Searching Online:

My first step was to start searching for cars on Auto Trader which is a Canadian website since I’m in Canada. I’m sure the US must have something similar that you can search if that’s where you live. I was looking for Volkswagens but in the beginning I wasn’t to picky on whether I wanted a Jetta or Beetle. I was also considering a Golf.

As I got out there to look around I really started to love the idea of owning a Beetle. I remember Herbie the love bug and I always wanted my own Beetle when I grew up.

Timing Belt Issue:

Most of the cars I went to look at my boyfriend came with. Now I don’t know much about cars or bargaining for a good used car price so he was doing all the talking for me.

One thing we often came across was that the salesmen at used car dealerships couldn’t tell us if the timing belt had been changed. According to what I’ve been told the belt needs changing at about 150k and we needed to find out for sure that it already HAD been changed or I would be looking at about $700 or so to have that done after I buy the car.

Finding a Car in Good Shape:

Buying a used car is certainly a lot of work! There were a number of things we were looking for. Here they are:

* Body in good shape – We looked for cars with no rust at all. Any rust is just an indication of more to come and we didn’t want a car that had started rusting. Also looked for scratches and dents. Not looking for perfection here but at least in good shape.
* Tires fairly new – Obviously replacing tires after buying the car is not a good deal so we looked to make sure the tires were in good shape.
* Timing belt new – Mentioned this already but we needed to know that the timing belt had been replaced.
* Interior in good shape – Some cars were not in great shape on the inside, this wasn’t a good sign as if someone didn’t take care of the inside it’s possible they didn’t keep up maintenance either.
* Low kilometers – Lower kilometers means less wear and tear on the vehicle. Most cars in my price range were around 150-200k.
* Who to trust – It’s scary buying a used car from a place you don’t know. It’s hard to know who to trust. The dealership I bought my car from did have a UCDA (Used Car Dealers Association) membership so that was some comfort. They have also been in business for 14 years and I did get a good ‘gut’ feeling about the guy I bought the car from.

That should give you a great starting point as you hunt around for your bug! Good luck and I hope you find the perfect Volkswagen New Beetle for you.

Once you get your New Beetle you might was to jazz it up. Check out our VW Beetle Blog for information and ideas.