How To Buy A Classic Vw Beetle | Everything You Need To Know!

The VW Beetle is an icon the world over. Over a lifespan lasting 60 years, they sold well over 20 million of the little love bug, and these days it remains a staple of the classic car world. And it's arguably the perfect starter classic with loads of parts and club support that means no matter what you want to do with it and what you want to fix on it, there's someone out there to help you. But just because there are 20 million of them out there in the world, doesn't mean there aren't some bad examples. So here's everything that you need to know if you want to buy yourself a classic VW Beetle. But first, our friends at Lancaster Insurance are running monthly giveaways. You can win all sorts from experience days to tools, restaurant vouchers, and tech. So click the link below at the end of the video to enter their latest competition. Mechanically, Beetles are pretty tough, but rust will kill these cars, particularly if A, it's a UK car, and B, obviously the older and more unrestored it has the potential to be. But all the parts are replaceable and surprisingly cheap. Let's start with the wings. Both the front and the rears can rot pretty much all over. The leading edge is like this, right down where it meets the valance, the point where the headlight bulbs join on, the whole wing, pretty much. But they're not expensive. On a post 67 car, you can replace the front or the rear wings for about 60 or 70 pounds each. On pre 67 droopy eye cars like this one though, you're into the two or 300 pound range per wing. Depending on how many you've got to replace, you can be well into four figures to do that. While you're around the front, you also want to check down here at the front valance. Of course, even with the bumpers here, they're going to get peppered by road grime and stone chips. And if you're looking at a car that's had the fairly popular de-bumper mod done, they are totally susceptible to any road grime. So check the front valance thoroughly and the leading edge of what is actually the boot lid, of course, because the engine's in the back. Check all around here, lift it up, look under here where it joins the front valance, check all the edges of this boot lid here. Look under the chrome if you can, see if that's bubbling up from under there. Again, it's all replaceable, but the more panels you've got to replace, the more your restoration costs can mount up. You also want to check in here, have a look at the actual boot floor. It's odd to be saying that about the front. Check under the spare wheel, under the carpet, make sure this hasn't been letting water in either. Moving around to the back, you also want to check the state of the bonnet. Again, lift it up, check all the way around it, underneath it, look at the hinges where it mounts, make sure it doesn't wobble too much. Look if there's any signs of bubbling under the number plate because again, it can all be hidden nasties there. It's not a huge issue because it's all replaceable, but look at how much you're paying for the car and what condition you think it's in. While you're around the back, look at the rear screen surround and the same for the front. Look for any signs of bubbling around here, look for signs that water might go under this screen rubber. Welding around here is again doable, but it's quite fiddly. Also around the back, you want to check inside the car, lift up the back seat and look where the battery is because if the rear window has been leaking, water could have got into there and rotted out the rear floor of the car and where the battery tray is. Once again, repair panels are available, but if it's just one less thing that's rusty, then it's one less thing to worry about. While you've got this door open, have a look at the A pillar as well. This is a very common rot spot for Beetles, particularly if they've been letting water in around the screen there, it's quite difficult to fix. So have a good wobble of the door, make sure the car doesn't flex as you do that. Physically knock on it, make sure the whole thing sounds like metal, which this one does. The sill boards can rot out, so just have a good tread up and down on those. They also shouldn't make any cornflake style noises when you put your body weight on them. Have a look at the sills that they mount to, make sure that those are all solid, there's no rust bubbling up underneath here. And when you've checked that, you want to get on your knees, look underneath the car, look at the sills on the floor pan themselves and the heater channels, because of course this is an air-cooled car, it's pushing warm air from the engine through, and the heater channels over time, condensation can get trapped in them and rot them from within. You can buy whole new floor pans for Beetles and you can buy new heater channels, new sill panels, all that stuff, so it is all totally repairable. But check it thoroughly, because you want to ensure that the car you're paying for in terms of price and quality is exactly what you're expecting. Finally, the chrome work. If you're looking at a standard car, there will be a fair amount of chrome work on a Beetle, the side trims, the door handles, around the windows, mirrors, and so on. Check that it's all in good condition, it's not flexing, it's not coming off. This isn't too expensive to replace, believe it or not. Badges and things can be got readily, and good quality, to make sure your Beetle is looking as shiny on the