HELP...2001 Beetle

Mom just traded the Grand Am for a 2001 Beetle.how reliable are these cars.Being die hard Cadillac I know nothing about then.What problems are they know for.Is it going to cost her a fortune to fix when something goes wrong?And how safe are they.Being as small as they are they don't seem very safe. :feedback:

I just bought one for my daughter after researching the safety issues. I don't know about the repair issues (yet), but the safety rating is excellent. It has dual and side airbags, and the wide beam and anti-roll bars make flipping one very difficult.

I junked my 2001 Beetle (automatic). Traded it in for a Dodge Neon - thank God.

Hope yours is not the lemon I got rid of.

Transmission issues, radiator issues, headlights going out all the time, oil consumption...

good luck...

Sounds like job security to me!

Dont do it...but i'm probably too late as your post was almost a year ago! I currently have a 2001 2.0L auto beetle and have spent over $5000 on it for 2 years. steering wheel squeaking problems - was told the spring needs to be replaced $300 cdn, acceleration problems 4 times - coudln't accelerate past 60km, and most recently a new transmission is needed - $5000 cdn! Not covered under my warranty.

VW Canada doesn't care...I'm past the warranty. Everything has to be done at the dealer, including changing bulbs for headlights, taillights, etc. unless you can figure out the stupid things yourself. Dealer prices are unreasonable - $50 just to change a headlight. I saved up to buy this car since I got my licence - it is so cute and it was a dream to own one, but in reality it's been a nightmare. I'm trying to sell it now...going for a civic instead.

Don't do it...ahhh, too late. Make sure she saves lots of money to pay for all the things that will go wrong. I'm the die hard VW idiot, just keep buying the stupid things, I've learned my lesson with this one...nothing but trouble, all the time.

timing belt, waterpump, window regulators, catalyic converter, trunk release, cd changer, coolant temp sensor,,,, and much more...
these are all common problems with the new beetles..
save money and enjoy

Stone the crows....must be something wrong with our 2003 New Beetle, nothing has failed except for the boot opening switch not working intermittently but now fixed by re-wiring . Travelled 35K now, tyres OK, no electrical problems, original battery, original bulbs. Whoops - forgot that once the stoplight failed but that was fixed by pulling the bulb and replacing...just a bad/dodgy contact.
Treat them proper and you'll have no more problems than most other cars. (says me touching the underside of our chipboard desk)

Wish I had known all this back when I bought my 99 New Beetle in 2001. Now I have to replace the transmission. I can't believe it. I researched this car before I bought it for it's safety record. It has only 86,000 mi. on it now. For as much as it cost and as much hype as it got I just can't believe this. What a piece of junk. I'll never touch another Beetle or VW for that matter. I am very, very disappointed.