I was browsing the classifieds looking for a small economical car for my little girl, and saw a relatively cheap 98 beetle for sale. The only thing I know about it is that it's not a real Bug, but a reskinned Jetta or Golf, so I hit the web to learn something.
http://www.edmunds.com/volkswagen/ne...mer-reviews/3/

Edmunds is where I usually get the best info ... but I can't understand what's going on here. Why is someone who's review is titled Lemon giving the car 4 stars? Never buy a Beetle; 3 stars? Dracula; 3.5 stars? Over and over ... is I just me or do these people fail to grasp that 3 and 4 stars mean pretty damn good?

 

German Junkineering.

 

I agree with you, if its a pos, give it 1-2 stars. I also agree with the people that own them, they are a pos. I give it 1*!


Look for a 2006 Mustang 6 cylinder coupe, they run great, no real maintenance costs, not bad on gas, and the insurance is relatively inexpensive. You should be able to find one for well under $10k.

 

My personal opinion for cars from other lands is Honda is the best. My Honda is a 92 Accord, has 175,000 mi. and runs great! Its the second one i have owned, they last forever... almost. If there maintained.
American I dont know most of mine were older muscle cars, my truck is an 03 GMC, great so far.
If i were to buy another small car it would most definately be another Honda.

 

Actually, a 2002 S-10 has caught my eye. 2 seater with a console between the seats, and no back seat at all. (yeah, daddy ain't letting his little girl go without a fight) Reviews on it are as you'd expect for the last years of a model series .. they had all the bugs worked out at that point. Only hiccup is, it's the big V6 .. that sucker is as thirsty as most V8s. But it's near unkillable.

There's a '99 F-150 parked at the top of the road that's been on sale since before Halloween. Never really interested me, but last night I stopped to look it over. Rear bench, front split bench, automatic, little rust, only one small ding ... asking only $1500? WTF, 5.4L Triton might be heavy on gas, but it still should have sold long since at that price. So I take a few minutes this morning to look it up ... Wow!!! That sucker's gonna stay parked right where it is. Spark plug holes only 4 threads deep, blowing plugs out right and left ... and the updated heads seize the plugs and snap them off. Thank Gawd for the internet.

 

I was just going to say google "spark plugs" with that motor.
But if you think the truck is bad they put the V10 in a lot of RVs. And you cant imagine how difficult that repair is.

 

Fuel pumps are common on the s-10 and depending on model can be over $1000 to have replaced if using quality parts. Also intake gaskets are common as well.

Nice search on the f-150. If the plugs are replaced properly, and the truck is not overheated they will hold. but most guys slap plugs at them ***** nilly(improper torque or dirt in the threads) causing the failure.

 

I had a boat load of those s-10's of that body style! 94,96,98,00 and 03 Loved every one of them except the 96. Worst vehicle I ever owned, I ordered that one V6, auto, air, tach,cruise two-tone paint, fog lamps (RARE) and the appearance pkg. alum wheels and CD. Problem child a plenty.

But the others were very good and very little trouble but the others were 2.2 4 cyl. good on gas but dogs for performance. I still wish I could buy one new! The right size for a D.D. and still could haul a load or trailer.

My dad still has his 02 V6 ext. cab with added factory side moldings only 62K on the clock, sits in the garage too much! Only had one problem with it since new.

Pat

 

I like my 07 Tacoma B cab. Good for everything but snow, and stud tires, sandbags and such cure that.

 

My daughter wants a bug too and in my research the only Bug worth a damn is the turbo diesel model. They say the 2.0 gas motor Beetles have a boat load of issues. I am 100% on board with a 10 yr old Civic though but the question is, the kiddo.

 

I had an '03 S10 that was a lemon (or I just had really bad luck with it), and the city mpg wasn't great (about 20 mpg). But when I got in the interstate, that little truck got about 55 mpg for some reason. My dad has a '95 that is still running and has well under 100k on it. It's been the best little truck for him and he's used it for a lot.

 

I have owned a few of the S-10's,
mostly blazers. Sewing machines with
gremlins. When running right, they are great.

They do have problems with the intake manifolds,
they will begin to sip water some and then more.
Chevrolet has redesigned the intake manifold gasket
3 times and finally got it right. The other things are, as
mentioned, fuel pumps. Very important to change the
fuel filter on the frame rail regularly, for me every 6 months.
The other real pain is the fuel regulator, located beneath the
the plastic plentom, they begin to get horrible gas milage. What
happens is the diafram begins to fail, and they flood #3 & #6
with fuel. These on the 4.3 engines. I would still buy another,
parts are cheap and plentiful. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

Probably the latter...

Like most 'review' sites, you get a large number of not-so-car-saavy types that mostly want to whine. I see a bunch where people claim unreliability and expensive maintenance for a 7-8 year old German car.

Modern VWs are not cheap to own long term...particularly if you don't fix them yourself. I had a '00 Jetta VR6 for 11 years. Fantastic little machine when young, but as it aged I found myself spending more time than I wanted fixing things....and nothing is an easy fix (10 hrs for me to do waterpump & therm hsg...yikes). Non mechanic types would have to spend $$$ on labor to keep 'em going.

Then there's the unrealistic expecatations aspect - Really ? You had to spend a whole $1000 on repairs for a 7 year old (prolly abused) tuetonic fashion mobile ??? Sheesh..Go buy a Corolla...
[/rant]

I'd shy away from an S-10 as a kid's car. They suck in bad weather. You don't want her to have to suddenly try to learn drifting skills on that wet off ramp.... Get her something simple, safe, & FWD if it's going to be a year-round DD.