outside as it hopefully does underneath. If you're looking at a Karman convertible Beetle, it's worth making sure it is a factory original car. There were some other aftermarket Beetle convertible conversions, and there's nothing wrong with most of them, they've been done to a high enough standard that the car's still here after all, but they're worth considerably less. An original Karman car is worth big bucks. A conversion, not quite so much, so make sure you know what you're getting, and that it's to a good standard. If the roof's a bit scruffy, you can replace the whole roof on a convertible Beetle, Karman or otherwise, but you're gonna be into around seven or 800 quid for a good quality roof that looks the part and doesn't leak. The engine is, of course, in the back of the Beetle, and over its life it grew from 1,100cc up to 1,600. Always a flat four, always air cooled, and always making that distinctive clatter, and always pretty much bulletproof. Hitler was keen that these cars be dependable for long autobahn driving, and indeed they do stand the test of time. Any oil smoke is one of three things typically, pushrod tubes, rocker cover gaskets, or it could be the end crankshaft seal. Now if that latter one is the case, it's not a horrendous job to do, because no engine job is on a Beetle, you can get the whole motor out in about 45 minutes, but it will involve taking the engine out to do it, so inspect all those things carefully. One of the biggest reasons for rebuild on a Beetle engine is worn crankshaft thrust washers, and there's an easy way to check for end float that would indicate that needs doing. Grab hold of this pulley on the crankshaft itself, and just wobble it, see if there's any movement side to side or up and down, particularly if it seems excessive, there's sort of a quarter to half an inch of slack in it, that unfortunately does mean full rebuild time. But if you're DIY inclined, all the bits are around to do it yourself at home, and if you're not, there's plenty of specialists that will do it for you. But it won't be cheap, four figures minimum. Even though they're air cooled, Beetle engines don't really tend to get too hot, even in the height of summer, but it's worth checking if they are, that all the cooling system is in order, albeit there obviously isn't a radiator to check. A sticking thermostat could be an issue, or a heat flap in the cooling system, and it's worth making sure that these metal heat ducting pipes around the engine are in good nick, they're not rusty, and they're not letting nice cooling air from the air around the car, and not getting it into the engine itself. If they are rusty and they are leaking, you might be inadvertently getting exhaust gases into the car, which of course could have dangerous effects long term. But Beetle engines make that chug chug noise no matter how well they're running, and generally they do run incredibly well and smoothly. Port running on one of these cars will be one of two things generally, bad old fuel in the system, which has been dragged up from the bottom of the tank, clogged up lines, and clogged up the carburettor, or a knackered ignition system. Now the former is easily cured by flushing out the fuel system, changing the lines, and rebuilding the carburettor if need be, or the ignition system, which is even more not expensive and not difficult. All the bits you might need, your plugs, your lead, distributor, rotor arms, all that stuff, and it's right there, you can reach it, there's no mystery here. A Beetle is a fantastically easy car to work on. Pretty much all Beetles came with a four speed manual gearbox, and generally it's a tough, reliable unit, even if you start tuning it and putting more power through it. It's worth checking that it goes into each gear easily without jumping out of gear while you're driving along, and make sure all the synchros are in good nick. If they're not though, a replacement gearbox is not expensive or hard to source. So as is the case with any part on a Beetle, if it's in good nick, which it probably is, you're good to go, and if it's not, it's cheap and easy to replace it. Beetle suspension is pretty stout, with torsion bars and telescopic dampers at the front, and a rear swing axle set up. Generally, as with the body and the chassis, the biggest issue you're gonna have is with rust, specifically the points on the body where the suspension mounts to. So if the car doesn't feel right, it wanders in the road, it doesn't ride evenly, and there's weird sort of cracking and crunching noises over bumps, there's a good chance the suspension mounts under the car are rock, get underneath the car when you're going to look at it like you should have any car at this kind of age, make sure all the suspension mounts are rock solid. That's one given on a Beetle, because if they're not, repairing them can be quite costly and complex. Secondly, in the modifying scene, which is massive for Beetles, it's not uncommon to lower them, because it's quite easy to do, and to be fair with the right wheels, these cars look great when they're lowered. But given that swing axle suspension, it does stiffen the ride up when you lower them, it can make them unbearably hard. So if you are buying a lowered, modified Beetle, take it for a good drive on some not very smooth roads, and make sure it's for you, because very quickly you could turn a fun driving experience into an unpleasant backbreaker. Beetles use a steering box rather than a rack, and it will