Some time ago I wrote about my dislike of the VW Beetle. https://drivenit.co.uk/the-vw-beetle/ The classic one. Not the blobby Golf-based one with the engine in the wrong place.
I wasn’t kind to the little car but I did say that one day I would get one. So I did. Very recently in fact. And it was my mate David’s fault.
He knew I wanted to do a Herbie replica (that is what it will become) and after watching Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo and BORING him rigid with various details and continuity errors along the way, secretly did I know that he was on that marketplace looking for me.
I then had to bore the poor chap, even more, when I pointed out that it had to be a pre-68. Sloping headlight to the casual observer but far deeper under the skin there are many differences.
Eventually he learned and found me a 65 model year in white, quite local and having undergone extensive work. The advert was quickly removed and the Beetle disappeared. He then found me a 66 model year 1200 for a good price. Far cheaper than the white one but also in a need of extensive alterations if a rough patina look with a slammed stance isn’t your style.
After driving to north London on a Friday afternoon to view and noting serious corrosion within the engine vent grill, I walked away. Someone else had inquired about the car and I assured the seller that they would have the car. It was pretty solid every elsewhere it mattered but for me, I needed to think about it. There was also end float in the engine. So that was also something else to factor into the car. And there was no chance of a test drive. But that wasn’t an issue.
So I walked away to think it over. This was a new for me. It’s not often that I walk away from a car with a few faults but this was Beetle and there are still plenty out there.
Having got lost on the north circular and making sure my £12 low emission charge was well spent in the diesel Berlingo, I eventually ended up at Harry Ramsden’s fish and chips at South Mimms. Still thinking about the Beetle, looking at pictures and messages to and from David, it was agreed that I sleep on it. It was also agreed that I carry on clockwise around the M25 because Google maps showed it red from the M1 to Clacket Lane Services.
Sunday came and having received a message the day earlier, a deal was struck and for £120 extra, he would arrange for a tow truck to deliver it. I couldn’t have done it any cheaper with the Berlingo and a hire trailer.
It’s always a fraught moment waiting for a car to arrive and money waiting to be transferred. At one point I didn’t think it was going to happen when suddenly a message came through that it would be with me in an hour.
And that hour came. The Beetle drove up my drive and that was it. I’d bought myself a Beetle.
After that, I sat there looking at it. Going back over what I’d looked trying to find faults and things I’d missed. Thankfully it was better than my mind remembered. Beetles are horrific for repairing and bodges are plenty. We’ve seen many horrors. The first Beetle I cut my teeth on was only 19 years old and absolutely rotten.
The seller had sold me a decent bug. And to be honest, I hadn’t much to fear. He was a decent chap and the Beetle didn’t hide under a glossy coat disguising the finest filler from Plastic Padding.
Beetles on the market at the moment seem to have come down in price unless they are exceptional and original. £15,000 will buy you the best out there. For £10,000 you will get a very usable car that has most, if not all necessary repairs. Around the £4k where I am, it’s a dangerous area to be in. Knowing your Beetles is essential. There are many books out there and a wealth of knowledge online.
So David came round and found me looking at the Beetle, named Douglas, through the kitchen door like it was a dangerous creature. It’s not but I have a history with almost being squashed by a Beetle when I was 15. It fell off the axle stands as I got out from underneath it. Stupidly, the thought of going under this Beetle has brought all that back!