Hi Deborah. Welcome aboard. I am sure Herb, Zen, Retired Bugtech or some of the others there in Chattanooga will assist you as soon as they get on line. I am not in Chattanooga, so I can't recommend any mechanics up that way. I can tell you that Retired Bugtech, we affectionately call him "GODFATHER" is a wealth of knowledge on anything VW related. This man has forgotten more than any 10 of us will ever know about VW's. I am sure he can recommend someone.

I know you will enjoy this site, the club and its members. I know I do and that is the reason I joined. So again, welcome aboard. Get ready for some fun times!!!!

"Moe"

Thanks guys! I really appreciate it. Here's what I know about the car:

The guy who is selling it lives in Rising Fawn, Ga., and bought the car 12 years ago for his wife. It's basically sat in a barn. He's done some stuff to it  (painted it white -- it was hot pink, changed it from fuel injection to carboration). The paint job is a little strange -- you can still tell that the car was pink in the door jambs and other places -- the pink is bleeding through. He purchased it from a dentist in Hixson, and the dentist supposedly bought it from a young girl in Chattanooga.

It's a 79 Karmann Superbeetle Convertible. It's estimated that it's got about 105k miles on it, only about 10k of which the current owner has put on it in the last 12 years (the current owner isn't aware that the engine has been rebuilt at any point in the past). The brakes need some work, which he said he's going to take care of. He's putting new carpet in the interior tomorrow (the pans are somewhat rusted, but not through; he said something about putting some stuff on them to stop the rust, but I kind of question whether that would work or how he would deal with rust on the undercarriage -- isn't there bound to be some?). There are a few other issues, including the back seat windows being very "wobbly" and probably needing some work to ensure they don't leak, and some missing smaller parts (like a piece that attaches to the bumper on one side -- he's got it holding on with a binder clip). All in all, the car is in "ok" but not great shape. It's going to take some effort/money to get it looking good (not to mention any engine/other actual performance issues).

That's all I have! I drove it the other day and it sounds good, but what do I know? I just like it because with some TLC, it could be really cute and give me that nostalgic feeling of running around in the summer with the top down. A mechanic, I ain't.

javascript:emoticon(':?:') So ... what think? Worth considering? He's asking $4k, which is considerably less than many of the ones I have seen (and bidded on!) on eBay, but many of them are in much better shape.

I'd appreciate any feedback or advice you can give ... along with a recommendation of who to take the car to for a once-over!

Thanks again!javascript:emoticon(':!:')
Deborah

I'm a big fan of ebay for little stuff but when it comes to a car, ebay ain't always the best place to shop.  There's no doubt you can find a bargin every now and then, but you can also get ripped off if you aren't careful.  

I've personally dealt with an ebay con-man who tried to sell me a right hand drive Bay Window Camper for a bargin price before the auction ended.  Had I followed his instructions on how to pay for it, I would have been out $2500 and he would have been long gone by the time I figured out I'd been taken.  Since his instructions sounded a little "fishy" I contacted eBay.  It turned out that the real owner of eBay account was totally unaware that his ID had been stolen and was being used to rip people off.

You can also buy a nice car that turns out to be a pile of junk.  Been there, done that.  Watched my son do it too.  If you can't look at the car personally before you bid, my advice is don't bid.  If you know someone that you trust that's close enough to go look at it for you, that might be ok, but don't bid until you have good information from someone who is not trying to make the sale.

Another thing that you'll run into on eBay when it comes to cars is dealer putting them up for auction and having them for sale locally at the same time.  If they sale the car locally for a set price before the auction ends, they cancel all the bids and end the auction early.  That isn't against eBay rules . . . but if a seller decides near the end of the auction that it isn't going to bring enough money on eBay, they can cancel the auction . . . sure, they'll have some seller fees to pay eBay, but it gives them an out if they aren't going to make enough money on the car.  I've heard of dealers using this tactic to "bait and switch." . . . get you interested in the car and make you think you're about to get a real bargin . . . then it's gone.  Sold locally.  No longer avalible.  But, I have another car here that you may be interested in . . .

Our upcoming show, Bug-A-Paluza 8, will have a for sale corral.  There are usually two or three Beetle convertibles for sale in the corral . . . and in addition to these, there are usually a few cars entered in the show that are also for sale.  We also have a huge swap meet.  We have vendors that will be selling new and used parts for all types of Volkswagens.  You can get an idea of what kind of parts are avalible and how much they cost.  The real value in attending the show is the people.  Walk around and mingle.  Find cars you like and talk to the owners.  You'll learn a whole lot about the pitfalls of restoring an old VW and, hopefully, how to avoid them.  One thing you'll learn about VW people (as opposed to "Corvette people," "Hot Rodders," "Muscle Car people," etc.) is that we love to share our stories and we love to help fellow VW people in their quest to make that rusty pile of metal they just bought into something anyone would be proud to own and drive.  VW people are . . . well . . . different.     Some of us are REALLY different!  :lol:  And the ones of us that drive Buses are REALLY, REALLY different!   :hippy2:

Hi Guys, I'm back!!!!!!!

Deborah, welcome to the board!!!!

We have one member who bought a convertible a couple of years ago that turned out to be nothing but junk. It had a new paint job but a lot of things had been covered up and it turned out it had been wrecked and not repaired correctly. $4000 doesn't really sound that bad but as has already been stated, you need to be really careful. Before buying the car that Richard bought, we looked at a car a lady wanted $5000 for. From about 100 feet away, it looked pretty good but as we got closer to it, it's condition was very questionable. One of the big pitfalls of a convertible is the top. There isn't anyone in Chattanooga willing to put a top on one and the closest man is down near Atlanta. To get a quality top installed, you can count on putting down $2,500 to $3,000.

Like Elmer Fudd said, " be vewy, vewy, careful buying a convertible". May Elmer didn't say that but I did. :lol:

Thanks to everyone for making me feel so welcome as well as all of the wonderful advice. I knew bug people would have to be awesome!  javascript:emoticon(':P')

So ... my brother is in possession of the bug now (he's driving it every day while his coworker tries to sell it). I can get my hands on it whenever to get it looked at by someone. Who do you reccommend?

Thanks all!
Deborah

Ok then ... any takers? I'd of course be willing to pay you for your time.

Copper Jewell ,I consider myself an outside the engine Mechanic.lol.I do things to the outside of the engine and detail cleanup of the car.Washing a dunebuggy can be a pain due to the fact of having to tape up cd players guages and speakers without getting the carpet real wet. That's why when I do get it cleaned up for a show I put it on the enclosed trailer because that one 1/4 mile wet road can cause you to have to start from scratch cleaning it up again.It goes all on the inside of the car also.Guess I'm just lazy when it comes to cleaning a car up twice.And there isn't usually anywhere to clean one up anyway.By the way Deborah Welcome. I'm new myself.I believe if you listen to Bugtech he will steer you right.The rest of the guy's on here are pretty good also.They don't mind telling you the ends and out's especially to steer you away from the headaches.This is a good site Deborah! There are other sites around that are not so good.Some of the other forums language get's pretty bad.Especially if you are a female.