Faults:

Transmission slams in lower gears for the past three years. No one can tell me why!

Third eye break light, gas door never worked.

Tan interrior is grey. Every little plastic piece in side car has been replaced.

Tail lights, head lights, have to pound on them to get them to work.

Head liner is falling.

Radio buttons pushed in/fell off.

Cadilitic converter bad.

Had cooling fan replaced twice in 3 years!

General Comments:

I LOVE my car! Just wish it was better put together. I bought it at a no credit/bed credit shyster place. But Volkswagen has treated me like royalty. They replaced my cadilitic converter for FREE! There is an extension on it. Check it out! I take it to Volkswagen once a year for a check up. Just spent $1,675.20 in maintainance. Serpentine belt, timing belt, hoses, fans & so on.

Bottom line it is 8 years old, needs work. Cars now a days are not made to last. If you want one, buy a new one, or lease one. I think of my car some times like I am restoring a 1969 Beetle. Not a 1999.

Faults:

Just a few minor things:

Heated seat on driver's side quit working.

AC not working.

Knob to adjust driver's side mirror fell off.

Had to replace passenger side window mechanism.

Heated side mirrors not working.

I have had no issues related to the car's ability to drive. The engine is in great shape and performs wonderfully. Everything that has gone wrong has been rather trivial and not related to driving or safety issues.

General Comments:

I love this car! I have owned it for 7 years and all, but 500 of its 123,000+ miles and I hope to keep it for many more years. When it does reach the end, I hope VW is still making the New Beetle so I can replace it with another one.

Why do I love it?

Fun to drive, corners nicely, the turbo gives it a lot of pep just when I need it.

Comfortable seats. I have driven as much as 15 hours in one day and I am totally comfortable in the seats without any problems by the end of the day.

Cute...it just plain still puts a smile on my face to look at it, even after 7 years.

Great gas mileage. I average 32mpg on the highway an about 29mpg in town. Yes, you could get cars with better fuel consumption, but they are usually like driving a tin can and not solid like the New Beetle. And most cars with good gas mileage are gutless wonders. Ugh! I love having a zippy engine and good gas mileage. What a lovely combination!

Safety: Since it is solid and designed well for safety with good crumple zones, etc. I know that I am safe in this car should an accident happen.

Faults:

Since the first year I had the car my alarm would randomly go off even when I unlocked the car, I had to get my timing belt replaced, and some other belt replaced, a temperature gauge replaced, my trunk would randomly pop open.. the inside of doors wears away really fast. Oh and all power locks and power windows will mess up on you, that's for sure.!!

It sucks up oil, and today it randomly would not start. It was not the battery because it would not even try to turn over, so this is probably another problem to add to the list. My alternator needs to be replaced..

General Comments:

This car is quick and handles well, it's really safe and has saved my life more than once. But the inside gets destroyed really easy and the electrics of the car randomly messes up. It's very unreliable and the Volkswagen service is not very productive.