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VW New Beetle (Pricing & Information)
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Comments
Why did you post here? I don't like this, I don't like that, etc.....What do you like?
To each his own. I can't understand the SUV craze - how many SUV's really go off road? Wouldn't a minivan with 4 wheel drive or a roomy sedan be a better, more environmentally friendly choice? The New Beetle, to me, is a beautiful car from any angle, but I liked it for the drive. It's light, tightly sprung, and has typically Germanic sports car handling (I have often referred to VWs as a poor man's BMW). The Fiat X 1/9 went from 0-60 in about 12 seconds, top ended about 90 mph, as I remember, but was an absolute gas to drive. The New Beetle captures, IMHO, the same type of handling sensation. You don't get that from driving a Buick - and if you don't understand that, I can't explain it to you.
Frank
PS: the 1.8t is just beginning to appear in some parts of the country and WILL probably use much more of the speedometer.
I guess there all out driving and enjoying their Beetles!
kaurelio
Frank is right, a car doesn't have to have a high top speed to be fun to drive. Without question, the NB handles better than any sport ute. It's a neat little car, although Edmund's problems with the quality of their NB disturb me somewhat. Now that I see a handful on the road, I'm in the process of rethinking whether or not I want one.
greenml430, i have been to my car's forums, and they generate enough interest. and how would you know not 1 in 50 people could identify the model of my car? actually, when i tell people what kind of car i have they know what it is. the beetle is sort of like the backstreet boys. everyone knows who they are but the only people who really like them are screechy little teens, sort of like your daughter.
corvette, you CAN have fun with a car even though it lacks top speed. but what does top speed have to do with anything? when in your daily driving will you really go over 80 mph? in the beetle's case, it is pushing it's top speed at 80, but what are you gonna do, right? you DO need a quick car that handles great to have fun. admit it. if you have a slow car that feels shaky on the curves, you're not gonna have fun. i guess you need a certain type of personality to enjoy riding in the beetle. i guess to some, just rolling slowly around in the beetle would be fun, but to me, performance is a big part of a car, that's just the way i like to drive cars. if a lamborghini was slow as a golf cart, i wouldnt like it.
I am not a screechy teen. My wife and I are in our mid 30's, and we love our NB. So do our two kids, ages 10 and 12. No, it's not the most roomy vehicle in the world (our other vehicle, a Ford Expedition, is the polar opposite in that, and most other, respects), but that isn't why we bought it. We bought it because it is fun to look at and fun to drive.
In my life, I've owned 3 Hondas, 1 Mazda and 1 Nissan. All great cars --- reliable, good on gas, roomy --- but now that I've driven my NB for 3 months, they all seem quite boring. To each his or her own, I suppose.
Parker, why am I going to buy a New Beetle? It was a lot of fun to drive. You can push it in the corners. The TDI has more oomph than any car anyone in my family has ever owned, apart from my brother's old RX7. It's no sportscar, but it certainly has more than enough acceleration for getting around town and tooling down the highway. It accelerates and passes just fine on the highway.
On top of that, if gets good mileage and has enough head room for me. I don't fit in the Nissan SE-R (or whatever it is) series, Chrysler Cavalier, etc.
By the way, you'll get a much stronger response if you try fishing on the SUV board. They seem a little more defensive than the group here.
Handling is a complex and subjective issue - I have never owned a compact Japanese car (I've owned several over the years) that had what I call "Germanic" handling.
I'm not the only person to feel this way - go read the NB reviews in "Automobile", "Car and Driver", or "Road and Track." These are enthusiasts mags that LOVE this car, not for it's nostalgic looks but for it GERMANIC handling. In short, it's fun and acceleration is OK (0-60 in 9.7 isn't bad for a car in this price range). Drive your Nissan all you want. That company sadly may go broke (or merge with Renault) making mediocre products (but the speedometers are honest).
Frank
greenml430,
I have a great-uncle that's one of those "I hate all imports" guys. He thinks the Japanese are going to invade the United States. I usually just ignore him. I also had a friend that hated imports until she drove a 5-speed Passat V6. The "I hate imports guys" just don't know what they're missing.
greenml430, I agree that the beetle gets a lot of attention. I don't know why, I'm guessing because it's an old car reborn. Sort of like the Plymouth Prowler. It's designed after older models of cars years ago, and thus gets attention. The difference between the Prowler and the Beetle is that the Prowler's look is more exotic, and not as "cutesy". Plus it's a fast car, and also $25,000 more expensive. And what is there to be jealous about? The beetle(as you probably know) is only 15 g's, 17 fully loaded, pretty much any middle class and even lower class people can afford it. If they were so jealous they would go out and buy one. I know I'm definitely not jealous. If I had the oppurtunity to even ride around in a Beetle, I probably wouldn't unless it was necessary. It's just my opinion, but i think the Beetle is too trendy. The Nissan 300ZX was a great car, however the way they changed the look in the later years of production was horrible. And just so you know, the 300ZX is coming back... well actually now it's called the Z and is being released in 2002(i think).
corvette, of course I would pick handling over acceleration, but if you can have both, why not?
by the way after two nissan's we won't go back; they were a major hassle
I'll lend you my cybergreen 2.0L gas NB with a 5 speed for a week and I would bet real money that you would change your mind about the car. It's hard to get a good overview of any car with a brief dealer-demo drive. You won't get the same driving sensation in a Passat (which is a much heavier car with different handling characteristics). If this is trendy, I'll take a 1.8T with 2 beanie babies.
