Help me buy me beetle please

griff110

Hi there folks

I was looking to buy a beetle but I have no background in them or indeed classic cars at all. I was wondering if there is somebody out there, who knew about beetles specifically, who could come and view a car for me. I'm not looking for a free service but it can't cost the earth either.
My budget is approx 3000eur for the car not the service and I'm on the outskirts of Dublin.

Cheers griff

griff110

It drives really well but there is some rust on it. I am particularly worried about the rust on the front left frame arm and the spare wheel recess is quite bad. Is this a walk away senario.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1979480

cheers

Griff

hairy sailor

A friend of mine has one,I know nothing about them but often heard him talking about emilio's beetles think it's on Amiens st,as far as I know he restores them so he might be of some help to you,hope this helps

griff110

Thanks Hairy Sailor

I'll check it out

Griff

gfwd

I'm not a vw fan at all but i would say contact/join a club first and see what members might have for sale. At the very least you'll find plenty of people there who can give you all the advice you'll need.

This is one club but i'm sure there are others.
http://www.eircooled.com/

wax

If you know nothing about beetles don't even consider buying that one. I don't know anything about that one in particular but I'd suggest you join the club above and start this thread there. Don't buy the first one you view. View many first. The lads know their stuff and if you post up some potential cars they'll be quick to give you correct advice if a car looks dodgy or not. They also hold monthly Dublin meets and I'm sure you'd be welcome.

kkalm

Hi, Im interested in purchasing a nice Beetle also. anyone know of any good ones out there?? Budget around 3K max.

Carson10

kkalm wrote: »

Hi, Im interested in purchasing a nice Beetle also. anyone know of any good ones out there?? Budget around 3K max.

Hope to sell my 1971 Beetle 1300cc Black Dublin ZA Reg Irish Car in the next 2 weeks. Brown log book. Stamped VIN.

Taxed Til July 2011
4 New Tyres
All lights, locks, windows, radio work etc..

Gets lots of attention.

I have driven about 700 miles in it over the last year on various spins each week. Always keep it in the Garage.

Starts and drives everytime

Chrome all perfect

Its not a restoration project, nor is it a restored car so interior ect is a little aged, but i think thats the way a vintage car should be.

Any1 mail me if you mite be interested.

Not many black ones out there espcially an Irish ZA reg.

kkalm

Anyone know anything about this beetle??

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/1869172

darragh o meara

Certainly looks clean from the pics but pics can be made look good very easily. Would be best to get someone who has either experience with these cars or someone who has restored a car in the past ( they will know the usual spots to find rust ) was thinking of going for a look at that one myself tomorrow.

411 guy

as a vw fan for over 20 years i couldnt reccomend buying anything else, but like every classic they have their bad points. dont be fooled by shiny paintwork,have a good look underneath along each side where the runner boards bolt to the body, this area is the heater channels and are very prone to rusting when the cars are unused for long periods.the doors shouldnt sag when opened, the bottom of the door pillars often rust also. Its easy to source parts for the later- '70s models but some of the earlier 6v items are scarce.

2.8trooper

as above^^ there are numourous points to look out for on beetles battery tray is another one spare wheel well,end float on the engine,heat exchangers etc,there are lots of knowledgeable people out there with regards to beetles and there are also lots of poorely prepared "restored" cars,the silver one above seems to be a late model and i note from the limited pictures its missing its engine lid seal which is common as its clipped into a steel retainer which is prone to rust so it would indicate to me that this has seen some rust and more than likely has other aeras that havent been repaired properly.
i have restored 2 now and havent come out of them on the upper side of 8k worse off and i could have spent more.be wary is all im saying 3k wont buy you a lot if its had a proper resto,a good paint job would cost that.
if i can be of any help just pm me.

kkalm

Thanks for all the advice guys, very helpful. Yeah Ive seen a few now, some that were honest and sellers saying they needed work and one or two that claim to be mint but they weren't. They looked nice and shiny but weren't that great, very amateur resto jobs i'd say. I'd rather buy something that is running well and in good nick.
Darragh, did you go and see the silver 77?

ahal

I'm far from an expert on Beeltes but my father had a few back in the day.

Generally speaking, they have a propensity to rot like any other old car. I believe the A-pillar (what the door hinges onto) is a 'hotspot' for rust.

Between 1966 and 67(?) they changed the electrics from 6v. to 12v. You don't want the 6v.! Also, the metal is a lot thicker in the earlier ones. They changed the guage of the metal at this time also.

Discontinued afaik in 1978, but continued production in Mexico. I'm not sure if the build quality of the Mexican ones is the same as the ones which left the line in Wolfsburg.

I would say beetles are a good car, but like most 'good' cars many of them suffered the fate of 'good' cars: people all to often mistook 'good' for "don't need to do basic maintainance".

