Did VW Beetle cars ever come in 5 door ?

Question 1
Did VW Beetle cars ever come in 5 door ?...  

Answers
1)   Yes, the bonnet was the boot, the back was the engine compartment.(the old version) - kaiser eric

2)   Not in the true sense that we know a 5 door now as the engine being in the back would mean fitting a hatchback would be pointless. The boot at the front is not anymore a door than the boot at the back of a saloon car so really if you mean the old beetle then NO - Timbo is here

3)   i believe there was a four door.but that was a vw variant. - J R

4)   No. the original VW Beetle shell stayed mainly the same throughout it's production life with small design changes. There was an estate version called the type 4 which had a different body style but used the same rear engine layout as the beetle. The engine was under the floor in the back and was a true 5 door estate. My Uncle used to have one and teased me about where to find the engine as you could put luggage in the Bonnet and Boot of the car - Hamback

5)   No they did not, but people did make them on their own.....kind of like a limo.
The type 181 is a 4 door air cooled VW (same basis as the old bug)
A type 4 is a Porsche.
I have also seen squarebacks that have been stretched with doors added. - Rod Knocker

6)   Beets never came out with a 4 door. It was a 2 door sedan. Only custom hot rodders may have cut in an extra door, but that was for a car show novelty. - the Horses Butt


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Question 2
Need Help With 1996 VW Polo Door Lock Cylinder!?...  My driver's side door lock had been pretty temperamental over the last few months, it used to take a couple of turns of the key to get the thing to open. The pin used to rise but nothing would happen until the 2nd turn of the key or if you tried to open it holding the handle at a different angle. Now today, it just completely gave up on me. My passenger side lock just spins and spins anyway so I was forced to clamber through the boot to open the door.

The door opens fine if you don't lock it or at least I think so.

I went to VW and described the problem, they said I probably need a new lock cylinder on both sides as something on the back of them had probably gone. It would have been £50 each side inc fitting but I have decided to go for the cheaper option and just buy the lock cylinders for £15ea. I told the guy I wanted to be able to use my current key with it and he said something about keeping the key in while you take the old lock out, and then he went on to say that with the new locks you need to insert the key bit by bit and adjust some springy things. But what do you do inbetween that?!

It all sounds very complicated and fiddly and the Haynes Manual was not much help in that department. I won't be getting the lock cylinders til Thursday so I haven't seen them yet but I'm panicking lol.

Has anybody else had experience of doing this or does anyone know of a decent guide if one exists? Were they right about it being the lock cylinders?

Answers
1)   Probably best fitting new barrels. After all,its a VW and still a great little car but cars are money boxes anyway. I used www.vwvortex.com. Got great help regarding similar prob. on my '98 Golf. - Paul

2)   your lock cylinders MAY be beyond hope but,
I'd check to see if the retaining clip is present, or fell into to door panel. this may be the problem because the pass side turns around and around,
(it's also disconnected from the metal slider bar that releases the locking mechanisum in the door)

And yes, if you go ahead and replace the lock cylinders you will have to get them "keyed" for your key or get a new key for the new cylinder. - Alfonzo

3)   i had this happen me about a year ago. what happened is the pin that attaches the lock barrel to the door pin mechanism has snapped. this happened to me on both sides of my 97 jetta. the dealer wanted somewhere along the lines of $500 to fix this and said it would take several days. I got the parts and did it myself (i needed new lock barrels and the pins that attach at the back.

After removing the cylinders from the door handle i carefully removed each of the "pins" and their corresponding springs, they are tiny so be very careful, and put them in the proper place in the new barrels. The first side took me about 35-45 minutes because i needed to figure out how to take the things apart. the second side i had assembled greased, and reinstalled in 20 minutes.

I would not suggest doing this yourself if you don't know about locks. get someone that knows what they are doing to have a look at it first. - tweek639

4)   Surely it would be cheating, and cheating yourself if you got other people to help you? The whole point of this test would be to test your suitability for that Uni...

It is people like you that devalue the University qualification and there are a lot of people who work so hard for themselves so they can get a good career. Just do your best, and don't expect other people to do your hard work for you. - lachlan


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Question 3
Buying 2003 Jetta GLX?...  hi...i am about to buy 2003 GLX jetta, has 92k on it, no accidents clean car. dealer is asking $4900 for it.

I want to know if its a good deal or bad one?

Also, i want to get input on cars reliablity and mechnical issues....i am getting mix reviews, some saying buy it some ppl say dont buy it its worse car ever etc. so i thought to ask here and make my decesion. thanks.

