Not to start a fight

Why not read up in Consumers Report on the service record and reliability of the two. But actually you are trying to compare "apples and oranges". They are two very very different vehicles.

hah funny post.. its like compaing apples to earthworms

of cource the beetle has better gas milege it is made for that

mustang = sports car beetle is a regeneration of the hippy era... come on man everybody knows that

i say get the ford... if its what the lady wants why not.. you will enjoy its power.

then again it depends on your needs. However if it came down to a mustang and a beetle.. the mustang would most likely be most peoples choices. why only a beetle as a choice?

why not check out other cars made by ford / dodge?? chevy?

im more of a ford truck guy... i dont like their cars that much however check out dodge for their cars.. when i owned cars they were dodges and never gave me much greif

What is the total drive home price differential? You will need to determine that before you can know the true resale value as a percentage of the acquisition price. Toyota advertises the supposed higher retail value of their cars, compared to domestics, but they don't tell you their cars cost many thousand of dollars more to drive home than domestics, more than the difference in retail value in two years so their resale value as a percentage of the drive home price in lower, not higher.. The Mustang has been the best seller in that segment for over twenty years, that must say something of what buyers think of the vehicle. The base engine a Mustang is a V6 that burns regular gas. The beetle is only a four cylinder and requires higher priced gas.. Can you really compare one to the other? RWD cars generally have much lower insurance rates than FWD cars. Call your agent and ask him the rates for both. After you do your homework you will be in a better position to make your own informed choice, don't you think?

The most import thing, if it were me, would be NONE of the above. After all the years I've been married I know enough to get my wife what she wants and I would never be foolish enough to do anything to stop her from getting what she wants. ;)

mike hunt

jb wrote:

Easy. Because the Beetle only has half an engine, and the Mustang has a whole one.

I think the key point is that she is buying the vehicle. Let her enjoy it. You should drive your car.

Jeff

Darn, you didn't cross-post it to a VW group, that would get the crap flowing.

As everyone mentioned, oranges and earthworms. Does she want performance (Mustang) or boring economy (Beetle)?

As someone mentioned, look at CR ratings, but be sure to take it with a box of salt.

VWs for some reason have "good" resale value considering they are built pretty crappy. You could take this to your advantage and buy the Ford a year or two used, let someone else eat up the resale. If you plan on driving it into the ground, resale is moot.

Headroom is moot with a convertible (yes, I know what you mean.)

Is that PT cruiser convertible out yet? Have you looked at it?

Personally I'd take the Mustang, but with a hard top (gets too cold here for a rag top)

Finally, it's upto your wife.

I bet she didn't tell you what to buy.

========== I think you should tell her she can walk when she needs to go somewhere...LOL If your gonna keep the thing past the warranty I would get the Mustang.

Let me get this straight: this car is for your wife, right? What difference does it make what you need or want? It's going to be HER car.

Whatever my wife and I decide we need something we talk about it. She was not happy with her Dodge Durango.. My Toyota Tacoma was getting to be to small for the four of us and the dog.. When the kids were little 4 years ago it was fine....

She and I went out and looked at all the trucks and cars. We spend two weeks looking...

Last week I was having my oil changed on my Marquis and I found a 99 F-150 Super cab on the lot of the dealer...

I callled her on the cell, she was out the door of work in ten minutes... She looked at it drove it, we took it home put the two kids and the mut in the back and we BOTH deciced to buy it...

I traded in my 99 Taco and she traded in her overweight and POS Durango....

I guess the moral of the story is, you have to work together to get what you both want and need...

If she wants the Ford then let her get the Ford, if she wants the bug let her get the bug...

Jake

In article , Mortimer Schnerd, RN wrote: (snip)

In our household, there are occasions when we drive each other's car. For instance, on a long journey, we'll pick one car and share the driving. Or, when one car's being fixed, we'll share the other car. If something made it awkward for me to drive her car, I'll be less able to do as much of the driving. It makes sense to give someone /some/ input to a purchasing decision if that person's sometimes going to have to use the thing being bought. I suspect we're not all that unusual in occasionally driving each other's cars.

-- Mark

Drive home cost is important. Right now I've got a bunch of plumbers here repiping the house. One noticed my 2002 Ranger Edge Extended Cab in the driveway and asked me about it. 3.0L, 5spd, CD/MP3, rubber mats-no carpet, A/C, 4:11 rear, 17" wheels, bed liner, step bumper with plug-in for trailer: sale price $12,500 with tax and tags, $13,950. His Tacoma :V-6,

5spd, A/C, Carpet, CD player, Extended Cab, 15" wheels, bed liner, standard light-duty bumper: drive off $22,300. My truck looks better (IMHO) and definitely rides better and has better acceleration in traffic. My price is also better. As to which holds up better, well, my last Ranger, a 94, went 140,000+ miles.

My wife had a bettle a couple of years ago, was great until about 7500 miles. From then on it was the car from hell. All sorts of electrical problems, every damn part had to be ordered, it was insane, at 10K after being stranded 6 times she had had enough and traded it. Do yourself a favor and buy anything but the beetle.

Roy

$13,950 was not your total drive home price, I'll bet. The total drive home price includes the negotiated selling price, taxes, fees, dealer adds and finance charges, if you financed. Add up your up front costs, trade allowance and your monthly payment by the number of months to get the TRUE total drive home price. I was in retail auto sales for ten years, most buyers have no idea how much they actually spend on a vehicle. Two of the brands we sold was Toyota and Ford. The way there are marketed there is no question a similar Toyota will cost more to drive home. Even if the selling price was the same, thousands more..

mike hunt

Reecho Tally wrote:

Seems as though the original criteria was "convertible". Chevrolet's Corvette may be too expensive...

Read Consumer reports and squash the beetle.

Stew