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Hi!!
I just turned 16, and want to purchase my dream car, a beetle? I
would have to do all the work myself, and I'm on a low income. What
year would be best? Could a 16 year old with no prior experience
learn to work on a Beetle on her own? Any other advice would be
GREATLY appreciated!! Thanks so much!!
Stephanie
Stephanie wrote:
>
> Hi!!
> I just turned 16, and want to purchase my dream car, a beetle? I
> would have to do all the work myself, and I'm on a low income. What
> year would be best? Could a 16 year old with no prior experience
> learn to work on a Beetle on her own? Any other advice would be
> GREATLY appreciated!! Thanks so much!!
> Stephanie
>
Hi Stephanie,
Of course! The Beetle was my first car years ago and I taught myself
to do all the work on it. It's a fairly easy car to learn all the
basics on even though it has a few oddities of it's own. I would
advise you to get a car without fuel injection since this can be a
pain to work on. A car between 1969 and 1974 would probably be best
for a first car, although any VW is pretty simple to work on once
you start to learn. Keep in mind that the older you go the more
difficult (and expensive) some parts will be to find. My favorite
cars are 70-73 Beetles and the '73 Super Beetle is my all time
favorite. To keep it as simple as poss. try to get a standard Beetle
as opposed to a Super Beetle. There isn't much difference excspt the
front ends with the standard being much easier to work on. If you
have any questions at all don't be afraid to ask. We are always glad
to welcome another VW fanatic to the ranks. Good luck and keep us
informed.
Jim
Stephanie wrote:
>
> Hi!!
> I just turned 16, and want to purchase my dream car, a beetle? I
> would have to do all the work myself, and I'm on a low income. What
> year would be best? Could a 16 year old with no prior experience
> learn to work on a Beetle on her own? Any other advice would be
> GREATLY appreciated!! Thanks so much!!
> Stephanie
>
Hey Stephanie. First off, I'd like to say "You go girl!" It's not
often that you come across a woman who actually wants to work on a
Bug. Heck, I can't even get one to admit that they would like to own
one. Second, I have to disagree on what year to buy. My feeling is
to NEVER EVER take someone's advice on this topic. Everyone gives
you their own opinion on what they like, what they have, or what
they would like to have. You need to go out, shop around, and buy
what you like. Sure some years have more problems than others, at
least in theory, but in the world of VW's, there is someone out
there who will swear by every single year. There are people who own
'75's and later, who absolutely love the stock fuel injection set
up. There are people who swear by a carburetor set up. You could go
out tomorrow and fall head over heels for a '62 rag, but you
shouldn't pass on it just because someone said, swingaxle Bugs don't
handle well, or the 6 volt system can give you problems. The same
goes for any year. Any given Bug will come down with any given
problem at any given time, and just because you buy a particular
year, unfortunately, you're not exempt from experiencing it too.
Anything can be fixed, and 99.5% of the time someone on one of the
forum pages has experienced it before, and can help you out. Go with
what you like! Trust me, if you make your own decision, you'll be
much happier with it.
D.K.
Stephanie wrote:
>
> Hi!!
> I just turned 16, and want to purchase my dream car, a beetle? I
> would have to do all the work myself, and I'm on a low income. What
> year would be best? Could a 16 year old with no prior experience
> learn to work on a Beetle on her own? Any other advice would be
> GREATLY appreciated!! Thanks so much!!
> Stephanie
Both JC and DK make very good points, so I'll just add a couple. If
you're on a limited budget, you may find that JC's suggestion of a
68-73 is least expensive in the way of restoration parts, but if you
find any Bug in good restored condition, you're laughing.
Maintenance costs don't vary too much between those and
earlier/later models.
The single biggest piece of advice I have for you is to try to find
one in decent mechanical condition and with minimal rust. When you
start getting rotted rockers and floor boards, it can get costly to
clean all the rust up.
The other recommendation is to get a copy of "How to Keep Your VW
Alive" (also known as the Idiot Book") by John Muir. It is an
excellent reference manual for the do-it-yourselfer and contains a
chapter on how to buy a Bug.
Good Luck in your search!
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