2002 Volkswagen New Beetle consumer reviews

I recently bought a diesel 2002 Beetle with 198K and it runs like a champ! Exterior has held up well and interior is like new! The gas mileage is AWESOME: 40 mpg highway, 36-37 mpg in town. I've put 6K miles on it in just 6 wks. Acceleration is a little sluggish, but once it's up and running it handles 75-80 mph, no problem... so I've been told.

If you are a Big & Tall guy who doesn't need space for large items or aren't inteneding it for a grown up family-this is your car! Being 6'4" and the build of an NFL lineman-some 4 door & 2 door cars are too small to get either enough shoulder room to enter/exit or headroom. With the tall roof and large doors, this car is a pleasure to sit in and drive. Don't be fooled-this is a 2800lb car. It's wide track and 16 inch wheels/tires give it great snow traction. The high roof doesn't always like high winds on the highway, but it is something you will get used to. For a smaller car this heavy and stable, 20-25 mpg with the gas engine seems reasonable. There is enough torque at highway passing speeds as it is geared for power in the middle speeds. Original tires lasted 74,000 mi. The GL only had manual windows-the driver's window cable broke during 15 below zero weather in my first year but was fixed under warranty-so was the ignition coil. The headlights are not user changable-if you try to remove the assembly and bend the huge cage assembly you will spend $100's to have the whole thing replaced. I had 3 headlights changed in 4 years. Out of warranty is about $40. Many replacement parts are 1 piece units-not a lot of user serviceable parts-3rd brakelight was about $135. Rear brakes lasted about 80,000. Still have original fronts brakes at 98,000 and still have pad left on 'em. There are some people that still think the design is cool! The only unusual or negative thing I still can't get over is that for a car this heavy/sturdy-and able to hold a big/tall guy, the non-power seats are built with a lot of plastic in the support frame. It is starting to fail An original seat doesn't seem to exist as a 1 piece unit. A rebuild with factory parts was quoted about $1800-looks like I will hunt 4 one in the junkyard. This was/is my 1st VW. I have never had a U.S. car that wouldn't have already gone through 3 or 4 sets of brakes/rotors by now. These have held up. When parts fail-need to be replaced it can be $$$. But many items have been good to me as far as reliability.

Of all the cars I have ever owned, this one has been back to the dealer the most. I have had a problem with the window not coming up. The dealer had to replace all the coils for the spark plugs. There were a few more minor problems, but the real problems started after the warranty ran out. I started to smell oil fumes and that turned out to be a broken hose, that cost about $300 to fix. The starter was making a noise when I started the car, that was $500 to fix. The check engine light would come on at times, that turned out to be the catalytic converter. I was lucky on that one. The catalytic converter was still covered under the emissions warranty, or that would have cost me $1500. The last thing to go wrong was a switch by the hatchback went bad and the alarm would go off. I think that was about $150 to fix. I would not buy another Volkswagen. I will stick with Chrysler products.

fun to drive and sporty looks everyone looks at it going by engine is really peppy gets excellent gas mileage

I am extremely happy with my Diesel Bug. The MPG and a few less trips to the gas station. The Diesel engine is what I love. Should last forever.

enjoy the drive before passing on this one ! Sporty feel, great handling, enough power to get through traffic and pass gracefully, even above 70 mph. Not the tame little bug it may appear to be...

WE THOUGHT OUR 2002 BEETLE WAS PERFECT. FIRST WE HAD A RECALL ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW. IT WOULDN'T ROLL UP ALL THE WAY OR GET STUCK ROLLING DOWN. IT TOOK 3 ATTEMPTS TO REPAIR AND IT STILL DOESN'T WORK PROPERLY IN CERTAIN TYPES OF WEATHER. ONLY 3 WEEKS AFTER THE WARRANTY EXPIRED THE ALARM SYSTEM STARTED GOING OFF WHILE DRIVING AND THE ALARM LOCK AND UNLOCK SWITCH WOULDN'T STOP THE ALARM FROM GOING OFF. WE HAVE MADE 2 DEALER VISITS AND IT STILL ISN'T FIXED, BUT COULD (POSSIBLY) BE REPAIRED WITH ANOTHER $1,000 BALLPARK FIGURE. THE AIRBAG LIGHT STAYED LIT AND THE DEALER SAID IT WAS BECAUSE THE SEATBELT WASN'T CONNECTING. IT SEEMS ODD THAT THE SEATBELT LIGHT ALWAYS GOES OUT AFTER CLICKING IT CLOSED. THIS ALSO COSTS US ANOTHER $450.00 ON 07/28/06. THIS HAD TO BE REPAIRED BEFORE AN INSPECTION STICKER COULD BE UPDATED. WE HAVE HEARD OTHER HORROR STORIES ABOUT THE WINDOW COMING OFF THE TRACK, SERVICE ISSUES WITH THE DEALER AND OTHER REMARKS THAT I CANNOT REPEAT PUBLICLY. WE HAVE ONLY TWO VOLKSWAGEN DEALERS IN OUR RICHMOND, VA AREA AND WE (OTHER VOLKSWAGEN CUSTOMERS/FRIENDS) DO NOT CARE TO VISIT EITHER OF THEM BECAUSE OF POOR SERVICE OR EXTREMELY HIGH PRICES. MAYBE IT'S NOT TOTALLY THE CARS FAULT. IT WAS AN EXCELLENT VEHICLE, UNTIL I STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS PAST THE WARRANTY STAGE OR MAYBE THE CAR WASN'T BUILT TO LAST PAST THE WARRANTY STAGE! EITHER WAY, IT WILL BE THE LAST VOLKSWAGEN PRODUCT THAT WE WILL EVER PURCHASE. I WOULD RATHER DRIVE A HORSE AND BUGGY OR REVERT TO RIDING A BIKE BEFORE I HAD TO DRIVE ANOTHER VOLKSWAGEN PRODUCT. I SHOULD HAVE KEPT MY ORIGINAL VOLKSWAGEN FROM THE 70'S. ANOTHER SUGGESTION, CONSUMERS NEED TO START MORE LETTERS TO VOLKSWAGEN ABOUT THE DEALERS THEY HAVE WORKING FOR THEM. HOPE SOMEBODY IS LISTENING!!!!!! P. LESLIE