Is a Volks Wagon buggy a good car?

Is a Volks Wagon buggy a good car?

Asked by: Mike @ 2009-07-15 17:19:07

Answers ::
if your a girl.. of course.

AP

actualy yes,they are very good cars,just no one seems to think that they any good just because their shape,they have great gas mileage,realy reliable engines,and are cheap to have any maintance done on them if needed,also the old ones float =P

Dude

I keep hearing they're not very safe which makes sense :( but i still want one.

sexychick756

For women and gay men, yes.
Make friends with a mechanic. You will need them a lot.

Stupid Flanders

First off a buggy is an off road car. I assume you are asking about a beetle or Bug. they are and always have been a Great car. my last one got 43 MPG. you can get them cheap. parts are super cheap and very available. even your local parts store will or can get any part for them. buy one! buy a service manual and some wrenches. if your going to "Actually Own" one, YOU are Actually going to have to do maintance on it. When they see you pulling into there shop they snicker and say to each other " should we use lube on this one?" there going to stick it to you,... why? beacuse you'd have to to be an idiot not to fix it your self. they were ment to be fixed buy the owner, it's how there built. there too easy to fix to pay someone else.
personally I would never trust an american car mechanic to even check the oil in my VW's " I always say," I wouldn't let you put gas in my car, even if you were buying." bottom line read up on them. get one join a forum, and start wrenching. I wouln't drive anything else.

TomatoeP

Do you mean a Volkswagen Bug or an off road Volkswagen "dune buggy"? The Volkswagen Bug is a great first car. Easy to work on and they make plenty of aftermarket parts for them. I've got a 72 Volkswagen Bug that I drive at least 50 miles a day on the highway, in 115 degree Arizona summers, and it runs great. If you do decide to go with a Bug then I recommend getting a book called "How To Keep My Volkswagen Alive: A Manual for the Compleat Idiot" by John Muir. It's a great book with a lot of good info.

John

its small and compact but it would be reliable i believe, go on twenga and see if they have reviews about it, they are really good for that and cheap deals.

iain.brennan

AP shut up

if buggy your talking about the old one yes they are very fun small fuel efficient reliable cars and beetles even have there own car shows all around the world so AP suck on that

quincy d

The aircooled ones are cheap, reliable, easy to fix, easy to get parts for, as easy as possible on the wallet, prestigious (I get complements daily), you name it. I love my Volkswagen. I have a 1973 Volkswagen Beetle completely stock, best car ever.

Prime

A radiator in a Volkswagen Beetle? The engine's in the front? What's going on here?

I am not too experienced with the new ones. I know the old ones inside and out, every square millimeter. I can assemble one with my eyes closed. My friend just got a 2003 Volkswagen Beetle. I took a look at it, looked okay. I wanted to see the engine, so I went to the back and opened the lid. I saw no engine! Although I had serious doubts, I opened the front hood. There it was. It was in the front! A Beetle with a front engine! I stared in complete disbelief. Then I saw......a radiator! A watercooled Beetle? Am I being tricked here? Then about five minutes later I needed to jack it up to spin the wheels. So I jacked it up, got in, and hit the gas. That's when I realized that it was front wheel drive. A front wheel drive, front engine, watercooled Beetle?! What is going on here?

Asked by: Prime @ 2009-07-16 17:42:46

Answers ::
It the way the new Beetles are made

Ironball

It's called progress my friend!

Front engine, front drive is more stable, goes better in snow and such.

And any aircooled engine expands and contracts so much that they leak oil. Period.

Plus, like you I love the old cars, the heater works like a welding torch!

wayne

The new beetle has been this way since it came out, air cooling was dumped because it is not as reliable as water cooling is more efficient. Rear wheel drive is not used as with front wheel you can obviously direct the power, VW just made some changes that they thought were for the better.

Anthony

The original Beetle was designed from the outset as a rear-engined, rear-drive car.

The New Beetle is basically a Golf wrapped inside a different set of packaging. The floorpan, drivetrain and engine choices all come directly out of the Golf.

The New Beetle is one of those retro craze of cars like the MINI and the Fiat 500, which at one time although quite utilitarian are now being sold as fashion icons.

