learn me 99 vw beetles with 2.slow

wife and i are going to check out a 99 vw beetle, 2.0 automatic on thursday after my graduation ceremony.
anything to look out for and beware of would be greatly appreciated, if the car looks good then we will be getting it, the price is right and she is pre approved for the loan with super low payments.
thanks in advance!

This isn't really relevant, but a friend of mine just totaled her beetle.

She was hit head on on a 40 mph street by a slightly lifted F250; believe it or not she walked away.

So, I'd say they're at least somewhat safe.

That's all I have.

Tom Suddard wrote: This isn't really relevant, but a friend of mine just totaled her beetle. She was hit head on on a 40 mph street by a slightly lifted F250; believe it or not she walked away. So, I'd say they're at least somewhat safe. That's all I have.

I actually saw one totaled abut 50 feet in front of my car from a head on with an excursion. pretty crazy. Glad to know they are somewhat safe, we will be driving around charlotte nc and I worry about the little lady

The back seat and hatch small to the point of being just about useless (good luck ever using a carseat in the back), and the auto box sucks what little life there was in the engine. I'd recommend a Jetta/Golf over a Beetle every time, but if she's set on having one, it'll make a fine runabout.

If she's got her eye on cute coupes, see if you can you convince her to try a Miata

Hmmm.... as a repair shop manager, I will say this: If it weren't for 98-05 VWs and Audis, we would likely be out of business. If you need an alternator, they cost about $200 and you have to remove both fenders and front bumper to get to it. A/C compressor? Same thing. Want to change the timing belt? You have to remove the mount bracket from the engine - which doesn't sound too bad until you realize its the size of a gorrilla's fist and it has to twist and turn out through a space of about 3/4". Then you realize that they engineered it so that the tensioner doesn't retract far enough to get the new belt on. You have to remove the cam sprocket and the tensioner, then jockey the belt, the tensioner, and the cam sprocket all at once in that same 3/4" of space with only two hands.

Then let's talk about check engine lights. You'll get tons of them. Your first one will be for secondary air injection. You'll discover that the 20-cent thin brittle plastic tubing they used for the air pump has disintigrated. You'll also discover that it has a very specific snap-on O-ring fitting that can't be replaced with plain hose. Then you'll realize that the only place you can buy it is at the dealer and it costs almost $200. My cost is $180.

Then your transmission will fail due to several factors. First, the solenoids and/or valve body will take a dump. It will burn up the clutches in a matter of a few miles. Then you'll take it to a transmission shop and they'll groan and whine about how hideously awful they are to build (which they are) and they'll charge you accordingly. You'll say "heck with this, I'll buy a used transmission and install it myself." Then you'll realize that they cost about $1100 from a salvage yard and more often than not they already have the same problem yours does.

You'll probably have a constant lamp warning that tells you that your brake light is out even though it isn't. You'll have to replace your ABS module, and even the rebuilt ones are $400 and often require reprogramming.

If you decide to install an aftermarket stereo, you will most likely fail emissions. Not kidding. VAG COM has a circuit in the OBD2 connector for radio diagnostics. In the absence of the factory radio, it gives 12v to a pin in the DLC which can (and has) fried a few scanners including our shop's Genysis. At best, the stereo will prevent communication with the OBD2 protocols. At worst, you'll fry the windows-based software at the emissions inspection station.

That brings me to the suspension. The front suspension has 8 control arms, each of which have windowed rubber bushings that fall apart. They are not replaceable. Each one also has a ball joint which is also not replaceable.

Good luck replacing front axles. Most stores don't carry them, or they say they do and they'll send something completely wrong. They are held on to the transmission with 6 funky 12-point female torx bits that almost always strip out. I gave up on VW front axles when I got the part number by the VIN and ordered them... only to find out they were totally different than what was installed in the car. There are VWs made in Mexico, Brazil, and Germany. Then you have mid-year splits, different transmissions for different engines, and evidently random drunken fun at the factory, all of which mean that axles change with the moon phase.

All of the interior trim is coated with something that smells like crayons and turns into chewing gum after a few years. All the black stuff will come off of the stereo and A/C buttons leaving them bright white and un-labeled. The door handles will do the same.

But, the good news is, it is a buzzy, whiny, squeaky rattle trap that is a horrific bore to drive. But wait, there's more... since every college girl thinks they're just faboo, they fetch three times what they're worth!