have slight slop in it just by design, it's not going to be as pin sharp as a Mini, for example. But any slack in it, or wandering down the road, does need investigating, because a worn out steering box could be dangerous. Because a lot of these cars are just used for high days and holidays, it's easy to forget that the tires might be ancient by now, and if they're under inflated, they're cracking, or they're just poor quality, that can ruin the driving experience. Then we're on to brakes. All Beetles had drum brakes, although front discs were introduced around 1966, depending on the market, and they, again, are pretty stout, and they're a nice upgrade to give these cars a bit more modern stopping ability. It's worth checking the condition of the calipers and the discs for any vibrations, and sticking, and what have you, and making sure there's no leaks from any lines. You can add a servo if that's to your liking as well, but on the whole, these aren't a heavy car, and they're not fast. So generally, the stock brakes, if they're in good working condition, are perfectly good enough. The Beetle cabin is unsurprisingly simple. This car was designed in the 30s, don't forget. Everything in here is simple and easy to replace as well, but, unlike some of the body panels, not cheap. If you need replacement seat covers, a good quality kit will cost you around £300 upwards, and as for a full replacement carpet kit, which will transform the feel of your Beetle's cabin, you're looking at £350 upwards. It's also worth checking the seals, not just the front and rear window seals, like we've suggested, but also around the door seals, the quarter lights, and the windows themselves. Check there's no cracking or perishing on them, and make sure they're not leaking. If you go and inspect the car on a slightly rainy, drizzly day, if the car's damp inside, that's a good indicator that it might be leaking. The old rumour about Beetles being so well sealed that if you shut all the windows and quarter lights fully and slam a door that the opposite one will open is pretty much true, so if any of the door seals isn't quite right, that's a good sign you ought to look at replacing them, but all the seals are available. As for electrical issues, well, what electrics? There really isn't much in terms of gadgets in a Beetle, and anything that does go wrong in terms of lights or whatever is probably down to just aged wiring that's fallen apart. These cars originally had six-volt electrics, but they had 12-volt upgraded from 1967, and from 1971, they went from a dynamo to a more modern alternator. Now, if you want to run a more modern power system, you want brighter lights, a stereo, heated seats, all that kind of stuff, we'd recommend an alternator conversion kit, which you can do yourself, and it's about 180 quid. As with so many classics of this era, a great upgrade for use on modern roads is LED bulbs. You can brighten up all the gauges, the lights, just makes them a lot more visible amongst the sea of massive modern SUVs. It's a great cost-effective upgrade, and it will actually put less load on your electrical system. So there's everything to look for when buying a Beetle, but what should you pay, and which one should you buy? Well, the first thing to bear in mind is, as we said, there's over 20 million Beetles ever made, and that means you shouldn't just buy the first one you see. Go in with your eyes wide open and stick to your budget. And as for budget, between 1,500 quid and 3,000 pounds will buy you a project Beetle, but different people have got different definitions of project. So again, inspect thoroughly and consider whether it's the right kind of project for the amount of money being asked. Also, the post-67 cars, which haven't got this droopy eye front on them, are worth considerably less, because they're less desirable. It's the facelift shape. Spend between five and 8,000 pounds, and you can get yourself a decent condition, drivable car that you can use tomorrow. It's probably gonna be a post-67 car, but there are a plethora of Beetles out there from all kinds of classified ads and auction sites, or auction houses like WB and Sons, where this one's coming from, and that means that whatever you want to pay for a Beetle, and whatever condition you want, there are plenty to choose from. But generally, it's worth buying the best one you can afford. Up your budget from nine to 14,000 pounds, meanwhile, and you can buy the best post-67 Beetles around, fantastic condition, potentially concourse-winning full restoration cars, or really good examples of the droopy eye pre-67 cars. Meanwhile, if you want the best Beetle money can buy, you want a budget upwards of 20,000 pounds. But for that, you'll get concourse-winning, fully nut and bolt restored cars that are flawless, and you'll get the very best factory carbon convertible cars, which range from 20 right up to 35,000 pounds. But whichever one you choose, no matter what you're buying, what kind of project or show car, whatever money you're spending, and what you end up with, the VW Beetle is a fantastic choice of a classic car. They're reliable, practical, easy to work on, and they'll put a smile on your face, even if you're just buzzing to the shops and back. The Beetle really is still the love bug. This video is proudly sponsored by Lancaster Insurance. Give them a call on 01480 400 889 for an insurance quote on your classic car. And don't forget to click the link below to enter their latest competition.