what about other manufacturers?

When I can get a classic in the garage, I don’t want to kill it with rust. I mean sneaking it out if there’s an occasional mild period such as the kind we’re experiencing now? maybe? Just had sometime to think and want to go about it wisely. Putting a lot of time into a project car and having that killed by rust isn’t ideal.
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“They make ten thousand cars, they make them exactly the same way, and one or two of 'em turn out to be something special. Nobody knows why.“

[mikec4193]

If you want to stick with the Volkswagen a water-cooled modern day Beetle would be a good deal...run it until the salt is off the roads and then dig out the ole air-cooled VW...

The differences will be like day and night...the newer Beetle will keep with daily traffic flow like it should...

Then in the warmer months drive the air cooled VW....in the slow lane for sure...

Good luck which ever way you end up going.

MikeC
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Dad bought his first Beetle on Dec 17, 1953.

[jinx758]

@mikec4193

Much better choice !
However:
Some years of those "New Beetles" we're better than others & for different reasons :

Transmission related to a lack of cooling due to the bottoms of the radiators bring blocked with debris.
I knew a few people that had this done & the cost to repair at a shop ranged from 4,000 to 6,300. OUCH

Some said theirs was reliable & kinda peppy, others claimed the 4cylinder would complain during acceleration.
They all said fairly good on miles per gallon.

There is a section on TheSamba for H2O VWs. Maybe some info there.
Forums for them may be on Goo-Goo.

Your mileage may vary.

Happy hunting... stay safe

jinx
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" It's not valuable unless you learn something from an experience. " Henry Ford

It's not unlike the same difference ...

My Craigslist rescued 100 footer :
1971 Standard Bug
1776cc dual port
034 distributor
38mm EGAS Carburetor

[Dusty1]

Driving a vintage Bug in the winter:

Up north driving a Bug in the winter is only a little colder than riding a snowmobile.


Keep your ice scraper under your thigh as you drive. Count,

"One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three..." and scrape, scrape, scrape.

Repeat.

Count, "One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three..." and scrape, scrape, scrape.


If your vintage VW has heat it will turn snow and road salt into salt slush on the lower portions of the car. If it still has its running boards the slush will build up under them and rust out your heater channels.


.
.

[baldessariclan]

[Dusty1]

[drluvbug]

Replying to this thread, well firstly I’m a little late.. but Happy New Year 2025. Hopefully it’s a good one.

Re-read all the comments and I feel like I’m a bit more sensible now, I’m definitely thinking about finding & using a water cooled new beetle for winter travels, and then keeping the classic bug for mid to late spring through early fall.

That’s the most progress I’ve made to date, however I’m also realizing it’s a journey even before you get into owning and taking care of a bug. For the time being, I’m doing research, research, research. And this site is definitely helping with that.

Also remembered a funny little story. - met up with a VW owner a few years ago, I was maybe 14? He had this beautiful 67 bug. This was at a grocery store parking lot. Think maybe a Giant Tiger? Anyways, we spent time talking after he came out of the store, and I was so enamoured by the bug, It was love at first sight. He told me back then about The Samba.

If he happens to be on here at all, thanks for taking the time to stop and chat about your bug & your journey to owning one. That alone was a massive inspiration to me and honestly I owe you man!

I look forward to embracing the VW life now and in my years still to come, and making plenty of new friends, along with some great memories.
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“They make ten thousand cars, they make them exactly the same way, and one or two of 'em turn out to be something special. Nobody knows why.“

[oprn]

Nice to hear from you again! I am also glad that your dream of driving a vintage Beetle has not died and that you are moving forward with caution. That is a recipe for success. All too often people buy these old cars on a whim, find out reality does not match their dreams and end up with a negative experience.

Keep driving something practical (Honda, Toyota, newer VW) and in time you will find a nice old Beetle to treasure and drive on Sunday afternoons. They are indeed a unique car and driving experience.
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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!