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Used 2005 Volkswagen New Beetle Consumer Reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
110 reviews
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1 out of 5 stars

Worst mistake I've ever made in my 58 years!

Chris, 10/29/2018
2005 Volkswagen New Beetle GLS 1.8T 2dr Convertible (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
34 of 34 people found this review helpful

I bought this car for my daughter, whom had had a tough time growing up, but always wanted a VW Bug. I bought with my heart and not my head, never do that again. Every negative review herein is 100% true, it is a lemon of engineering bumbleheads, I'm an engineer so can say that. Paid $10,500 for this 2005 VW Turbo in 2014. Since then it has been in the shop 7 times, and currently sits in a parking lot not running. Convertible top went out 45 days after purchase (common problem $1000 minimum), windows stopped working at 75 days ($$?). Transmission started jumping at about 3 months of ownership ($7000 if needs to be replaced). Currently the rear window regulators need replacing ($600 a pop), the battery harness is melting (common problem $750), Already spent $3000 in misc problems, timing chain, etc. This car is just not worth the headaches, trust the negative reviews herein, skip Volkswagen, their reputation is so tarnished and damaged, stay away.

Safety
1 out of 5 stars
Technology
1 out of 5 stars
Performance
1 out of 5 stars
Interior
1 out of 5 stars
Comfort
1 out of 5 stars
Reliability
1 out of 5 stars
Value
1 out of 5 stars
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3.88 out of 5 stars

fun driving car but parts don't last long

jbdonkey, 07/11/2014
2005 Volkswagen New Beetle GLS TDI 2dr Hatchback (1.9L 4cyl Turbodiesel 5M)
47 of 48 people found this review helpful

I owned two beetle tdi (2003 and 2005 model). I always bought them used and over 100000 miles on meters. They drive smoothly but the interiors are horrible. The door panels are never good. I have look at least twenty beetles from craigslist posts and the plastic or leather parts are bad. Their sale price is way lower compared to Japanese. Since I drive 200 mile every day in commuting and i really care about the gas millage. so I can live with that. If VW try to earn the market, they should know how to improve this. By the way, the parts are not cheap in this car.

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4.13 out of 5 stars

CUTE! But a Dream down the hole...

skuzziboi1, 12/03/2012
2005 Volkswagen New Beetle Bi-Color Edition 2dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
42 of 43 people found this review helpful

Okay so I have been a Beetle fan for as long as I can remember, I bought myself a 2005 VW BEETLE BI COLOR ED! I was so stoked, it was black and maroon, most def an eye turned. It was very fun to drive and had all the bells and whistles except for a turbo. Anywho, after hitting 90k the Tranny started to give me problems, I was determined to keep my car but sadly had to trade it in to obtain the most for its value while it still had value. It became so scary to drive, I would stall at stop signs or traffic lights, some days I would forget I had issues all together because some days it would be perfectly fine and other days it would act up. And yes this is the tranny..... Please dont buy

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5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous beetle

Dexxie, 05/01/2016
2005 Volkswagen New Beetle GL 2dr Convertible (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
40 of 41 people found this review helpful

I bought my car used with 12,000 miles on it and have owned it for ten years. I've not really had any problems with it. In the first nine years I owned it the only things I had to replace were brakes, lights because they generally last a year and the driver's side window. I believe the weather in Wisconsin has a dramatic influence on how the windows operate. To release the pressure on the window on my convertible, I use a credit card to break the seal from the frozen ice in the winter. Another thing I've learned to do in the winter is leave the window down a little so when the temp changes the window doesn't get iced over.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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3 out of 5 stars

Nothing But Headaches!!!!

kelboom01, 04/03/2014
2005 Volkswagen New Beetle GL 2dr Convertible (2.0L 4cyl 5M)
39 of 40 people found this review helpful

Bought my car used with 25,000 miles on it and within first year was met with of course the rear window not working issue that looks as though is a "normal" problem with this type of car. So needless to say $1,000 to fix and then front headlights blew out twice within a few months??? Now dealing with transmission "bucking" issues and passenger window not working and convertible roof not working!!!! help!!!!! NEVER AGAIN BUYING A VW...

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