hamilton71801

I was looking at one with 61,000 miles on it. It's a GLS manual with all the fixins and was wondering if anyone knows if they are prone to any problems and what kind of mileage I might expect. I know they are kind of girl cars but these gas prices are making me a sissy.

mule3010

Dear lord, have you no sense of manly pride? Leave the bugglies to the sorority girls. At least get a TDI Jetta. Although if your feet are any size at all they will get tangled in the pedals when breaking/shifting gears. when we are in my wife's Jetta( who is evidently trying to relive her sorority days because the Tahoe isn't good enough for her) she has to drive.
Joe

dodgenstein

My wife has a 2002 TDI Beetle w/71000 mi. We bought it w/13000 mi. No real problems to report. With 60,000+ miles on one, be sure to get the timing belt checked. They should be replaced around that mileage. It is a pricey replacement, but way cheaper than having one break. VW shop said ours was still good at 60,000, but I am pushing to get it done at the 70,000 mile service.

sluggo42

Does your husband like diesels too?? And if your feet get tangled up in the pedals, you can just hiit them with your purse!
No Nancy, a Beetle is just a fine car for a man to drive....

hamilton71801

Dang ya'll are a tough crowd. I guess when I start to feel less adequate, I will drive my big ol dodge for a day to restore some testosterone. Anyway, my flight leaves in a few hrs to get it so hopefully I won't get any surprises. I haven't signed anything yet so worst case I'll be out the $200 plane fare.

How much should a timing belt replacement cost?

Patrick Campbell

Forget about them. In an 01 5spd manual beetle you will get 50+ MPG - who is laughing now? We drive an 04 Jetta auto... and I would trade it for a Beetle - why ? Better mileage on the 01 engines. Better mileage on the manual trans... plus the added bonus of the flower holder! Seriously...

mikmaze

"plus the added bonus of the flower holder! Seriously..."


If I loookat ya funny next get together, you'll know why...... ^^^^whats that comedian say? oh yeah, " there's your sign "

nelrod

I feel purrfectly feminine, I mean MANLY, driving my 02 VW Beetle. Yes it is driven by a lot of females, but if you get to feelin inadaquate, just go kill something or cut a big tree down. Get 35 around town with an automatic, and 43.9 @ 75 and 80 with A/C on. Still looking for fake MaryWanna to put in my flowerholder. Tried pens or pencil, but rattle drove me crazy. It sits on a shortened A-3 Audie chassis (VW owns Audie) and will fly aroud curves with ease with all tires squallin. Do it only with kids in the car as they make me. On a 2001 I think you have to change belt at 40k and in 02 it goes up to 80k. All kidding aside, I love it. Plenty of room, it'll fool ya. Just fill it up every 500 miles. All I have done to mine is replaced both Headlight bulbs, and change fuel, oil, and air filters. If you can get a good deal, buy it, you can always sell it, they are in demand, but you prolly wouldn't sell it after driving it a couple of months. Besides you've already got a manly truck, get in touch with your feminine side. I like touchin feminines.

74dart

I drove my 02 Beetle to the fire dept lase week and the comment was made "You just dont look right driving a chick car" which i responded that it got ove 40 mpg which the guy said "yep i wwould drive it to my explorer only gets 15 mpg". I laugh all the way to the diesel pumps.

TonyB

Don't forget the tdi club: http://forums.tdiclub.com/

As hard as it is to imagine, I'd say that they are what websites like this strive for! I'm not knocking DTR...Just giving a comparison!

They have an INCREDIBLE amount of information! Look over TDI101!

HTH

Tony

sluggo42

The Jetta gets better mileage, plus looks good too. I came a gnats **** away from buying a tdi jetta, but I bought the wifey a Prius instead. It gets about 48 MPG (on the freeway), nowhere near the 60 (in town) it promises.
I got the loaded one with the NAV system. It's a weird car for sure though...

