How expensive are repairs on '71 vw bug?

Question

They are very inexpensive to purchase, but everyone tells me the parts / repairs are expensive. Is that true? If so what costs am i looking at?

Answer 1

Its true, and not true. Parts are cheap, repairs are cheap if you do them yourself. If you have someone else repair metal or paint, it can get expensive.

Owning an older VW Beetle (or a "Type 1" as they are known in the VW world) is less expensive than owning a newer car. Insurance is less, parts are MUCH less, and repairs (by someone who is experienced at repairing aircooled VW's) are a LOT less than a newer car. You can actually remove the entire engine with about 4 common tools, in about 2 hours, even if you have never done it before. I have seen people (guys and ladies) remove a bug engine in under 30 minutes!

Everything else mechanical is simple, straightforward nuts-n-bolts stuff, that anyone can do. If you buy a bug, I would suggest John Muir's book "How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, A Manual of step-by-step procedures for the compleat idiot" and learn how to repair it yourself, thats part of the joy of owning a classic VW, being able to look at the problem, and say to yourself, "Hey, thats just a few bolts, EVEN I CAN DO THAT!" Try that with a new car....

Now, if you are talking about repairing the metal, like welding new heater channels, new pans, door channels, rockers, new paint etc., then yes, these types of repairs are expensive if you are not a welder or painter yourself. The best VW to buy is one that is as rust-free as possible, that way the only thing you need to repair is simple stuff that you can do in a driveway, with a few hand tools.

Please check out some of the online forums for more information, like;

The Samba

http://www.thesamba.com

The Full Moon Bus Club

http://www.fullmoonbusclub.com

VW Rides

http://vwrides.com

The VW community is a freindly bunch (mostly) of people that love their VW's, and are willing to help you enjoy your ride....

Answer 2

Parts for the Beetle are VERY reasonable. What repairs are you referring to. If you are mechanically inclined at all they are simple to work on or find yourself a reputable shop that works on old beetles by typing Vintage Volkswagen (notice the E in Volkswagen) in a search engine. Try theSamba website. There is a world of info on old VW's at the Samba. Enjoy your ride, you meet the nicest people when driving one of these remarkable cars, and I mean a lot of people.

T

Answer 3

depend what u need and what u want to do

there lots of beetle club on here

100 of place to order parts

like any project

vw  mustang camaro

Answer 4

Parts are readily available and in most places relatively inexpensive.

New parts are still being produced in many places in the world and online forums can point you in the right direction as well as the hundreds of clubs throughout the world. A Yahoo search just entering VW will source thousand of sites