New car for daughter About This Page:

[Kellymel]

Good Morning All! I would like your opinion on something and I hope that I am posting this in the right place....

My husband and I are buying our daughter a new car. She wants a VW New Beetle, and the closest dealer has one like she wants coming in within the next few weeks. It's roughly $20K. Dh is fine with the Beetle, I am concerned about the safety of it. I am a Honda lover. I have had an Accord with almost 300K miles on it, and 15 years old, if it wasn't totaled in a wreck, she would still be driving. We only changed the oil and tires on it. It was an awesome car. I drive an Odyssey. I love it too. I am a big Honda fan. I would like for her to get a Civic coupe or sedan or even an Accord.

Does anyone out there have any experience with the New Beetles? They are cute, but are they 1.) safe and 2.) economical? Any comments will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance from a worried mom. DD starts her senior year in hs, so we will need to do something in the next couple of weeks.

[Colexis Mom]

I'm a Honda person as well (we're on our 2nd Odyssey and DH drives a Civic)! Here's some info on the crash test ratings for the beetle. 2009 Volkswagen Beetle Crash Tests - 2009 VW Beetle Crash Test Ratings - Motor Trend Magazine

[Caldercup]

If you love Honda's, what about getting her the Fit -- they get GREAT ratings on safety because of their full side-curtain airbags and extra safety framing in the doors.

The fuller-featured "Sport" package only brings the cost up to about $17k too.

We have had a Fit for a year and think it's just the best little car we ever had.
Eileen

[SarahJ]

If I didn't have three kids to drive around I would love a VW Beetle! A red convertible one.

Here's some more information on them.
2009 Volkswagen Beetle Review - Edmunds.com

Seems like the biggest complaint is that they're relatively unchanged since the Beetle was reintroduced in 1998. German cars are good though and reliable. If I were looking to purchase one, I might go with one that is a couple of years old just to save a little $$ since a brand new one will decrease in value as soon as you drive it off the lot.

[HiddenMickey]

My sister owned one for a while. She was hit by another driver at an intersection and the car was totalled. She was not injured. She replaced it with another of the same car. That is the best I can do for advice.

[Kellymel]

Thanks for the input. My dd second choice was a "Fit". When I told her my concerns about the Beetle, she had a fit! She is spoiled - only child and all. But, she is a good girl, top of her class, has her act together, totally resposible. She has just wanted one of these since they came out in 98 or 99. Had to have one for her Barbie's back then. IDK.

I just pray that God will give me guidance. I would hate to get her something that might not be safe in the long run. God - please just make one of them out of reach for us!

Thanks guys!

[Teresa]

My two cents:
The car is really only as safe as the person driving it. Granted, there is the chance she could be hit, but statistically, most accidents involving teens are caused by them.

[Caldercup]

I've been in two minor accidents and my husband was in one major one -- all times we were hit by the other person even though we were teens at the time of two of the three accidents.

I'd still say, getting the safest car to protect the driver is the most important thing. Not the looks, not the handling, not the color.

What does Consumer Reports say about the bug?
Eileen

[Disney_Scarlett]

I have a VW Beetle Convertible. I really love my car, (it's fun, pretty good on gas, and a good fit for me size-wise) BUT...

The maintenance is very expensive. I had a Jeep before and was used to $25 oil changes, even less when my dad did it for me, which was easy to do. My oil changes for the VW cost $90 and it's hard to find anyone but the dealership that will work on them. It does take synthetic, so you can run it longer than 3000 miles, but it's still pricey. I've also had a lot of problems with the electrical parts in the doors - lock/window buttons going out, one window phantomly lowering on its own and an ongoing problem with the driver's side visor vanity light. Speaking of which, I've had TERRIBLE service at 2 different VW dealerships (the one I purchased it from, which used to be closer to my job, and the one I take it to for service, which is now closer to my job). They've replaced the entire visor on the driver's side 3 times, and keep saying it's a "bad part." THREE bad parts in a row? I think there's another problem that keeps shorting the light out. Nope, just bad luck, they said! Now it's gone out again and the warrenty has run out. I feel like everytime I walk in there it's like a Seinfeld episode: "Hello, NEWMAN." "Hello, JERRY." - they hate to see me coming and I hate to go there, but I've been stuck since it's been under warranty until just a few weeks ago. Oh, and pretty much forget about trying to do anything to it yourself - my dad, who is extremely handy with cars, couldn't even change the headlight that went out. You have to have special VW tools for almost everything.

Speaking of which, the parts are also very expensive. It's been under warrenty until recently, but when I was on vacation last year, a teenager at our resort broke off the windshield wiper arms of a whole row of cars, mine included. I called to order the part - $110! For a windshield wiper arm! ONE! The size tires that the wheels take (little racing tires) are also expensive. I replaced mine a few months ago, and did not get anywhere near the priciest tire - $115 per tire.

My best friend had a VW Beetle (she got it new when we were in high school the first year they put 'em out - '98, I think) and it was a good car for her - she was still driving it until recently. She tried to warn me about the service/maintenance costs, but I didn't listen.

