TH E H I G H PR I E ST O F BA N G E R N O M I CS
James Ruppert
o, f a r e w e l l t o t he
Volkswagen Beetle. Twicet h i s y e a r, I ’ v e b e e n a sk e d
to give on the radio what
i s i n e f fe c t a n or a l obit u a r y for t he
long-serving model. The Beetle’s
backstory is a fascinating one and it
bears retelling, although not here. It
isn’t a practical buy, but a style one.
Its unaerodynamic blunt front eats
into the mpg and the boot isn’t the
biggest – but at least it isn’t another
boring hatch.
Sh a l l w e t a k e a p e e k at w h at t he
classic market is up to? Well, £4450
buys a fully operational 1971 1200
Beetle that’s apparently unrestored
and used as a daily, which surprised
me a bit. There are some Californian
imports for similar money and
projects at the £1500 mark, so if you
fancy some work and rust, knock
yourself out.
When it comes to the reborn
Beetle, these are proper bangers now
and presumably the £300 examples
are worth more in bits. I found a 2002
1.6 petrol local to me with a coupleof months’ MOT for that money
and only a cracked windscreen and
175,000 miles on the debit sheet.
Then a few miles more in the other
direction was a 2001 2.0, which was
blue with black wheels and a full
year’s MOT for £500. Then there was
a 2009 1.6 Luna with 90,000 miles
and a full MOT at £1800. Not bad for
a decade-old cared-for example.
The Beetle is all about showing off
and, for £1500 upwards, there are
a ton of cabriolets around that are
perfect cruising buys. For example,
there was a 2004 1.6 with reasonable
miles and a private plate chucked
in for £1500. Personally, I would
respond more warmly to the subtlerumble of a 2.3 V5. No one else wants
those, so there are tidy one-owner
2 0 01 e x a mple s at £75 0. D e a le r pr ic e s
can be £2995, but they should be
pretty mint and warranted.
Then there is the last-of-the-
breed Beetle 2, which isn’t quite so
lovable. The petrol 1.2 TSI starts at
£ 5 5 0 0, s o a c ont e mp or a r y mo de l
at a r e a s on a ble pr ic e. I h av e a lot of
time for a 1.6 Bluemotion, which does
address the older cars’ fuel economyissues and deliver 65mpg, officially
anyway. A 2013 one with over
90,000 miles is £5995. A bunch of
special editions increases the choice
and I like the idea of a Fender I can
actually drive. I saw a 2013 2.0 TDI
with 50,000 miles, a DSG gearbox
and Fender logos. The sound system
should be decent, it had a DAB radio
and it was a two-owner car for £9999.
Certainly, the Beetle isn’t for
everyone, but they are good value,
and in the world of the me-too hatch,
it is the curvy exception. Otherwise,
buy a Golf or Polo.
VW has stopped making it but Beetle bargains keep on coming
A BUG’S LIFE AFTER DEATH
Last-of-the-line
Beetle starts at
£5500 as a 1.2 TSI
Convertible Beetles
are all about fun,
cruising and posing
`
£4450 buys a fully
operational 1971 1200
Beetle used daily
a
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CITROEN C3 PLURIEL
It was going so well – pretty little
French hatchback in the right
colour, full main dealer service
history, a reasonable 75,000
miles on the clock and a recent
new cambelt and water pump,
all for just £890. And then the
admission that the electric
h o o d i s p l ay i n g u p. S a d l y, r o of
problems are the Pluriel’s
Achilles heel. Moving on...
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