Ot: Considering buying a new beetle...thoughts?

....................Your Honda idea is good one. The hybrid civic or even the regular one would make a lot of sense on a long commute. Current generation VW's haver a lot of problems and are not nearly as reliable as a Honda or Toyota. If your boyfriend doesn't believe this, he should start reading RAMVW. Owner satisfaction surveys from groups like Consumer's Union would also be very enlightening.

timmy

Thanks timmy!

-- Anna

....................Why not get something that can do a little better than "no major faults"? A lot of 'minor' faults can be a big pain in the butt.

........................This is precisely why they're not considered as well built or reliable as some of the other makes. Who wants to spend their time dropping a three or four year old car off at the dealer for 'extended warranty' work? Not 'particularly dramatic' problems and 'known defects' are what you'd like to avoid when relying on a car for a long daily commute. My ten year old altima (150k+ miles) is away from town while my daughter is attending college in another state and she hasn't been bothering me about any known or unknown defects.

Probably an oft and impractical opinion, but why not... this is a public forum:

Up the engine in the beetle to a fat Type4 conversion and triple the horsepower:

It is just a rebodied something-or-other (help me, folks). I know four people who have the Waterhead Bug and they have all had unacceptable problems, mostly electric or gas mileage issues. FWIW.

Because I simply don't want a Honda. I figure one thing gone wrong in over 4 years of driving is pretty insignificant. It has been very obvious to me that you like Japanese cars and that is your right. The only other problem I even had was my rear hatch sticking when I first got the car and all it required was 2 adjusting screws be loosened by a half turn. I live in an area where ANY foreign car dealer is a minimum hour drive, so if I am not going to buy a car built by the Big 3, I may as well get what I like. The Honda dealer and the Volkswagen dealer nearest me are and the same, so it's not like I'm looking at a whole heck of alot of difference as far as where I am going for service.

Also, Consumer Reports means nothing to me. I used to read that but eventually concluded they are nowhere near as independent as they would like you to believe.

In Europe the recent surveys show that most reliable cars are the Toyotas. If I wanted a reliable car here, I'd buy a Corolla. They are not sexy, but they will get you where you are going.

....................Currently, I own five VW's and two of them are watercooled. My two Nissans are both made in Tennessee. I bought the wife a 'made in Ohio' Honda. Your 'made in Pueblo' bubble-shaped golf is notorious for being less reliable than most other brands..........not just the Japanese ones. Your individual experience may be satisfactory for you but may not be representative of that car's expected level of reliability on average for others who might not be as lucky as you've been. If you don't like Consumers' Union, that's fine. Check out this link:

What you are suggesting is a great idea, we actually are discussing a type 4 conversion in my beetle either that or a 2110cc with dells. However the rule was when I got my car was I was not allowed to drive it in the winter, Mike doens't drive his aircooleds through the winter either. With the exception of the rusty westy that has a type 4 and is still slow slow slow.

We are approaching winter over here in the Pacific North west and with winter comes harsh rain storms. Here on Vancouver Island bugs are famous for rotting, not rusting. And I dont care what sort of argument this starts or how much of a sell out it makes me but sometimes it's nice to be in a new car with comfort.

-- Anna

I hear ya..

Raby is offering engines with air conditioning compressors, too. Yes, I'm trying to tempt you to the dark side... bwaa ha ha.. You can add a modern FI system, too, but now the cost is probably over $10K..

hmmm.

HMmm, I was going to write that Olli, but you beat me to it.. :o) Toyota is THE #1 when it come to reliability.. Not exiting cars but very reliable...

J.

I had a new rabbit in the 80s--which prolly has nothing to do with the VW products of the 00s--but the thing was a POS and the big lesson was that I will never ever again deal with VWoA--maybe that's VWoC in your case. If the tdi you found has all the bugs fixed and you know a reliable mechanic for when something really big goes wrong, then ok, go for it. But I'd swallow my pride and go for the junk Honda/Toyota. You could always fit it with a wing and a spiffy tip :-) Good luck.

..........................Would that be a 'shiny tip'?

I for a different story have had 4 VWs from 93 to 96 model years and have had nothing but good cars. Service, though is a horrible, completly disgusting experience. Get one, get a Bentley and read the watercooled group and in your case the TDI forum and live happily.

Dont get near a dealership and you'll be fine..

"Tim Rogers" wrote in news:blq9qi$ediq1$1@ID-

No, 'cause those ricers don't have peeshooters.