Hi all, new to these forums, I'm considering a Volkwagen Beetle, (old school air cooled) to replace my current car, a Mercedes 230, which is rediculously heavy on fuel. Looking for something a bit cheaper to run that isn't a cheap-*** Toyota.

So anyhow, my main question was about the 'Autostick' transmission. How reliable is it? Do they have any problems in particular?

What are some things in general I should be checking in a potential purchase, what are the known issues, what should I avoid?

Thanks for the help! Hopefully I will be among the volks with Beetles...

(Sorry about the crapply lame pun I couldn't resist...)