buying a 2003 Volkswagen beetle for $2,400 with 80,000 miles?

Posted by daniellahdez@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 31 comments

i am a girl trying to buy a convertible summer car for cheap, please let me know if this is a good deal !

2003 VW Beetle Convertible - Only 84,000 Original Miles

- Clean Title

I'm selling my 2003 Volkswagen Beetle with 84k original miles. It's a one-owner car, and I have a full file of all service records since day one. Pink slip in hand, clean title, and the convertible top works perfectly with no rips.

Overall, it's a solid and very clean car.

Why it's priced low:

It needs new valves—the old ones are bent-so the engine currently has a misfire on cylinders 3 and 4. The car still starts and drives, but it will need this repair.

Pricing Options:

• As-is: $1,200

• Repair package for serious buyers:

• Buy the car for $900

• I will complete all necessary repairs (new valves, fix misfire, etc.) for $1,400

• Total: $2,400 out the door, fully repaired with no issues, AC charged, and ready to go.

If you're genuinely interested, feel free to message me with any questions or to come check it out.

[-]

SafetyGuy1963@reddit

If it has bent valves, it could very likely have other damage, broken pistons, scored cylinder walls, etc. They probably broke the timing belt (ask how I know).

VWs aren’t cars that backyard guys are typically good at working on.

I’d pass. If you do buy it, you might be better off having a different engine installed.

unpolire@reddit

Bent valves means a complete head reconditioning, water pump, timing belt, and head gasket, possibly hoses and a radiator. WHY did the valves get bent? Usually the result of a broken timing belt.

AFTER the car valves issue is fixed, it’s a fair price for a one-owner car with service history and receipts.

tk8398@reddit

Probably a different head, I believe bent valves on those usually ruin the lifter bores too. You can see half moon shaped bits chipped off if you pull the valve cover after it happens.

TweeksTurbos@reddit

$2400 should get you a running saab vert. The top may need work but it wont be a boat anchor

Sea-Newspaper-7643@reddit

2003 Beetles are garbage. Interior quality is trash. Door handles constantly breaking. And this one has fucked up valves. Hard pass.

bmxracers@reddit

Nah. Too much hassle b

daniellahdez@reddit (OP)

well it was a fb market place listing not at like a mechanic place , do you still think no?

Facebook Marketplace is the worst possible place to buy a vehicle if you are not mechanically inclined. Cheap for complicated reasons.

bevipop@reddit

That makes it a bigger no

ThirdSunRising@reddit

The repaired car in good shape is absolutely worth $2400. The unrepaired car, I’m not so sure about because “bent valves” normally means they broke the timing belt and there may be a new engine in your future. So you don’t want to take that risk yourself, but if they fix it then why not

AlaskaGreenTDI@reddit

The $2400 deal is fine if you’re actually going to pay $2400. Yes the bend valves when the timing belt snaps, but people get away with slapping a reman head on these all of the time without having to touch the bottom end, so it’s not inconceivable that the seller can still come out ahead by offering you this deal.

However, the automatic transmissions from VW in this era are absolutely garbage, so keep that in mind too depending what trans this car has.

jrileyy229@reddit

Uhh, if you want to agree to buy the finished product 100% ready to go with working AC for $2400, then sure.

If any part of this requires giving any money prior to that point, then absolutely not

TapeDaddy@reddit

For $2,400 you could probably find a car that has way more miles but an intact engine lol.

TenderLA@reddit

Nope!

Battle_Intense@reddit

I assume he is doing the work himself?

This is a meet the owner decision. If you go to his place and the yard and garage have a minimum of a half dozen assorted VWs and he seems to have an extensive collection of tools in his garage...

And he talks about the cars as his kids and would actually do a good job fixing it...

he does have a lot of cars in his lot but i’m not sure about specific volkswagen

buildyourown@reddit

Would I buy a project car for $1200? Maybe. I doubt the bent valve diagnosis. Valves don't just bend unless the timing belt breaks and the valves crash. In which case there might be way more damage like a whole new head.

That said, if wanted a convertible project car I would swap a 1.8t

GiraffeFellator@reddit

A known failure with VWs is a broken, or otherwise failed, timing belt, which causes the pistons to crash into the valves when it reaches the top of its stroke. 'Bent valves' is not a common way for engines to fail in any other situation.

It can be solved with an engine replacement, but for the owner of the car when it happens, the car is usually considered scrap.

Avoid.

Kdoesntcare@reddit

Honestly the drop top is more of a reason to bail than the engine.

If it's the 2.0 it's easy to get 300k miles out of it with basic maintenance.

If it was a hard top car I'd have the repairs done and buy it.

BicyclesOnMain@reddit

Do not buy a 20 year old VW! If you want a convertible, buy a Toyota Solara.

ExcellentMaize4141@reddit

Volkswagen made some good cars, I just don't think this particular example is a good idea.

The diesel Beetle is apparently a pretty good car in many ways, but I think it's a good idea to avoid their gas options.

The 2.0 variants weren't bad at all on reliability. Pretty much just a Mk4 Golf/Jetta with a different body. I think they do suck to work on though

Or Miata

mrchowmein@reddit

as a former owner, i got my spouse to get rid of it. it cost more than $10k of repairs in 2010 dollars to get it up to 90k miles. the beetle was one of the least reliable cars VW made. so something will break every year whether its mechanical or the interior. its a fragile car. in 2026 dollars and its a convertible, it will likely cost you even more.

PckMan@reddit

My understanding is that this dude is offering to fix the engine himself. Yeah no. Bent valves is not a minor thing.

poutine-eh@reddit

no way you’ll get the the head and valves , and whatever caused this fixed for $1400 unless you are related to the mechanic

ActionJackson75@reddit

any time I see an ad like this I have to wonder - if they know how to do the repair, and they know that if that repair was done the car would be nice and worth significantly more money, why don’t they just do the simple thing and fix it then sell it for 2400 without all the choices? Why would the price be 900 if they fix it or 1200 if they don’t?

This seems like bait for selling a non running car for the price of a running car. Hard pass

TexMoto666@reddit

Bent valves points to a broken timing belt, or one that jumped time. Either way valves hit pistons. You may end up with cracked or gouged pistons or bent rods. I would avoid this vehicle.

EarthOk2418@reddit

That seems like an awfully cheap fix for what could be a much more expensive problem. Running/driving vehicles without motor issues are exponentially easier to sell than vehicle that need work. So if the seller isn’t willing to do the work prior to listing the vehicle for sale that’s a big red flag.