V W Beetle. I amnot blonde ok lol but am looking at bying one of these this week i asked the seller if this has a cambelt and he

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satincurls_nz, Sep 17, 5:54pm
I amnot blonde ok lol but am looking at bying one of these this week. I asked the seller if this has a cambelt and he didn't know and nor do I. I bet ya you do so please help me out here
muzz67, Sep 17, 6:00pm
beetle! no belt, just pushrods.
richard198, Sep 17, 6:10pm
Old or new (Porche or Golf)!
satincurls_nz, Sep 17, 6:22pm
LOL, don't know. Its silver with a sunroof 2 door.
richard198, Sep 17, 6:31pm
Well what year! Engine in front or back!
Old beetles used push rods.
New ones use a cam belt.
tcos, Sep 17, 6:32pm
Oh no! Stay away from the silver ones!
satincurls_nz, Sep 17, 6:37pm
Why stay away from them!
Its a 2000 model and the engine is in the front. Now I feel blonde :-)
richard198, Sep 17, 6:44pm
Colour is irrelevant!
Cam belt. Safe & unreliable.
If you want a reliable VW, get a Skoda.
carkitter, Sep 17, 6:54pm
That's a VW New Beetle. It has a Volkswagen Golf floorpan, suspension, gearbox and engine with a body on it that looks like the old Beetle. All this is good. It's a great girl's car, get a pre-purchase check done, if it passes, buy it.

European car servicing is not cheap but doesn't have to cost the earth if you ask around.

The old VW Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche for Hilter prior to WW2. It was a low cost people's car engineered to form the basis of many different civilian and military vehicles - it could even float, if sealed properly. It's low cost, reliability, ease of servicing and versatility made it popular with teens in the 60's where it became a pop-culture icon.

Unfortunately, original Beetles are now rust buckets and archaic by modern standards. The VW New Beetle is a very good modern car which retains the style of the original.

Now you can feel 'less blonde' knowing a little of what you're buying.
richard198, Sep 17, 6:56pm
Very good except for shocking lack of reliability.
Avoid ones with a sunroof unless you want to be stranded one day when it rains and the sunroof won't close.
satincurls_nz, Sep 17, 7:08pm
Thanks carkitter, your wonderful lol. I feel alot better now. You can be my mechanic lol
gunhand, Sep 17, 7:31pm
Havent had much to do with new ones, however the one person i know who wanted one wanted and wanted one for ages finally got one.after being in the shop more times than on the road she promptly traded it on an Audi. Oh, and she no longer wants to see another VW
richard198, Sep 17, 7:39pm
Out of the frying pan into the fire!
carkitter, Sep 17, 7:54pm
Those sorts of things we in the motor trade refer to as 'character'.

Sure they are quirky, but if you wanted endlessly reliable you'd buy your grandmother's Starlet GL while to get something with more flair, you'd have to track down a 2CV Charleston. A New Beetle has the 'city style' combined with Golf running gear which is a known quantity and common enough to keep the costs down.
carkitter, Sep 17, 7:55pm
Yup!
satincurls_nz, Sep 17, 8:34pm
So is it safe to bye one then do you think!
rovercitroen, Sep 17, 8:39pm
Buy the Beetle and find a good independent VW garage to maintain it. Based on the VW Golf they should be reasonably reliable and not particularly complex to work on. Heck, in most parts of the world the VW Golf is like a Toyota Corolla in NZ for popularity.
carkitter, Sep 17, 8:41pm
Yes, just get the pre-purchase check done as above, and find a good local specialist-VW mechanic.Don't forget a flower for the daisy holder. :-P
satincurls_nz, Sep 17, 8:46pm
Thanks you guys. You have made me smile and no I won't forget the flower. Pink I think :-)
rovercitroen, Sep 17, 8:52pm
Preferably buy an NZ new one with full service history. Have you considered an Audi TT! They are very nice too.
richard198, Sep 17, 9:13pm
Why not go the whole hog and get some fluffy dice!
My mother-in -law has a convertible and no problems to date except difficult to park. Don't say I didn't warn you!
Have you driven one yet!
trogedon, Sep 17, 10:33pm
Stick to commenting on modern Beetles. You obviously know nothing about the air cooled ones.
franc123, Sep 17, 10:47pm
All of that post was actually accurate, with the except of the all old beetles are rust buckets bit, many are in fact completely rust free of course if they are mint originals or have had bumper to bumper restoration.Whats your problem!
trogedon, Sep 17, 10:56pm
I don't have a problem with air cooled Beetles but I don't think (and you've pointed this out by correctly saying that many are without rust) he should've slandered air cooled Beetles. Many don't have rust (mine has a little bit) and are more than adequate to drive today.
richard198, Sep 17, 11:30pm
I've owned two Beetles, two Buses and a Karmann Ghia.
They all had rust.
Some don't, especially if imported from California.