Frank
I hate the Beetle too!!! Can I have your car for a week!!! ;-) Just kidding, I love the Beetle. (can I still have the car??
kaurelio
Why not! Just get in line behind Parker and the rest of my neighborhood.
Took my NB to a downtown restaurant recently and people spilled out of the bar to give it a look. Of course, it could be the Zaino's shine.
Frank
In our family I love it, but my wife would be on parker's side of the fence.
BTW, Frank, where's the end of that line? Or how about a trade? Your New Beetle for my Cabrio for a week.
Happy Beetle-ing (Beetling?)
Victor
You SAT in one at an auto show and drew all your conclusions from that? Just goes to show, the part that does your deductive thinking was the part touching the car. I have vehicles from just about every spectrum, (98 NB TDI, 97 expedition, 99 F350 PSD, 98 Cobra) and I still like to drive the NB. Like it or hate it, drive it to rate it.
Thanks you all!
feharper, people spilled out of the bar? come on. seriously people, you gotta be makin this up. there's several people who live near me with beetles, no one gives it more than a second look. and all the ones ive seen in parking lots dont get any attention at all. you're giving your cars a little too much credit for what they really are.
tnt2, i dont draw my conclusions just from sitting in it. i drew one opinion by sitting in it, which is the speedometer issue. i draw most of my conclusions by seeing it on the road, and people's reactions to it, like in this conference. i can almost guarentee you people dont crowd around the thing, or spill out of restaurants to gawk at it. unless you live somewhere where you never see them, i dont really think they get that much attention. i know most of you who just love your little beetles will get defensive about this, but i dont think it's soooo special to get all that attention. there was a nice, brand new red porsche sitting in a parking lot. more exotic looking, 6 times more expensive, known for its exceptional performance and speed, and 10 times more rare, yet it didnt draw crowds. most people looked at it, one kid went up to it and looked inside. if there was an elephant in the street it wouldnt deraw as much attention as you claim to your beetle.
The restaurant has large windows facing a parking lot where my car was parked. People DID leave the bar (in the front) to see the car. One piece of advise before you pan the NB. DRIVE THE CAR - Then it's OK to pan. There once was a time in this country when the population was younger and we drove small, good handling cars that were inexpensive like the VW GTI, Triumph TR-7, Austin Healy, Fiat Spider and X 1/9, and a host of others. The Mazda Miata and NB simply bring back those thrills for many of us. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less whether anyone stares at my car. The thrill, as stated, is the DRIVE. Nissan COULD have built an exciting car but hasn't for years - sad, as they don't lack imagination.
Frank
I'm anxious to get my NB, but I don't want to pay more than necessary!!!
Thanks
REO
i think the biggest i had was 6 people once sort of snowballed.
is six a crowd??
this weekend had two sets of two. maybe not a "crowd" - I pulled down a row of cars and a boy - about 4 maybe - started jumping up and down pointing at the NB, asking his mom if he could have one. why would we make this stuff up??
i would say over the life (5 months) of the car i have had 80-90 people come up to ask me if they could look at it. That is only while i was there!
had an older nissan maxima and a tercel (actually that was my best bud's car)
and frank is right, the stares are no big deal, the drive is why my wife and i fight over who gets to drive it.
--Mike
Thanks for the encouraging news. How do you like your Passat?
REO
Don't like the automatic volume control on the radio. When I want it loud, I want it LOUD. I understand there may be a way to have the radio re-programmed to avoid this.
Other than that, I enjoy driving my NB.
I love my Passat. It's a 99 GLS V6 loaded with everything except an automatic. It's Royal Green with beige leather. It's pretty much stock, I've only added the VW 6-CD changer and VW mudflaps.
I took it out Sunday for a "Sunday Drive". Did 300+ miles to Canada and back. Love that Canadian CocaCola, made with real sugar instead of the high-frucose corn syrup used here in the US. 8-)
For more info see the Passat lists.
--Mike
Well, two's company, three's a crowd. So I guess you had two crowds around your Beetle.
Saw an ad for the turbo version... The text read "Wired" and it showed the car from the rear, so you could see the speed-activated spoiler (which was activated, although the car wasn't moving). I'm betting this board is going to see another wave of people happy to be on waiting lists paying full MSRP.
