2003 Volkswagen New Beetle Consumer Reviews

Spend your money elsewhere

Vehicle

2003 Volkswagen New Beetle Turbo S 2dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 6M)

Review

From my experience with VW my car and others they are junk. They all break easily. I have had to repair so many things a 1K a pop 5 times at least. Not including maintenance things. The design so compact requires many hours of labor to remove and replace to get to certain things. Plus the headlight lens falls off and cost ALOT of money to replace which i have done twice now at $400 each lens assembly and its falling off again! Just a crappy car. My sister has a golf the transmission and engine are going. Other family members have toyota and honda and hey i have never seen a repair as stupid or as costly or as often as VW repairs are. Junkie cars and they say German engineering is the best HA
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disposable car

Vehicle

2003 Volkswagen New Beetle GL 2dr Convertible (2.0L 4cyl 6A)

Review

I bought a 2003 convertible beetle with 60k. one week after driving it i notice a hard shift, a few days after an oil leak was noticed. I took it a Volkswagen dealer and they did a diagnostic and confirmed what I told them, suggested that I do a transmission fluid check and it could fix the problem I said BS. I had read all the complaints about this car and my mechanic also told me that I should have never bought it, he pointed out the the transmission could not be serviced and all of the hoses are made of plastic that with heat they become brittle and break.. so I took my loss and bought a Honda accord. don't buy this car is disposable. I would never buy a volkswagen again..
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Over Powered Go Cart

Vehicle

2003 Volkswagen New Beetle Turbo S 2dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 6M)

Review

I've owned my Turbo S for almost 6 years and have loved every minute of it. I love the power the little 1.8t makes and how smooth the power comes on. I left mine stock up until last year and then started modifying it. I love the look on Mustang drivers when a little beetle pulls ahead of them. The handling is great, like it's on rails, and the fuel economy is good. Before modifying the engine I got my best mpg of 32 mpg by driving no faster than 65mph and not doing any jack rabbit starts. With the mods I am still getting 29mpg. I plan on keeping the beetle and seeing exactly what type of performance the 1.8t has in it, have seen a few putting out over 350hp and still very drivable.
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Poor build quality and transmission lets it down

Vehicle

2003 Volkswagen New Beetle GLS 2dr Convertible (2.0L 4cyl 6A)

Review

2003 Convertible, lightly driven with 43000 miles. Transmission failed, due to what now appears to be a known problem with the "valve body". VW support extremely poor. This car looks nice but has been nothing but trouble: windows do not work correctly, have been fixed twice, roof gets stuck and VW fitter wanted $1500 to repair (it took me 10 minutes to snap the loose clip back on and cost nothing - so much for service. Everything is a hassle to repair - battery is over $200, bulbs cannot be replaced easily, airbag light cost $250 to temporarily repair. If you want the beetle style spend the money on a restored air cooled one, from when VW knew how to make serviceable vehicles!
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BEETLE A GOOD CAR

Vehicle

2003 Volkswagen New Beetle GLS 2dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl 4A)

Review

BOUGHT AN 03 BEETLE AND PUT SOME MONEY INTO IT AFTER A ELECTRICAL PROBLEM AND IT HAS BEEN AN EXCELLENT CAR. i HAVE PUT SO MANY MILES ON THE CAR, THAT I WAS AMAZED THAT I DID NOT HAVE TO PUT AS MUCH MONEY AS AN AMERICAN CAR. IT IS DOWN TO THE WIRE AND I AM GETTING READY TO GET A NEW CAR AND THE BEETLE WILL GO DOWN AS ONE OF THE BEST CARS EVER MADE. tHE vw HAS SOME QUIRKS BUT I NEVER DROVE A CAR THAT DID NOT. tHE GERMAN TECH IS amazing!!! THE CAR LOOKS BRAND new ON THE OUTSIDE AND I HAVE BEEN GIVEN OFFERS TO SELL THE CAR BECUASE OF THE UP KEEP. VOLKSWAGON IS NO LONGER MAKING THEM AND I DOUBT THE BEETLE WILL RETURN SO I THINK A BEETLE IS BEST AS A SECOND CAR . I AM SAD BUT READY FOR NEW!
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I love my convertible

Vehicle

2003 Volkswagen New Beetle GLS 2dr Convertible (2.0L 4cyl 6A)

Review

Looking for a fun car that's sure to get people's heads turning? The Volkswagen new beetle convertible is it! This is the best car I've ever owned. It is reliable, sturdy, gets great gas mileage. I've had no problems with it. I would highly recommend this car! If you're thinking you see a bunch of bad reviews--try it for yourself, it may surprise you with how great it is. That's what I did, and it was the best choice. Good job Volkswagen!
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Never again

Vehicle

2003 Volkswagen New Beetle GL 2dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl 5M)

Review

Bought car w/only 17,000 miles-1 owner. Brakes/front needed new w/rotors @ 37,000 miles. R/brakes w/rotors @ 58,000. R/hatch takes 2-3 hits to release. Have had 4 low beam bulbs burn out! Dealer charges $$$ 2 replace. Check engine light on, thermostat eng. Temp light on yet nothing wrong at all. Interior continues to fall apart- radio presets, visor clip, hand brake knob, dash vent close knob, tilt/tele. Rubber knob loose, glove comp. Latch ready to fall apart anytime now. Will never buy a Volkswagen again no matter what model. Have a few months to pay off, then selling it before it fails me for good. I maintain my cars well & drive them easy. Worst car ever owned- period.
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New Beetle Convert - Always a Problem

Vehicle

2003 Volkswagen New Beetle GL 2dr Convertible (2.0L 4cyl 6A)

Review

When it's all working? How fun. But most of the time something is broken. Windows, Convertible top mechanism, lights. Convertible mechanical flaps. Very expensive to fix any of it. Don't buy this car for the quality.
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electronic issues

Vehicle

2003 Volkswagen New Beetle GLS 2dr Convertible (2.0L 4cyl 5M)

Review

Very disappointed in the electronics of my bug - it has had so many "bugs". I've had the seat belt/airbag sensors replaced, various other sensors, the catalytic converter and every time I get in it there's seems to be some dash light that comes on indicating a problem. The car has 75,000 miles on it and is a lot of fun to drive, but I'm not recommending purchasing a Beetle because of the issues it has had. I've written a letter to the headquarters regarding the issues along with receipts from my repairs. Every time I take it to the dealer they want to charge $80+ for diagnostics. I'm at the point now that I'm looking to purchase another vehicle because of the problems I've had.
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Love/Hate Relationship

Vehicle

2003 Volkswagen New Beetle GLX 1.8T 2dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 4A)

Review

I bought this car just 3 months ago and the love of the car died very quickly. 2 weeks after having the car the check engine light came on and it needed a thermostat and temperature sensor ($600), then a few weeks after that the oil light comes on, can't figure out why, now 3 months later the moon roof has decided to pop up and down all on its own, its creepy, I have just gotten to the point that I laugh at the car when one of the lights comes on. I love the look of the car and its fun to drive, people wave at you and smile when they see you but Volkswagen did a horrible job at making this vehicle and really makes German engineering look bad. I will never buy another Volkswagen product again
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