Answers
1)   good deal - VW Man

2)   Buy a Honda or Toyota, Volkswagens are by far the worst cars ever. I have a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta and it is absolutely atrocious when it comes to the repairs. I would never recommend one ever! They break down constantly and always have some sort of problem. I have never owned a worse car; I have put around 3k into my car. Everything gets messed up, why? My mechanic says the parts are cheaply made and assembled in Mexico. Buy something you know will last. My car has failed me. Buy a civic, I wish I would have. - nnik

3)   Depends on if it's been properly taken care of or not . . . - Richard R

4)   Well, if half the owners give thumbs up and the other half give thumbs down...you really want to take that chance.

Ask those owners with positive reviews how often they do their own work on their VW and I bet that attitude changes really quickly if they do their own repair work... - alfredb1979


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Question 4
96 VW Jetta 2.0 will not start?...  About 3 nights ago I bought a 1996 VW Jetta. The car ran and drove fine so I went ahead and bought it. Drove it home and went to crank it up again and now it wont start. Checked fuel, fire, and now found out it needs a new pick up coil. This is the first VW I have ever owned and I need to know if this will fix the problem. My wife and I will have sunk 200 into this car. I tried to call the people back I bought it from and they will not return my call. I spent 1300 on this car and now I have a paper weight. Please help me I need this car to get back and forth to work. Any info will be greatly appreciated.

Answers
1)   try a jump start - pacemaker

2)   Does not matter if you call the people back. You can't accuse them of selling you a lemon. There is no guarantee with any used vehicle. It is buyer beware....in other words either know some mechanical checks to do, or be able to judge people well, or be gosh darn lucky.
Mind you it would be nice to know now what kind of "personality" the car has....like has this happened before....and what did they find out- did they have to wait- play only country music while they do barefooted dancing around the car to heal it?
Some info is better than no info.
Maybe it never happened to them.
You have to take them at their word here.
Many times when I buy a used vehicle, I can pretty well be assured that the battery is on its last legs. But yours is cranking over? If it is, it is not the battery. Next check would be the spark at the spark plugs (normally for me, this is one of the first things I replace unless they are new(some people do change them so the car runs half decently) some don't. But, if taking one out and then have someone crank the engine over while you hold it a half inch from the metal of the block. Does a blue spark jump? Yes, then you got spark. I check all of them with the same test procedure.
Next I would look for an inline fuel filter. Is that full of fuel and is it clean or is it blackish. Blackish is probably clogged. Change it.
Fuel injection or carb worked getting you home so there is no reason to touch it.
Maybe the fuel pump did decide to cash in.

You need the basics to make the car run...air, fuel, spark, compression
The car ran decent so compression is not an issue, neither is air and fuel and spark.
If one is gonna fail first it is the electrical component. Battery number 1 check, alternator which charges the battery 2,
Does not matter whether it is a VW or a Toyota, or Nissan, or Honda, or Chev or Ford.
Engines all work the same way. So if you have a kid in the neighborhood who has his head under the hood of a car all the time(what neighborhood does not have that kid) ask him if he would have any idea. Sometimes these backyarders know a lot more than certified mechanics. And a local garage can fix a VW just as well as they can do any other breed of car if they are any good. If they are hosers, then all they do is take your money and fix nothing.
Ignition Coils do fail. and it is a sudden thing. No reason. More than likely age. Maybe you just got ""lucky""
I would still try to contact the last owner for some "insights" of what they have tried and how come it worked for them? Accusing them of stealing will put you in the dark because they won't tell you a thing. Accept the fact it is your problem....now to get assistance on it.
I am thinking electrical, where at the moment, I cannot say. - the Horses Butt

3)   Thats a long answer. To save you from reading it:

Battery - Possible dead battery due to cold
Gas - Dumb one, i know...but it happens more than you think
Spark plugs - A plug could be loose, not sparking correctly
Starter - This could be a big one. Tap the starter with a hammer with the key in the on position in the ignition. The car should start right up. Just keep tapping. This could be a bad starter (Autozone can check this)
Alternator - Use a meter to check Amp rating (Autozone can check this)
Fuel Pump - Are you getting fuel to the vehicle? This might not be as relevant because the car isnt even clicking over. - paintballpro111


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Question 5
1997 VW Passat; remote lock upgrade?...  I have a 1997 Volkswagen Passat glx vr6 and it doesnt have power locks; its just key entry. How can I find a remote power lock upgrade for it? Would it be expensive?

Answers
1)   Investigate further. If anything goes wrong with a VW central locking system they fail safe i.e. like it hasn't got one. My 97 Skoda (VW group) has got central locking but it has died and won't respond to a reset. - GibsonEssGee

2)   The GLX has power locks. Push down on the knob (closest to the glass), the doors will lock. If they don't the vacuum lines are cracked or the modulator is out. - djaca70

3)   you might be able to get a new remote at www.keylessride.com cause the glx should have power locks - Jimmy S


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