Faults:

Flange piece leaked coolant, but covered by warranty.

Fuel/vacuum pump replaced. Same warranty.

Driver's window motor and hardware broke. Warranty.

General Comments:

Great gas mileage, comfortable for the size of vehicle. I have been lucky considering what I have read about the Beetle, but I go easy on it. It was a lease vehicle for the first 4 years, so apparently got great maintenance as far as I can discern from the records.

I bought at 54000 in fall of 06. Not much to report, so far real lucky.

Quick off the block with turbo, very quick.

Also one note, I understand that synthetic oil is best when the car is a turbo. That's it.

Faults:

Many recalls.

Gas vac-lines fall off.

Sun-roof leak.

Ignition problems.

Uncooperative service representative that can only make excuses.

VW is living on its past laurels. Never in a million years would I consider buying another VW.

Faults:

Control panel (dash) broke down at 200 000 miles

One motor mount needed to be replaced

Driver mirror cracked (extreme cold weather)

One muffler pipe section was replaced

Hood latch fell apart

Oil pan fillets stripped - had to replace the oil pan

Replaced engine starter motor.

General Comments:

This may seem to a lot of repairs, but I have run the car for over 200 000 miles, and I had VERY LITTLE issues with this car. In Canada, repair shops that service Volkswagen are common, and they do a great job at a low cost. For example, I got a used dash for $100, so I never got into repairs that cost more than $400.

Biggest maintenance issue is timing belt replacement every 60 000 miles: about $500 each time

After running the car 200 000 miles: no engine problems, no transmission problems, no turbo problems. I guess you can say this is a good car.

Fuel efficiency is incredible: over 50 mpg in warm weather (May through September). And this is a good size car - not an Toyota Echo or such.

Driving this car is really fun!

Faults:

My 2001 Beetle has always eaten oil. It was scary at first, but since then it's true that I average putting about 1 liter of oil in between each oil change. This situation has caused me to become quite a regular at checking the oil out of fear. And of course too much oil will hurt the car, too.

I used to have problems with the headlights going out often but for some reason that has gotten better... knock on wood.

I'm starting to have some problems which I think are electrical or latch related. First it was the hatch latch that now requires two or three times before it will open.

Most recently my gas door is taking about ten clicks to open and I can't get it open without the latch. That's frustrating.

General Comments:

Besides getting used to the oil eating and headlight costs of having to take it to the dealership to change the light, it's okay.

I like the size as it's easy to handle in the city and it has plenty of room for me.