If buying a U.K. import check the underneath carefully for corrosion.

darragh o meara

No mate didn't get a chance to go, have my eye on one closer to home that I know was restored properly two years ago, it had plenty of new panels and there is not one spot of rust anywhere.

deckie27

ahal wrote: »

Between 1966 and 67(?) they changed the electrics from 6v. to 12v. You don't want the 6v.!

Whats wrong with a 6v beetle?
Apart from not being able to fit a powerful modern stereo and taking about 30 secs to start when the temp gets below about -2

ahal

All I can tell you is that my father had nothing but problems with the 6v - especially when it came to night driving - and comparitively little problems with 12v.

deckie27

ahal wrote: »

All I can tell you is that my father had nothing but problems with the 6v - especially when it came to night driving - and comparitively little problems with 12v.

Probably just a problem with the cars electric. I've driven a 6v beetle for about 18 months with no real issues
From personal experience in modern traffic 6v is fine

PaulK_CCI

from my personal experience a 6V does a few drawbacks:
1/ nighttime driving can be a challenge, as most 6v's that I had, all suffered from poor lights at night time, but most importantly, poor indicator lights during the Day time. Had many raised middle fingers and fingers pointing to the head, 'accusing me' of not indicating, whereas the poor lights were difficult to spot in bright sunlight.

2/ some electric parts are specific for the 6v, like the regulator, switches, etc, and they are harder and harder to find. Also the battery itself is not something that you can buy at any motor factors, and battery charger needs to have the option to swithc to 6v... Jump starting with a cable set, is never going to be an option ;-), but good thing is, they just need a very short push to get them going...

3/ when it rains and it's dark, you will have both poor lighting AND slow wiper blades...

that said. apart from these electrical niggles, there is no difference in driving a 6v vs a 12v Beetle

kkalm

Hi,

Have sold the car we had so am def ready to purchase a vintage beetle. I'm not great with the mechanical side of things. Thinking of going to see this one later in the week;

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/2116940

Anyone available near Tipp town to view it or know anything about it??

2.8trooper

you could give martin murray a call in eirespares,if he doesnt know the car (which is unlikey) he might go with you to view for a small fee,he is in monard not to far from golden,his number should be in the book.
his knowledge on beetles would be second to none.
he also has quite a beautiful white one of his own which is worth seeing if nothing else.

kkalm

Thanks for that. Tried Martin but he doesn't view cars for people. This is understandable as he sells parts to Beetle owners.

jamesd

I ahve a beetle up for Sale here:
http://www.eircooled.com/deforum/showthread.php?8331-Vw-Beetle-For-Sale-1959-and-registered-in-1960

mgbgt1978

^^^^^^
How much James, how much ????

jamesd

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

^^^^^^
How much James, how much ????

Hello, €5700.

kkalm

Sorry James, way above my budget, lovely car though. Best of luck with it

wax

I had a look at that wine beetle at the Limerick junction show a few weeks ago. It looked fairly good alright. The beetle Jamesd posted up is a much earlier model and therefore worth more if both were in similar condition. Despite being over your budget it would be the one I'd probably go for... Just scrimp a bit more for a while maybe.


There are loads of beetles out there. Don't just buy one just because there's cash burning a hole in your pocket

kkalm

Thanks for that wax. Any opinions on this one?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/178503

Its a 1200, fully restored apparently, seems fairly good?

deckie27

K

kkalm wrote: »

Thanks for that wax. Any opinions on this one?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/178503

Its a 1200, fully restored apparently, seems fairly good?

Gone already.

Run_to_da_hills

ahal wrote: »

I'm far from an expert on Beetles but my father had a few back in the day.

Generally speaking, they have a propensity to rot like any other old car. I believe the A-pillar (what the door hinges onto) is a 'hotspot' for rust.

Between 1966 and 67(?) they changed the electrics from 6v. to 12v. You don't want the 6v.! Also, the metal is a lot thicker in the earlier ones. They changed the guage of the metal at this time also.

Discontinued afaik in 1978, but continued production in Mexico. I'm not sure if the build quality of the Mexican ones is the same as the ones which left the line in Wolfsburg.

I would say beetles are a good car, but like most 'good' cars many of them suffered the fate of 'good' cars: people all to often mistook 'good' for "don't need to do basic maintenance".

If buying a U.K. import check the underneath carefully for corrosion.

IMO Pre 67 6 volt Beetles were the best of the lot, cute styling, sloping headlamps and didn't have those horrid Euro bumpers, elephant foot tail lamps and as you mentioned the metal gauge was a lot heavier.

My first Beetle was MZJ228 which was a 67 model, there was no problems converting it to 12V back in the 80's. Earlier 6V beetles and busses are more difficult to convert particularly if the ring gear is 180MM instead of the later 200mm.

I wouldn't touch anything out of Mexico with a barge pole, even their panels will rust away right before your eyes, their air cooled motors are only guaranteed 6 months by most importers. LOL.

kkalm

Thanks deckie27, sorry I put up the wrong link..

How about this one?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/2139292

Anyone know anything about it?