You know what I'm surprised I haven't seen yet? NBs where the fender/bumpers and side rails have been replaced with another color. How cool would that be? Think of all the two-tone variations... Black and Silver, Techno Blue and Cyber Green, Red and Yellow, Windsor Blue and White... Red and Green, Yellow and either Blue, Black and Red, Black and Blue... I bet that would grab onlookers' attentions again.
Come on, Beetle owners... Find another Beetle owner to trade body panels with! Demand the option from your dealers! Make this a new craze! Go! Go!!
Dana
When I bought my Bright Blue GLS NB in the middle of January, that was the whole shipment (4) that came in so I went in and picked mine out. I had reserved a Bright Blue NB about a month before and the dealer hadn't seen one in awhile and a month later they were all over the place. It seems VW makes runs of colors. I thought I wanted the black interior and when I saw them side by side in blue cars, I went with the Grey interior. My paint has been great, no problems at all.
tired of deleting the postings.
thanks, pmohr
Who is the dealer? VW of America would probably want to know about this one.
Reply to the list using the newbug email address supplied with each listing and type UNSUBSCRIBE.
Frank
ZMan
On another note, someone had the courtesy to key my NB on the driver's door while it was parked on a street somewhere downtown. I was very surprised to notice how thick the layers of paint are on this car. Someone mentioned it had 20 or so layers of paint. Well, I for one could stick my nails pretty deep inside the scratch, which didn't even reach to the zinc coating, as the bottom was black. Now I understand why VW put a 12 years perforation warranty on the car.
Zman- I just checked Edmunds prices and here is what you should be paying for your car:
99 New Beetle GLS TDI MSRP: $17,900
Destination charge : 525
Sunroof package: 1,000
Total: $19,425
Minus $500 Total: $18,925
The dealer should then add a reasonable handling charge say $250 plus taxes and thats it. That would be an incredable deal. No way are you paying that for a TDI sunroof Silver New Beetle. Whats the total on your invoice?
I got those same numbers for the NB TDI from Edmund's. I went back to my invoice. My final invoice price, excluding $300 dealer handling and taxes, is $18,990 (I have to pay Northeast emissions of $100 as well). The invoice is written up, and I have a VIN number. However, the car is still in transit, so I haven't seen it, but all the documentation says it's a silver TDI with the W1O package (sunroof and 16" alloy wheels). If it ever comes (I'm promised three weeks) I'll hope it's what they say it is and thank my good fortune.
Zman
Joe from L.A.
Joe, You may want to look in another area or state, it would be worth the 5k savings. From what I have read here and elsewhere it's hard to get a deal in a Large Metropolitan area. The law of supply and demand I guess. It's amazing people are paying that much over MSRP. I would have passed on a New Beetle if I had to pay over MSRP to get one.
Has anyone seen a 1.8 Turbo yet?
Rickrover's got a point. I'm way out in the country (upstate New York), and I called about 10 dealers. The closer I got to the cities (Albany and NYC) the higher the prices went. I found shopping by phone the best answer. I found out, too, that the TDI (diesel) is not popular in the north because of diesel's former reputation for having difficulty starting in cold weather. But L.A. is probably as tough a VW market as you're going to find. Hey, call a dealer somewhere you've always wanted to visit, and you might even pay for your vacation with the savings! Good luck.
Zman
I think it will be cool to Lease a NB every 36 months, what do you think?!
1. Look. Gorgeous looking car, but in 5 years from now, will it look like a 5 year-old fad?
2. Reliability. New model, no track record. VW has had infamous problems with some of its past models.
3. Cost. Seems a lot of money to pay for simply buying something that is not like everything else out there. Also, repair costs are high due to the imported parts.
Are there any owners out there who have had their NB for a year or so? Any major probs? Any one else who has or has had similar thoughts to mine?
Any informed responses would be most welcome.
You've brought up some good points. With me, I took the chance with the Beetle because of the wonderful personality of the car and everything that went along with it. I certainly don't regret it one bit. To me the Civic was just a collection of mechanical parts, while the Beetle was a work of art, with a happy personality that makes me smile. Besides, its a blast to drive! It's really been a memorable experience
From what I've heard, the reliability has been great, except for minor flaws at delivery. That will be more of an inconvenience than a worry.
Think of the safety. The Beetle is the #1 small car in terms of safety. It has side airbags and seatbelt tensioners. The Civic is not bad, but clearly offers less protection than the Beetle. The Beetle is heavier (2700 lbs). When I see the abundance of ever-larger SUVs on the road, at least I'm glad I picked out the safest small car.
Good luck with your decision. I recommend to take a chance and go with the Beetle.
Dana
Thanks for your remarks. How long have you had your NB? Believe me, the safety is definitely a consideration, and is one of the reasons why I even thought to consider the NB in the first place. That is important to me.
I agree that the NB has more of a personality, at least visually, than the civic does. It is more than just a machine for transportation.
Have you had any problems with your NB?