I am an 18 year old college student looking for a new ride. I am interested in getting a 70's Beetle or Super Beetle. I know that it will need regular maintenence, but I am wondering if it will be reliable enough for me.

5 days a week, I drive to school and home, about 2 miles each way on surface streets.

2 days a week I drive to work, about 15 miles away on the highway.

If I buy a completely reconditioned car, can I trust this car to be reliable most of the time? Will I be able to drive it on the highway safely? I am an unexperienced mechanic. Will I easily be able to fix many of the Bug's problems with some time and research?

All in all, if the beetle won't work for me, can you suggest another car (must be good-looking and unique) that will be realatively reliable and inexpensive?

Thanks for all of your help.

Evan

 

bugs are cool cars and easy to work on . get a manual for it. haynes or chilton. if you want heat or air you might want something else. bugs are cold in winter hot in summer. rust is the biggest killer of these cars. floor pans mostly, they are very reliable easy and cheap to fix. teh most basic of cars, i drive mine on the highway and never have a problem however they are under powered and require a little more time and distance to get up to speed. air cooled engine so it can sit outside in the winter and sit in traffic in the summer.bundle up get an ice scrapper for the inside of the windows, and have fun chalk it up to a experience.

 

get a earlier, '62-'67. get the "idiots guide to volkswagens" like the bible to air cooled VW's. i know people that drive their bugs 50+miles one way to work every day. if you take care of it, it will VERY VERY easily do 4 miles a day

 

This book is the bible.

John Muir's How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive

Its the best book to start with, then for more advanced info you need a Bently Service Manual. It is the absolute of VW's but almost too much info.

Be prepared to spend your saturdays tinkering with it until you figure out what all the noises are. Buy any beetle you want just realize that when you get the itch to customize them that Super Beetles are more expensive parts wise. They use struts up front which gives it a better ride, but more expensive to lower them.

Just go over it with a fine tooth comb, rust kills. And you have to fix it. 60's beetles tend to stand up to rust better as they used better steel when making them, the 70's supers and standard beetles rust and rot faster.

I used to drive my bus at least 50 miles a day with no break downs ever.