Im interesting in buying a '72 VW beetle. Help?

Question

well, i dont know a WHOLE lot about cars, but I know a few people that do... anyways, theres a '72 VW beetle, looks like original paint, which is yellow, from what i saw at a distance new interior fabric, and looks pretty cool...
whats good about the old model of beetles. whats bad?
Im in Oklahoma, so I dont really know if anyone can work on it if needed, and it being an old car, would someone i know PERSONALLY have to, or can a pro do it???

Thanks to the first 6 or so answers.

Im not mechanical savvy, but i love to learn, so hey, this could be a great experience! And like someone said, its a pretty simple engine, and i have quite a few friends whose dads LOVE classics like this...

after this sudden splurge in the local 72, i decided to look online for anything... dun dun dun. ebay. I found some I LOVE, and they seem to have very good conditions (there were the bad ones, but there always are) and for pretty good prices so far... The highest one im interested in about $5000, with about 30,000 miles on it. no more than that. New paint, new parts here and there, they say it runs great... any tips one how to ask more specific questions?

Also: Thanks to all who have already answered. You have helped a bunch, and im getting a better feel for beetles, as far as their information goes. after looking through a bunch of beetles online, im getting more of a feel for what I am looking for, and what to diss when i see it. thanks agian.

Answer 1

I have been working and restoring aircooled vw's for over 16 years and i would have to agree with dodgeman on this one, especialy if you are not mechanicaly inclined. Aircooled vw's are one of my passions as far as hobbies go but for some one thats looking for a good reliable first car thats not really what you want. They require a good amount of ongoing maintainance but make a excellent second car for somebody that has an eye for a car like the vw, however us seasoned acvw mechanics are a diying breed. Your average technician of today wouldnt touch the old vw's with a stick because they just simply dont grasp aircooled technology so finding a good vw mechanic will be difficult if you do decide to buy one. Beware...They still take advantage of women in alot of those shops so dont go alone if you decide to go thru with it. Ihope this helps, good luck.

Answer 2

The good thing about your prospectove '72 Beetle is that it could run forever. It will never be a great car, but it won't get much worse than it ever was. If you know anything about working on cars, a 1972 is still pretty much a fully mechanical car without too much electronic or anti-polution intervention. 1973 was a bad year in that regard for almost ALL cars, so 1972 is a decent place to start if you want to learn to work on cars. The '72 was "acceptable" as far as handling, in that it is not likely to just flip over on you. It's a more or less modern car as far as teh suspension goes. You can get millions of performance parts.

I'm not sure why a professional mechanic would not be able to work on this car unless he/she is too young to do anything without the ability to plug in to a computer diagnostics terminal in the car, since there is none. If your friends know anything about cars and you pick up a copy of Chilton's or some other manual for your car, they should have no trouble figuring things out. It's a very simple engine.

Answer 3

I've owned several Beetles and Karmann Ghias (65, 67, 68, 71) Older Beetles are pretty durable. Because they aren't cooled by water, changing oil regularly is important - no more than 4,000 miles between changes. They also nee to have valves adjusted and heads re-torqued about once a year. These are easy to do and any good VW mechanic won't charge too much.

They're economical to own and they last. Downside is no safety equipment and the heat and defrost are very slow and primitive.

Have it thoroughly checked for rust and make sure it's sound. If it is you'll have a gem. Find a copy of John Muir's guide to VW for the complete idiot and you'll learn all you'll ever need to know about the air cooled classic.

Answer 4

A VW Beetle is a vw beetle. It is a car the majority of first timers drive for the first time. It is a fun car. It is a car that does not break down that easily(compared to many others).
Talk to some people that own an older bug. They may even let you try it out. They will also know people who fix them (vw owners are the most friendliest people you will find and they help like drivers)
Simplicity is what is good about it. and they are easy to work on.

Answer 5

Vws are a very cool lil car, smple and easy to operate and repair. There are quite a few folks in Ok that have, drive and work on their bugs. If it's been taken care of and well maintained all its life, it should have no problems other than normal wear, they are tough.
Most mechanics should be able to tune it regularly for you, if not,you can do it yourself. Get a good manual for it and some easy tools. They are a breeze to work on for reg maintanence. I'm a girl and I can do it, so can you! There are many suppliers for parts too.
As for buying one and what to look for, make sure the floors are solid, no rust around the lil vents behind the side rear windows, no rust behind the front wheel inside the fenderwell by the frame. Check all the seals, doors, windows, front and rear deck lids (they are easy to replace and fairly cheap) . Get as much info as you can if the engine is anything other than a 1600, thats the stock size. Alot of folks will change them to a lil higher performance, which is good, gives you the extra zip in traffic. Mine is a 1641, lots of zip. Transmission can make a difference, stocks are good but one called a 'freeway flyer' is better for distance driving.

Lots of things can make the bug better than it was originally, but overall its a fun lil car! :) I won't give mine up , as it is, we have over a dozen, I have a couple of big trucks too, but the bug is the daily driver!

Answer 6

Older Bugs are great cars if you know what they are going in. I drove one for years in Utah so one must know that if it gets cold where your at the heater is not great, also most did not have any kind of a/c so if its hot where you live be prepared for that. Almost every town in the US has some kind of VW guy who will work on them. They do need valve adjustments so find someone who has worked on them before. Also keep the oil changed every 3 thousand miles.

Answer 7

Ask about compression, ask about when the brakes were serviced, ask about the status of the title, ask about the condition of the floor pans and heater channels. for some great info go to www.thesambe.com and www.aircooled.net. both of these sites have a question and answer section. The samba has a chat area, whereas aircooled.net has a great guy that runs it named John Conolly. Give them a try.

Answer 8

i own a repair shop,and i have worked on a lot of those,the good thing about them is their easier to work on than the new ones,the one bad thing about the older ones,was they rusted out real bad in certain areas ,depending on where you live,,and how much bad weather you got,but they was easy to work on,very simple basic car,very reliable also,a little cold in the winter time,the heaters wasn't the best in them,but they were still good cars,and there getting real popular now,with gas going up and down,people are going back to the older ones that was easier to work on,but just about anyone can work on a bug,good luck with it,i hope this help,s.

Answer 9

i wouldnt do it. Theyre unreliable, loud, uncomfortable, impractical, and are not for the car-unsavvy people out there. they just take too much maitenance.

if you want more info, check out the aircooled section of the forums on www.vwvortex.com

Answer 10

buy a new car unless you love "tinkering" on older cars...

Does this info help any?