Rollo

Yup, its based on the Mark 4 VW platform (and still is to this date, even though all of their other models are based on the Mk5 platform). It shares its engines/tranny/suspension with the Golf and Jetta and came with a 2.0 liter 115 hp, 1.8 liter with a turbocharger (which is a great engine, 150hp in the beetle but tuned to 180 in most other cars), or a very torquey and efficient 90 hp 1.9 liter turbodiesel. It came with either a 02J manual five speed, a 01M 4-speed automatic made by vw (from 1998-2002), a 02G 6speed automatic made by Aisin (from 2003-on), or a 6 speed double clutch gearbox in the diesels from 2003-on.

Theres no trickery here :-P..just a fun, perky, reliable new version of the classic beetle.

Matt

Matt P

Is my 2003 VW 1.8T Jetta with 90K miles worth repairing?

Ignition coils, sparkplugs, timing belt, and brakes need to be done. Is it worth it to make these repairs/maintenance or should I just get a new car? I'm not really looking forward to taking on payments right now. Help?

Asked by: Mike @ 2009-07-16 12:05:47

Answers ::
Yes. Your car has a lot of life left in it. Repairing what you are driving is almost always cheaper than buying.

David E

the spark plugs and brakes are an easy fix and replace...the timing belt however is normal to go around 90k miles on all cars so any car you get youll have to replace te timing belt anyways around tihs time...if you want my opinion it would be much cheaper if you bought the parts and did the wok yourself and it will totaly be worth it to repair your 1.8t because vw engines can last forever (one more word of advice replace the water pump to because you cant really replace the timing belt without takin the water pump out)

dustin m

These are all common for the Jetta's and Golf's engines. The good news is that with this maintenance out of the way you will have a solid, reliable car for quite a while.

jake_deyo

I agree with all of the other answers, a VW with under 100 K is barely broken in, much less down. Unless you beat the ship out of it and did not ever change the oil.

But one thing caught my eye. Did it really mean ignition coils? Assuming they are the coils I am thinking of, why replace them? Coils generally last dern near forever, and usually they go out when new. Like most electronics, after 90 days, they are good to go.

Coils? I would question that one.

wayne

Are VW Bug comfortable for taller/wider people?

6', wide, as long as my head doesnt touch the ceiling, i'm cool
*old bug, not new

Asked by: Vanessa H @ 2009-07-16 22:30:07

Answers ::
6 foot tall. you will find it hard to fit in. not so much your head touching the roof. but more like your knees going into your stomach. =)

Shawn

The new shape one?

Yes. It should be comfortable, it's built on the same chassis as the Volkswagen Golf and they are quite roomy inside. I'm 6ft tall and I fit fine in a 2005 Volkswagen Polo.

Fork UK.

Fork UK

I am 5'10" and when I sit in the backseat of a bug I hit my head on every bump. In the front seat, I don't hit my head but the leg room is very hard. Unless my seat is all the way back, I just simply do not fit in the car.

Missy W

The originals actually have a lot of interior room. I am 6'1 with a very large frame and quite a lot of muscle mass, and I fit in there fine. My friend is a lot skinnier than me but is 6'3. He can also fit comfortably. There is more legroom in those things than most Cadillacs, thanks to the engine being in the back. The back seat is the only area where there is not much room. You can kinda squeeze two large guys back there, but it ain't easy. If you bring the front seat forward a little, which you have plenty room to do because of the enormous legroom, the ability to put two adults in the back is much higher. The headroom in the front is fine, it's not so good in the back. This is because the roof goes down in the back. But being 6 feet you shouldnt have a problem. Assuming you are riding in the front, it is very comforatable, even for "wide" people.

Prime

Are VW Jettas good cars?

When I say good, I mean reliable. Are they good on gas? Do they tend to have alot of mechanical problems. I know any car can have problems but there are cars that tend to have more then others. I'm doing a little research because I think Jettas are cute. I'm thinking of getting one. I'm looking for the years 2001-04

Asked by: Jamie @ 2009-07-15 20:30:14

Answers ::
No, they are terrible reliably from what I've read and seen, Jamie. I like Jettas also, but they are real headaches and can be expensive to fix compared to most other cars.
I'd look at Japanese cars, Jamie. sorry!

