Buying a "nearly" vintage car?

BillScarab

As other shave said find a specialist insurer. I would also suggest that as there are lots of old beatles about get a pre 1973 one so you won't have to tax it, unless there is a very big premium for the tax free ones.

I wouldn't personally use a baeatle as an everyday car for transporting children, I wouldn't worry about occasional trips though. I have a 1973 Land Rover and mine love going out in that.

Personally I wouldn't buy a beatle full stop but each to their own.

djheath

I have a 1971 beetle that is slowly rusting away quicker than I can restore it!!

I would ask this question over at the Volkszone forums. They are a really friendly bunch and will help you out and answer any questions.

http://www.volkszone.com/VZi/

£236 to fit seat belts is criminal. In a 1974 beetle the bolt holes will be in the back already. You can buy seat belts for £30 each and bolt them in yourself in about 30 minutes with a 17mm socket.

I used to drive my beetle daily, but I want to warn you that you must look after the car and give it more attention than a modern one. Oil is the life blood of the beetle - without it the engine wont stay cool. Oil should be checked every week without fail. Fuel lines may be 30 yrs old. They should be checked and replaced if they are old and brittle. Old air cooled vws are prone to fires from this problem.
Rust is a big problem. If the car has been restored then it should be ok, but MOT time for any old beetle is seat of your pants stuff. You never know if it will pass, fail on a blown bulb, (cheap), or fail on a rusty heater channel (£1000 repair cost each side).
the heating system on a beetle is pretty asthmatic - if the heat exchangers become rusty then poisonous fumes can enter car. If the cables snap, then you cant turn it on, or sometimes turn it off. When it's installed correctly it works perfectly and is great, but it takes a lot of effort to get it great!

Personally, I wouldn't driver a beetle with a child. It just wouldn't be more practical to lift the kid in and out, although in the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, people were doing this with no trouble, so you might be ok. A child seat in the front would be the best option and the beetle isn't the safest car around!

As I say, have look on the VZi forum above and ask a few peeops on there. They can offer breakdown advice (I used green flag, AA and RAC wouldn't cover me cos the car was too old), insurance companies to try, (sure term, HIC, adrian flux, get an agreed value) as well as mechanical advice - you will need it!

Owning a classic VW is fun though and opens you up to the crazy world of car shows, waving at other owners as you drive along and the constant turmoil of keeping the car on the road!

I miss driving my little bug!!

Bielzibub

epz wrote: »

I love old cars but there is no way in hell I would let a kid in one, especially one designed before encap was even thought of.

Why not? They're no worse than nCap 3 rated. The last "modern" car that ran into my old Rover SD1, as I was turning right at lights on filter and he jumped them, ended up with the drivers side front strut in the drivers footwell and the whole OSF quarter basically demolished. I reckon he was doing a tad over 30 and I'd just started moving. My SD1 suffered a flattened corner of the bumper and a hardly noticable crease in the OSF wheelarch. I drove home, he went to hospital in an ambulance.