VW Beetle

[sunny]

I was in an auto accident on I10 8 days ago, my car took a nice hit from a Taxi Cab (van) and in the shop. So I'm in a rental, a very cute red little VW Beetle. I have to say, I am really liking this little car and trying very hard to not get 'new car fever'.

But...I don't know if I'm going to win Does anyone own one of the new Beetle's? If so, how do you like it? I looked up the crash reports and they received 4 out of 5 stars.

[CajunMama]

Wait if you can Sunny. I believe they're revamping the 2012 Beetle

[Stephanie]

I hope that you didn't get hurt in that accident!

The VW Beetles are cute - a little small for my taste though, even though their crash ratings seem pretty high.

[sunny]

Thanks Mama and Steph! Mama, I hope you are feeling okay.

Yeah the car is small, you can fit two adults comfortably but the back has practically no leg room. I'm still thinking lol.

I am a very lucky woman regarding the accident, the cab spun me and when I finally stopped I was facing two lanes of on coming traffic. Thankfully folks were paying attention and no one else hit me. I think I must have a few angels watching over me!

[gtalum]

VW makes a nice vehicle. I don't have much experience with the Beetle, but we have a 2005 Passat TDI. VW has had some long-term reliability issues in their cars built in Mexico (which is most VW cars sold in the US). The cars actually built in Germany are always very reliable.

Be aware that parts and service on VW's are more expensive than for domestics and Japanese and Korean imports. You have to use special oil and filters, so even basic oil changes are costly.

VW cars drive far better than any other vehicles in the price range, though, so these trade-offs may be worthwhile for you.

Consider a TDI model, as the diesel engine will get amazing fuel mileage. My wife's Passat gets ~40 mpg in the real world, as high as 45 in the winter without the AC running, which is fantatsic for a solid mid-size sedan. The smaller TDI's (Jetta, Beetle, and Golf) get well over 50 mpg in real world driving.

[Pburgh]

Geez, that's scarey! Glad you're ok.

[sunny]

Thanks Karen

Okay, so I've talked to a few VW owners, none own a Beetle but other models, and have been told that the customer service at the only VW dealer in this city leaves much to be desired (gtalum aside). That is a huge factor for me, so I think I may have to look in a different direction when I am ready to buy again.

[CajunMama]

I think there's only one owner for the vw dealerships in south la.

My daughter just purchased her first car. She was all set on the revamped vw jetta and was waiting for the 2011 model to come out. Reviews started coming out and they weren't what she wanted to hear. She ended up going with the 2011 Hyundai Sonata. This car is unbelievable. For the same price she was going to pay for the vw she got a full size sedan that gets mistaken for a bmw all the time! Great mileage! Great options on it too. Definitely a car to consider.

[vbhoutex]

I've got agree with Kathy here. We don't own one but rented one a couple years ago and we loved it. Definitely would consider it, especially with the warranty they offer.

[gtalum]

Hyundai makes a fantastic car these days. Sadly they're still somewhat plagued by reputation issues from the crap they churned out in the early 2000's. On the bright side from the consumer standpoint, that helps keep their prices depressed.