The perfect auto, and the poor man's Porsche
The car is old but beautiful... fuel pump, distributor, battery, tranny mount, brakes, new carb.
One of the most beautiful and economical cars ever produced. The Ghia is a gem.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 23rd May, 2011
Best first car a college kid could want!
Body rotted out.
A great car! The engine RPMs were about as low as you could get... but, other than horrible body-build quality, a real looker and a fun drive!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 24th July, 2010
I agree they are great... BUT they did not do much to protect against rust.
Even with 60 HP it's not fast. My first was only 30 HP; a 1963 Karmann Ghia. I also had a couple of Bugs, a 69 and 74. I tripled my money on my only Karmann Ghia. I also had a 75 Bug, which was junk, that I picked up later. In that era, the 73 and 74 were the best in my opinion, between the ones I had and my dad's 73. I would rather have the straight Beetle vs any of them. The Super Beetle had a longer wheel base, but it was expensive to fix the front end suspension. It was good to have a heater blower. Took a while to stay warm in the winter. These cars were great in snow and did not overheat in the summer with air cooling. They were reliable, but needed to go in the dealer for various small things and clutch adjustments.
A non-stop action-adventure car
Most of the problems were due to accidents: rear-ended, hit a curb, front-ended (light) and rusted floorboards.
Typical maintenance issues.
Got this car when I was nineteen for $1000 in 1979 from a musician who had spent a lot of money fixing it up. It was my most memorable car and a favorite of friends and family.
The convertible top and doors had been upgraded to a later model Ghia with the glass rear window.
Had a two-barrel carb said to be from a Ford Pinto. Dual-point distributor and header exhaust. Porsche 914 style wheels. The engine was rebuilt to 1800cc. Hurst shifter.
This car was a blast to drive and very, VERY easy to maintain. It was surprisingly fast with an unofficial 0-60 in 8 seconds.
I was young with limited funds and resources and made a lot of dubious "improvements" - wood dash, padded door panels, ordinary house carpeting. I bolted in newer seats from a Japanese car. It probably looked awful but I loved it.
I drove this Ghia all over the United States in all kinds of weather - 22 of the 50 states.
The convertible top made it for me - the hardtops never had the same appeal.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 31st December, 2009
A well used Ghia
The car was purchased from my aunt who bought it new. The car was driven 350 miles get it home.
The body was cancer (rust) ridden and the floor hung down on drivers side. The car was taken to a mechanic who specialized in older VWs. The mechanic recommended replacing the engine - upgraded to a 1600cc engine. The automobile was really in need of a total restoration and possibly only good for parts - but my sister who purchased the car sight unseen continued to spend money on it. It was later found that someone took a cutting torch to the drivers side heater channel and cut it out completely, thus taking away most of the structure strength on the drivers side.
Eventually the car became a money pit and was sold to a young neighbor kid who kept it a very short time and traded it in on a Jetta. Hopefully someone with an interest in restoring it bought it.
Considering its age and condition, it managed to drive a seven hour trip without incident.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 24th September, 2009
25th Nov 2010, 22:42
In my opinion you are wrong to say that the Ghia has "horrible body works". The Ghia is known to be one of the best built hand built bodies in the world! PERIOD!