Buying a Classic VW Beetle? What to look for...

If you are a classic Volkswagen lover like I am, then chances are that you either own, or are looking to purchase one. The Volkswagen Beetle has been a favorite around the world for decades, and is one of the longest production cars in existence!

One of the primary items to consider when shopping for your Beetle is, are you looking for a car that you can drive right away, or a project. Another thing to consider if it will be a project is, how involved do you want to get and how much money are you willing to spend?

There are a plentiful amount of these great little cars still roaming around the world, many in great shape. Some, not in such great shape. You just need to weed out the 'Bad Apples'.

I will go over some key points of interest when shopping for your new 'Baby' and provide helpful links to give you the most information before you buy.

 The first thing that you need to decide, is whether you want to buy a driver, that you can purchase, and not have to do much but maintenance or a project, that will need some TLC before it hits the open road.

Drivers of course will have a much higher starting price tag initially; however, you will need to check things over really well. This choice is more for those that are either not inclined to do body work, or mechanical repairs. Don't fret though, the Beetle is one of the EASIEST of cars to work on and there is a vast amount of information available to help you do so. I will discuss that later.

Buying a project can be a little tricky. But if you know what you are looking for, you can find yourself a very good deal. Projects vary in severity; from just needing an engine all the way to being a complete 'rust bucket'. Decide how much labor you are willing to put into the project, check the areas of interest as outlined below and go from there.

When looking at a Beetle, take a few things with you, whether you are looking for a driver or a project, they will be very useful. A small awl or screwdriver; this will help you find the bad rust areas of the car. If you see a spot that looks bad, give it a poke. If it goes through, well, there will be some welding involved. Another thing that I like to keep handy, is a small magnet. This will help you discover an over abundance of body filler. The magnet that I use will not stick to metal that has much more than 1/8 inch of filler on top of it. Bring a small flashlight too. You'll need it to check out areas under the car. Lastly, bring a socket set, and a large cresent wrench. These are handy in the engine compartment.

You may also want to take along a battery, a small can of gasoline, some starting fluid and jumper cables. You would be surprised at how much these will become useful when looking at a car that has been sitting in the weeds for a few years.

When you start looking the car over, pay special attention to several areas. Rust can hide in many places, and if you see a 'bubble', there is usually more rust to come. Here is a list of major areas to check:

1.) Heater Channels - This is one of the first places to rot out on a Beetle. Since the car is air cooled, heat must be transferred to the front of the car through the rocker panels just below the door. Since these are constantly moving hot air, condensation occurs during cool down. A prime area for rust to form. Look primarily above the jack support of the car and poke and prod if you can. Check all the way to the front.

2.) Quarter Panel Behind Side Rear Windows - When manufactured, Volkswagen put either a bag of filler material or expanding foam inside the quarter panel to reduce noise and also as a vapor barrier from the engine compartment to the passanger compartment. This filler or foam collected condensation and run-off water (Especially on 1970+ models with the small cresent vent behind the rear windows) Major evidence of rot will appear as bubbles in the paint. The larger the bubble, the larger the problem.

3.) Rear Package Tray - Just behind the back seat of a Beetle is the Package tray. Since the trunk is rather limited, this is extra storage for passanger items like luggage or groceries. You will need to be able to lift any covering that is on this area to inspect properly. If you can't lift the covering, the just apply pressure straight down onto it in as many places as possible. If you hear any 'Crunching' sounds or worse, if your hand goes through, then the tray will need replaced.

4.) Floor Pans - This is probably the most common repair area of Beetles. It's fairly easy to detect rot in any of these areas, but the most common is under the battery, which is under the rear seat. Also lift the floor mats if possible to check for more. Replacing the pans can be done in a weekend if necessary.

5.) Rear Cross Members - Under the back seat is the rear cross member, where the body is bolted to the chassis. The heater tubes from the engine compartment come through this area to feed the heater channels. This area will sometimes rot out from road dirt collecting on the underside and holding water. Rot here should be easy to detect but feel aroud the area behind the heater tube since it's not as easily visible.

6.) Fender Mounting Areas - All four fenders on a Beetle are bolted to the body, with a rubber strip seperating them from the body. This area likes to collect dirt and grime, and eventually, rust if not attended to. If rust is not evident on the surface of these areas, check inside each fender well with a flashlight.

7.) Spare Tire Well - The trunk seal can only do so much to keep water out of the trunk, and eventually they do go bad. Make sure that if there is a spare tire in the spare tire well; remove it and check for rust in the trough below it. Water will collect in this area and rot it out. *** Note that on a Super Beetle, the spare tire lays flat instead of being upright.

8.) Frame Head - The Beetle frame is a pretty interesting creature. It consists of a long 'beam' that runs down the center of the car, which is the bulk of the support for the suspension and drive train. At the front of that beam is the 'Frame Head' which is where the front suspension, or beam is bolted on. It's slightly triangular in shape and is directly below the gas tank. Usually you will see rot in the bottom of the frame head first.

9.) Firewall (front) - The panel that seperates the passanger compartment from the trunk sometimes rots out at the bottom. This is from moisture finding its way either through the heater channels or through the trunk and sitting in the bottom. This area is most easily seen by removing the gas tank, but can also be viewed from under the car. Rust usually starts in the bottom outside corners where it meets the heater channels.

10.) Strut Towers (Super Beetle Only) - Under the trunk lid, you will find the front strut towers. Found only on the Super Beetle model, these areas sometimes rot out causing the front suspension to be weakened. This area needs to be solid for the car to be safe. Replacement parts are available if it is rotted.

This covers most of the real rust problem areas on the Beetle. Please note that this information may vary a bit by year, but for a general guide, it is pretty accurate.

 After sitting a few years, these cars can be a bit hard to start. The owner may tell you that the engine was rebuilt just before it was parked. This however doesn't necessarily mean that the engine is usable.

Visually inspect the engine to see that there are no apparent missing pieces. I looked at a Beetle once that the previous owner said was running just a few months before. When looking at the engine, the carbeurator was missing. I finally discovered that over time water condensation had gone down through the intake manifold and rusted one of the pistons to the cylinder.

Take a large wrench and try to turn the motor by hand. If it doesn't, then take out the spark plugs. If it still doesn't turn, the engine has some major issues.

Try and start it! If the engine turns freely, and it appears that all of the components are there, then go for it! This is why you brought the battery, gas, starting fluid and jumper cables!  You may just find that the engine runs fine.

After you get it started, check for smoke coming from the exhaust, or any odd noises. Knocking or heavy pinging noises are BAD.

 The fuse block on a Beetle is located instide the trunk on the drivers side just in front of the stereo speaker (if it's still there). Check to make sure all of the wires are plugged onto the block. Also check to make sure there are no brittle wires or burned wires. Rewiring a Beete is a pretty involved project.

 Ok, so if all went well here, then you have a pretty good understaning of where to look on a Beetle for problems and how to detect them. Remember to never take anyones word that a vehicle is in great condition no matter how it looks. YOU be the judge.

I have a seperate HUB page with links and resources that will help you on your journey:

http://www.hubpages.com/hub/AirCooled-Volkswagen-Links

Please comment on this article to let me know if it was helpful to you as well as any additions that you think I should make.

Thanks for reading!!!

Buying a Classic VW Beetle? What to look for... by Eric Daniel Hartman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.