20G8J8FY

I agree with the first guy. They have a lot of electrical problems and for some unknown reason Volkswagen likes to put some weird and really expensive coolant hoses in their cars that can be a pain in the future. Can't go wrong with a Toyota or a Honda.

John

My wife absolutely loves her Reflex Silver 2005 Jetta! She has driven it for 75,000 reliable, fun to drive miles. She gets 30+ MPG and still has plenty of power for passing.
The Jetta has been from NY to FLA several times on vacations. It has a cavernous trunk designed to hold all of our camping gear. Plus, we put kayaks and or bikes on the roof rack.
During all these miles, the Jetta has never let us down.
Even though VW has an excellent warranty, we have not had to use it.
As for parts being high on VWs, that is a vile myth!
My neighbor [a Honda owner] and I have a friendly rivalry going. We compare prices we pay for the repairs done to our cars [I have a 2000 VW]. Guess what? In every case, the cost comes out about the same!
So it doesn't really matter about what brand of car it is, ALL of them are 'costly' when it comes time to pay up.
BTW, I also have a 2006 VW GTI, which shares many parts with the Jetta, and it too has proven to be a super-durable car.
Also, a workmate of mine has a Jetta TDI with 180,000 reliable miles on it . No problems at all.

fenton

I have a 2002 VW Jetta 1.8T and I love it. I only say that because it is the turbo model in the 5-speed which is fun to drive. Other than that it is not a great car so I would have to agree with the first two people.
Pros for my car would be a great engine, (you never have to shift down on the highway to pass), nice soundsystem, sunroof, and stock 17 inch alloy wheels.
Cons would be expensive repairs. For example, to repair the drivers seat headrest (it was stuck in the upright position), the dealer would have had to take out the entire seat, cut into the seat and replace the latch, just because VW likes to make things difficult. This procedure would have cost me $500 too, just to repair a headrest.

To sum it all up, I think that if youre going to buy a Jetta you should look at the 1.8T, (I think its a 2.0 liter now) turbo engines which are more expensive but you ultimately get more upgrades from the base model. If you don't go with the more expensive models you might as well buy a Honda Civic or something similar.

Michael H

2000 vw jetta, battery/generator light is on.?

The book says to bring it to the dealership (but of course it would say that) the generator belt seems to be completely in tact. I let my car run and looked at it, the belt was fine and on track.

The battery, I got it about a year ago..brand new. So what could be the problem. What would you do if this was your car.


I hate the vw dealership because they charged be $859 to fix my window to get it to roll up. I actually feel nauseous and feel tears welling up at the thought of going to the dishonest, price gouging assholes at the dealership. Could I just need a jump?

Asked by: M W @ 2009-07-15 16:36:01

Answers ::
bad alternator

brian d

1 check battery connections
2 go to parts store..most [advance,zone,,oreillys] will test alternator and battery without removing them...FREE

pedro7of9

Sounds like you need an alternator.
Any qualified shop can do the repair. Or you could even do it yourself.
Just a quick note on your dealership experience. Had a friend with a Ford van that needed a window regulator . He had it replaced at Ford dealer for $936. It appears , like everything else in this world, car parts and labor prices have spiraled out of control. My neighbor (Honda owner) and I compare prices of repairs to our cars. Every time the cost is about the same. Lets face it all car parts, no matter the brand, are costly when it comes time to pay up!
I'm sorry you feel that you were taken advantage of at your dealer.
The VW dealership here [Fayetteville, NC] has always treated me with respect. On one occasion they even saved me 100's of $$ on my mothers car. The few repairs made to my GTI were fairly priced IMO. They do it right the 1st time and I never have to make a return trip.
Hope your problem is resolved quickly.

fenton

My son-in-law has a VW Jetta with diesel engine. it keeps losing power when accelerating.?

t has been at dealer for 1.5 monthes and they can't seem to fix it. Anyone have any insight into this problem? The reason it is at the dealer is it is still under warranty!

Asked by: SUSAN G @ 2009-07-15 19:24:24

Answers ::
Have they checked the glow plugs at all. It's an expensive repair and if that is the problem, the dealership probably wishes that the car wasen't under warranty....

Diggs

could be many things from bad injectors clogged air filter bad fuel or even a bad turbo hope this helps

Justin A

Injection timing could be off as well. Or, worse case scenario blown head gasket.

djaca70