Sorry. [/soapbox] Good luck with your Beetle.

i could not imagine taking out a loan to buy a new beetle.

curtis73 wrote: All of the interior trim is coated with something that smells like crayons

But I really liked the smell of crayons in my ex-girlfriend's beetle! I figured she was kinky enough to have stuffed crayons down the air vents for fun...

hmmmm 99 volvo s70 with non functioning radio for $800 less than the vw a better/more reliable deal?
sounds like we cant afford to have the beetle if even 1/3 of that goes wrong.
the volvo and the vw are both very clean, but I was afraid of the vw for the maintenance. thankfully, grm is the source of all knowledge about everything, ever.

fwiw, I am rocking a $1200 98 s70 with 265k miles. changed the radiator and beat the pi$$ out of it. glt (turbo) no less.

Kendall_Jones wrote: fwiw, I am rocking a $1200 98 s70 with 265k miles. changed the radiator and beat the pi$$ out of it. glt (turbo) no less.

this one is a 2.4 n/a fwd, any experience with them?

I had one, way back in 1999. They eat oil, I think thereis a tech bulletin on it. Check that out.

curtis73 wrote: everything he said...

my cousin has a 99 jetta 2.SLOW

she lives in DC, while i was visiting her a while back. i remember thinking...huh this thing is kinda quick.

"is this a turbo?" i asked ..."no" she said. "why is it so fast?" i asked..."i trained it..." she said (dead serious!)

curtis73 wrote: If you need an alternator, they cost about $200 and you have to remove both fenders and front bumper to get to it. A/C compressor? Same thing. Want to change the timing belt? You have to remove the mount bracket from the engine - which doesn't sound too bad until you realize its the size of a gorrilla's fist and it has to twist and turn out through a space of about 3/4". Then you realize that they engineered it so that the tensioner doesn't retract far enough to get the new belt on. You have to remove the cam sprocket and the tensioner, then jockey the belt, the tensioner, and the cam sprocket all at once in that same 3/4" of space with only two hands. That brings me to the suspension. The front suspension has 8 control arms, each of which have windowed rubber bushings that fall apart. They are not replaceable. Each one also has a ball joint which is also not replaceable. Good luck replacing front axles. Most stores don't carry them, or they say they do and they'll send something completely wrong. They are held on to the transmission with 6 funky 12-point female torx bits that almost always strip out. I gave up on VW front axles when I got the part number by the VIN and ordered them... only to find out they were totally different than what was installed in the car.

I am not sure why people have to disassemble so much to work on new beetles, I have watched someone change a timing belt and alternator on more than one and not have to take that much apart.

On the front suspension you are thinking of a passat or an audi, beetles dont have that suspension.

If you order CV joints individually by the part number the dealer lists it doesnt seem to be a problem, but yeah, they are a lot of different kinds. The bolts holding them on are not a torx, using the right tool would likely help with not damaging the bolts.

But, yes all the other points you mentioned seem to be true, I wouldnt recommend a new beetle other than a manual TDI, those seem to be reasonably good cars.

We have had a 99 beetle in the fleet for almost ten years, it had a catostrophic failure at 29k miles that took out both the engine and transmission was replaced under warranty on the last day of the warranty. It has seen very little serious driving as my 67ish year old mother is the primary driver. It has less than 70k on it now and has been more or less a good car, but given the pain in the arse it is to do any mechanical repair I would go for a Golf or Jetta over it every time. The engine compartment is just too cramped to be home mechanic friendly and having a lift only makes it marginally better. We are probably going to have this one forever, but we would never buy another one. I just seems like everything was designed from a stylistic point rather than engineering point of view.

madpanda wrote:

curtis73 wrote: All of the interior trim is coated with something that smells like crayons

But I really liked the smell of crayons in my ex-girlfriend's beetle! I figured she was kinky enough to have stuffed crayons down the air vents for fun...

Ok, so i'm not the only one that's noticed this. WHY DO THEY ALL SMELL LIKE CRAYONS!?!?!?!

nderwater wrote: The back seat and hatch small to the point of being just about useless (good luck ever using a carseat in the back), and the auto box sucks what little life there was in the engine. I'd recommend a Jetta/Golf over a Beetle every time, but if she's set on having one, it'll make a fine runabout.

Hell the front seat of the Beetle is useless.

Also WTF does VW do to make the interior of their cars smell like crayons.

corytate wrote: wife and i are going to check out a 99 vw beetle, 2.0 automatic on thursday after my graduation ceremony. anything to look out for and beware of would be greatly appreciated, if the car looks good then we will be getting it, the price is right and she is pre approved for the loan with super low payments. thanks in advance!

I had the newer 2005 version with the same drivetrain. Don't do it.

Let me say this again slowly so it sinks it.

Don't.

Do.

It.

Here is my experience: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/who-is-the-vw-tech-here/14565/page1/