I do like the car a lot; it's exactly what I wanted when I bought it. It stays warm here from about April through October/November, so I put the top down a lot, and it's still really good in the winter, too! However, I will never buy another VW (and I really like the Jetta!). : The lack of service and expense is just too much for me.

[Kellymel]

Y'all have given me a lot to think about. I don't belong to consumer reports - you have to pay a fee to access the information. Edmumds and another site both said that there were better compact cars out there - both the Fit and Civic were mentioned. I really am such a Honda lover....I know that there are lemons in each car line, but it's hard to beat them or Toyota in longevity and economically.

I don't know. I had to buy my own first car, and I made sure that she knows that. We need to have input on everything! I had no idea that service on these cars was so expensive. The warranty covers the first 36 month or 36000 mile servicing...now I see why. They don't want to shock you!

[Luvsun]

I am so glad I came upon this thread.
Dh actually told me this past weekend that we need to think about getting me a new vehicle. The plan is that we will purchase something once we move to Florida. I have a Ford Expedition now and I love it. He will use it and I will get a new vehicle.
I told him that I thought I would like to look at the VW Beetle. He was totally surprised, because I love being high up off of the ground and the Beetle is the complete opposite of that!
All of the info you guys have given has been helpful.
Now, I am thinking I will look in a different direction.

[Caldercup]

I have a Consumer Reports online (and magazine) subscription -- and they have been recommending the Honda Fit over other compact cars for about three years now. Their only complaint they've made is that it's a tad noisy.

It didn't hurt that it comes in fun colors and gets great gas mileage!
Eileen

[Huntermom]

I am a long time fan of Japanese cars. We put a lot of milage on our cars and have never been disappointed in a Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc. Most of the cars have gone at least 180,000-200,000 miles reliably before we donated them. My Camry Wagon has 220K and is still going strong and as reliable as many newer cars. I was upset in January when my son was hit by another driver and the insurance company totaled our 1997 Corolla with 220K. The repairs on all of our Japanese cars have been fairly reasonable and few and far between. Mostly we have done "routine" repairs, brakes, exhaust, etc.

I had a 1998 CR-V, that only lasted to 180K when the transmission went but I really think that was due to a poor repair, however, it's hard to prove it wasn't regular wear and tear at 180K.

If you are paying for and insuring the car, I would say the choice of what car to get is yours, not hers. If she's paying, she chooses. If she doesn't like it, maybe she should wait until she can pay for a car on her own.

I would also look at and talk to her about why she wants the car. It's too easy for kids to think "fun" rather than transportation. Teen accidents are often caused by distractions. A friend with older kids once told me he thought kids should drive the oldest, safest cars. Once my kids got their licenses, I decided he knew what he was talking about.

Diane

[theJordans]

My sister has had a VW Beetle for a few years now - she doesn`t complain too much and takes her two young kids everywhere in it.
I just thought I`d add the very hot car in the UK is the Fiat 500.
Homepage - Fiat 500

[Kellymel]

Okay.....I wanted to let you all know what the final outcome was. DD was away on a business week at a college about 2 1/2 hours from our house. DH and I went to the VW dealership to test drive the bug and talk "turkey" to the salesman. I was not impressed with the bug at all. Drive was very stiff, there was no bells and whistles on the inside of the car. Dh and I went in and talked to the salesman. He seemed like a nice guy, but I hate it when a sales man just doesn't take what I say I am sure because I am a woman seriously. The sticker price was the price...would not budge on it...did eventually come down $350. We just told him we needed to bring our dd back to look at it. In the meantime, I start researching my beloved Honda's. Found out a local dealer has several good used ones Accords (2 door coupes) that have low mileage and a reasonable price. I also check out the Civic. After our dd comes home, we take her to the Honda dealership after hours, so she can look. She didn't like the Accord 2 door. She did however see a Civic 2 door coupe that she loved. Went in next morning, she is now a Honda driver, we got 3.99% financing. The salesman was great, came off the price before we even offered anything. The inside of the car is great comes with an awesome stereo, the windows are already tinted - not too dark, just enough - and it's is bright red! Dh and I are happy, feel like we got a good deal, a safe car, and something that will last her for a long long time - hopefully. We told her this was the one and only new car we buy her, the next one will be on her dime, and it's her graduation early present. She is happy.

We had looked at the Fit - my dh found a You tube video that wasn't pretty with a crash on it, he wouldn't even consider it. We looked at the INsight - that is really a neat car with over 40 mpg! It is very pretty too and not outrageously expensive.

Thanks for all your input. The salesman at the Honda place did mention that Kia's seem like a good deal, but, they have their own brand of fluids, and if you try to do any maintenance yourself, it will void the warranty on them. We did purchase a service agreement that covers all oil changes for 6 yrs/60K miles. It also covers towing/flat tires/running out of gas on side of road. thought that might be good with her going to college, as we don't have AAA.