2008 Volkswagen Beetle S 2.5 from North America

Summary:

This car stinks

Faults:

- Third brake light has come out four times.

- Various warning lights have appeared.

- Received recall notice for leaking fuel lines.

- The car makes strange creaks and pops for no reason.

- Secondary hood latch became stuck, not allowing the hood to fully close or open.

General Comments:

This car is absolutely terrible. The negative reviews on this site do not capture the pain and torment that is owning a VW New Beetle.

The suspension is made of stone. The seats feel like rock. The transmission feels as if there is a small man with a sledgehammer in there, changing gears whenever he feels like doing so.

The car has some power, but mine has a tendency to torque steer. The center of gravity is too high, so the car feels like it's going to flip in a more than gentle turn.

I hate this car, and I will never buy another Volkswagen. I have a good dealership, and they are very nice. But even the mechanics shrug when I take it in. They don't know what to tell me. Every time I am there, I see the repair bays full of Beetles, and occasionally one GTI or EOS.

It's just a horrible, expensive-to-fix hunk of junk. The bumper-to-bumper warranty is good, but do yourself a favor and dump it before it's up.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 8th May, 2012

8th May 2012, 11:11

Please read your Consumer Reports annual auto issue that comes out every year in April... it has a section for good used cars. Very few VWs make onto their list... and no Beetles made their list this year.

VW has just come out with their newer version of the Beetle. Hopefully that will be a lot better model, and VW will stop dumping their unreliable Beetle on the American public...

4th Mar 2019, 03:22

We have owned our 2008 VW Beetle for 3 years now. Purchased used from the original owner at approx. 105K : it has 131K now. All systems function as designed, the car rides very comfortably, the interior has held up immaculately; some wear though experienced on the convertible cloth top, but quite minor (has been up and down hundreds of times so no surprise there) and is still water tight.

The manual transmission is a joy to shift and the car gets about 28 MPG on the highway. Only routine maintenance needed since new except for replacing a secondary air pump. The original lasted 131,000 miles.

I’d buy another in a heartbeat. The original owner was diligent at maintaining it and so were we. I guess that’s the key. Doing required maintenance instead of doing optional maintenance.

2008 Volkswagen Beetle New Style S 2.5L gas from North America

Summary:

This is the worst car I have ever owned in my life, and I will never buy a VW Beetle again

General Comments:

The car is horrible. From one month after purchase, I began to have problems with it, and it has been a constant thing for the last three years.

I have replaced almost every component in the motor, and currently I am dealing with an oil leak that the service department will not fix. The backseat is uncomfortably small and cramped, and extremely hard, making passengers extremely painful. When more than two people are in the car, it goes slower and accelerates slower.

I have owned my car for three and half years now, and have taken it to the shop eleven times. Eleven! I tried to get it on the lemon law, but VW of America is very unhelpful on those matters; they sent me a $50 voucher to keep quiet. Nearly every electrical part and motor component has had to be replaced.

The dealership I purchased the car from demands a $100 payment to make a warranty repair, and makes you pay labor whether it is warranty or not.

The windshield wipers will not attach to the arms, they constantly fly off and scratch the window, and it gets extremely slow when you put it on high speed.

Once the gas gauge reads below full, it drinks gas like no-body's business. If the brake sensors get covered in road tar or dirt, the brakes stop working. How's THAT for scary?

Honestly, I used to love Beetles. I thought they were cute and I wanted one so badly I begged my parents for the $1500 down payment, and now I wish I had gone with a different car. Volkswagen is not a good brand. Don't waste your money on these pieces of junk.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 18th August, 2011

19th Aug 2011, 11:06

STAY AWAY FROM THESE CARS! I cannot stress that enough.. of course I was never foolish enough to buy one, but everyone I know who has owned one has had heaps of problems with this notoriously unreliable car.

I think Volkswagen just does not care, as most of these cars are sold to and driven by women with disposable income, so they think they can just take advantage of them.

Buy anything but this car if you want something reliable, even a Kia, Hyundai, anything is better if you want something reliable. I would take a 20 year old Ford Escort or a beat up Cavalier with over 300 thousand miles on it over a 2008 Beetle any day, and I'm sure it would run longer with less problems, guaranteed, that is just how bad these VWs are..