SoTexRattler

HAMILTON: An '01 TDI 5spd stick NewBeetle GLS with only 61kMiles??? Good grief man, jump on it if the price is right!
The MPG's stop pretty much any argument about them being "chick cars" . A VE style inj pump with a 5spd manual is probably the best MPG combo going! 50+mpg on the highway EASY! Their performance will put a smile on your face too!
At 61k it's just beginning it's long diesel life.(timing belts aside) There is such a demand for TDI's that the resale on them is phenomenal. Take a gander at TDIclub.com and start reading. LOTS of good info on those little cars in there. Vehicle terminology and acronyms are a little different from what you're used to dealing with Dodge CTD Rams.
LIke DODGENSTEIN said, there are different replacement intervals on the T-belt depending on year model etc. From what I've learned, DO NOT ignore the T-belt replacement interval!!!. When you DO need the TB changed, DON'T scrimp on the job. Replace ALL parts that are recommended. There are TB replacement parts kits sold by trusted vendors of OEM and equiv parts.
When mine needs it ('05's TB = 100,000mi) I plan to buy a TB kit and take it to someone that does lots of them for a living. Some trusted names are listed on the website(Dealers are expen$ive).

One other known thing to eventually deal with is the EGR tending to clog with soot. An "intake cleaning" may eventually be necessary if it's clogged and the performance has dropped. Read about "intake cleaning" or "de-gunkin" on the website...

If you haven't driven a TDI powered VW yet, try it, you'll LOVE it. We just got one last month and we look for reasons to drive it rather than the van or the truck .

EDIT:
LOTS of headroom in a New Beetle.. A fellow church member is 6'5" @~300lbs and when I saw him jump out of his silver beetle, he left my mouth hanging open . He loves his NewBeetle specifically for its head room!

K.

hamilton71801

I can't believe the deal that I got on this car. The dealer sold it to me for loan value ($9200) and flew me out to get it! So far I'm very impressed with the power and ride and am loving it more every mile. On my drive home I ONLY got 48mpg's so I put in some powerservice to hopefully clean things up a little. How much should a timing belt cost? I read the instructions on the TDI site and I think that might just be a little over my head much less the special tools required.

My wife has claimed the car but I have news for her. There is as much room in the back seats as her Trailblazer so we're looking for her one now so she can enjoy hers and not mine.

SoTexRattler

Congrats on a cool little diesel vehicle! Yeah, you ONLY got 48mpg because you were putting it through it's paces weren't you .

My wife has claimed ours but the teenager is trying her darndest to put her name on this one. Wifey likes the TDI Bug so much she also wants to find a second TDI and sell our van. We actually went looking for used TDI Bugs/Jetta's Saturday, but came up empty. Yes, the Wifey is sold on diesels now...
As far as price for a TB job, I honestly don't know.. I'm such a long way from a TB job I hadn't priced one yet. I'm assuming you are out of warranty? If so, I think this guy is a fairly well respected example of non-dealer TDI mechanics. http://jasontdi.com/ He's likely a long way from you but he might give you a ballpark labor $$ figure for what a TB job can be done for. There's a list on the TDIClub website of trusted mech's by state.
Here's a "TB kit of parts" that should be changed. FYI, the waterpump is one of those cheap to buy, but awfully expensive to replace items if not changed at TB time. http://www.tdiparts.com/catalog/prod...roducts_id=449
Here's another source.http://www.dieselgeek.com/Categories...ming+Belt+Kits
Note the price of just the special handtools required. So, I don't think I'll get into the TB business just yet .
I'm about ready to order the Bently CD service manual for my '05 bug. Pretty much THE accepted service manual for VW's.
Just like this CTD site, the more I read over there, the more I learn about my TDI.

Enjoy your TDI!
K.

lglamb

(haven't read entire thread, so don't know if this has
been answered yet)

One of the guru's on tdiclub.com just posted he charges
$850 for all parts and labor. Also included some comparison costs/intervals for other vehicles. This
included _all_ the parts that should be replaced,
something which a dealer may not include.

Best to take it to one of the listed experts (tdiclub.com)
and avoid dealers. (duh!)

Lowell
'99 New Beetle "TweeTDI"
208,000mi 42-45mpg