Advice when buying a VW

A friend of a friend recently bought a 1970 beetle for $7000. Purple with fibreglass wide guards and older mag wheels. Looked attractive in a photo.

They did not get a mechanical report and within months they now are in a situation where the vehicle needs a motor, clutch, gearbox, motor accessories, and numerous other work to bring it up to a standard where it is considered very reliable and will last.

They have had quotes for $4500-$5000 as they cannot do a single nut or bolt themselves.

Now the prices for the work do not seem unreasonable to get what they have had quoted to get done, lets get that straight. They are not being ripped off there.

The person who sold them the car may not have known that a lot of mechanical items were on their last legs, and cannot be blame for ripping them off.

I am not a blamethower. What I am trying to impress and it is something I talk to people a lot about is there may have been a lack of understanding or communication somewhere along the way

They may not have understood the implications of buying a vehicle 35 years old.

They did not get a VW experienced mechanic to do a mechanical check including compression test on motor, hence no professional communication or consultation.

It may have cost them $60-$100 for each vehicle they got tested along the way while preparing to buy an older vehicle, but they would not be in the position they are now and would definitley have learnt a lot about VW's if they had a bad report or two before getting a good one.

I am only trying to help here, and I get very dissapointed when I see what looks like people blaming anyone or everyone but themselves. It only takes a bit more communication to protect yourself.

yer that sucks its worth paying the 100 or so $ i wont cost you in the long run what is wrong with the motor clutch and box just buy an old bug for a grang get it checked b4 u buy and get it all swapped theres 3.5 grand saved alone

look around theyre out there!

p.s i wish them all the best !

I nearly fell over when you said they paid 7G for a 70 beetle!!!
What was it, gold plated or something?

For that money they could have bought real well with documentary proof of
all new mechanicals. Didi they do ANY research at all before buying?

Hey, I'm Chris and am interested in buying a beetle for my buggy project.

However, seeing this situation that has been brought up, where do I go to find a professional VW mechanic to perform a mechanical check on the vehicle?

I would probably replace all that gear anyway, like getting Kombi gearbox, new 2L engine, new suspension etc., but if I am not able to afford it, where can I find a VW mechanic?

That's the whole point. They did not do any research. I since found out they did get shafted. It was a private sale and the car broke down half way home after they bought it. They rang the guy up about it, hoping he could help in some way and he basically told them it was their problem now.

sax wrote:I nearly fell over when you said they paid 7G for a 70 beetle!!!
What was it, gold plated or something?

For that money they could have bought real well with documentary proof of
all new mechanicals. Didi they do ANY research at all before buying?

You are obviously online. Got to Yellow pages online and search. You will need to research. Again that is the point of this post.

Start a new thread in General Chat and put a subject line with something like " Please Help need VW Mechanic in ***** area "

With ***** being your town or locality.

mynameischris88 wrote:Hey, I'm Chris and am interested in buying a beetle for my buggy project.

However, seeing this situation that has been brought up, where do I go to find a professional VW mechanic to perform a mechanical check on the vehicle?

I would probably replace all that gear anyway, like getting Kombi gearbox, new 2L engine, new suspension etc., but if I am not able to afford it, where can I find a VW mechanic?