[s-cars] Kid's cars

[Taka Mizutani]

Craig-
If you do decide to go with a New Beetle, try to get 2001 or newer- the
early cars- '98 and '99 seem to be very problem-prone. Then again, around
2000 or 2001 was when VW installed a bunch of piston rings upside down in
the 2.0 engines and thus had engines that consume a TON of oil- like 1-2
quarts every 1000 miles or more. I got VW to replace the engine in our
Beetle at about 37k when it consumed about 2 quarts every 1000 miles.
Fortunately (or not), I was driving about 1000 miles per week during that
time, so it only took a week to prove to VW that the car was consuming oil.

Also, I strongly recommend getting an extended warranty- we got one for 7
yrs., 100k miles at about 51k miles, it has already paid off in a big way:

1. airbag harness for driver's seat chafed- airbag light- repair procedure
required wiring harness replacement, north of $2000 in just parts- mechanic
fixed by repairing harness, all covered under warranty, would have been
thousands potentially.

2. fuel tank sender failed and CV boot cracked recently, saved just under
$500 for those repairs.

We still have coverage for a while- the biggest mistake was not getting the
warranty while the car was still under factory warranty- then the emissions
system coverage would have been included, that would have saved another $600
in repairs to the MAF and O2 sensor.

The Jetta is a better car than the Beetle- the interior materials are much
better in the Jetta- so much so that our Beetle has a 3-spoke GTI steering
wheel and GTI seats in it now. Additional sound deadening and some trim
upgrades will make it much better as well- too bad RSI parts are
unobtainium- I'd love to have some billet aluminum OEM trim parts.

Taka


On 10/12/05, lebakken1 at netzero.net <lebakken1 at netzero.net> wrote:
>
> S-heads with newbie drivers.
> This thread hits home with me - my 15.5 year old daughter has her heart
> set on a Jetta or a New Beetle, vintage 1999-2000, cost ~ $8000. She also
> likes the Passat. I have to be pleased with her penchant for VW's, it is
> what I learned to drive on (78 German Rabbit), and is probably why I drive
> Audis today.
> I have to agree with Taka on this one....the New Beetle is an excellent
> starter car. Now, if I can just get my daughter to save up her 25%. Her
> response to this is that I should front her that too, so that she can get
> the car, to get the job to pay me back. (4.0 student in more ways than
> one).
> Two daughters to go after this one. My mom says paybacks are a bitch.
> Methinks she is right. Again.
> Craig Lebakken
> 94S4
> PS to Paul K - Do think god could have sparked that magnesium in the
> Westfalia? Due to skipping Catholic school to defrock innocent girls? ; >
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