(uplifting music)
- I'm Stefan Lombard with Hagerty.
Today I'm at the Petrol Lounge in Austin, Texas
with this 1956 Volkswagen Beetle.
We're going to talk today about what
you should look for when you're buying one.
So, you found a car you think you want to buy.
The first thing you want to do is take a look at the car.
Check out the exterior, look over the paint,
look at the panels, look at the body gaps.
Just get a sense for the overall condition of the car.
The glass, the rubber, does it look like it's been
parked outside for 50 years?
Or does it look like it's been taken care of?
Washed regularly, waxed.
We always recommend a pre-purchase
inspection by a Mark expert.
At the very least, get the car on a lift.
If you're going to pay good money for a car,
you want to know what you're getting.
Like many cars, Volkswagens tend to rust in the rocker
panels, so you want to get down,
you want to look underneath.
It's never a bad idea to have a flashlight with you.
You can use the flashlight on your phone and just feel
under there, check the integrity of the metal.
Another rust spot on these cars is where the fenders
are bolted to the body.
So you want to check these spots here,
the integrity of these seems.
Check the front fender for signs of rust
where it meets the body.
This particular car is optioned with a roll-back roof.
Make sure that this is in good condition, particularly if
you live in a place that gets a lot of rain.
You want to remove the spare tire and check the spare tire
well because water can get in there and just pool.
And if water sits in there, it'll rust.
Your fuse box is behind this panel.
In some cars it's exposed.
But you want to check the fuses and check the wiring there.
Old wiring gets brittle and if you need to replace it,
it's not necessarily expensive, but it's time intensive.
It has to be something you're prepared to do.
Another place to check is your door hinges.
So you want to inspect the outside,
but then open up the door.
While you have the door open, you have access to the sills,
and beneath the sills are the heater channels and those
are notorious rust points in these cars.
If you can pull up the carpet and push on that metal, do it.
You don't want to find any surprises in there.
The battery in these cars is beneath the rear seat,
so you want to lift up the rear seat, check the battery
tray, look at the floor there for any corrosion.
And then behind that, is the package shelf.
You want to pull up the carpet in that, push on that metal
and check the integrity of that metal.
Hopefully, your hand won't go through it.
The engines in these Volkswagens are very simple, it's a
1,200 cc flat, four-cylinder engine, located in the rear.
Now, assuming you haven't found any rust on the car,
mechanically, these are very simple cars.
Air-cooled, no radiators, no water pumps.
So, if the engine has some issues,
you can drop it quickly, replace it.
While you're back here, check the condition of the oil.
Pull the dipstick.
Is the oil black, is it sludge or
does it look like it's been changed recently?
If the owner has records of maintenance done,
by all means, ask to inspect those.
Online sources like TheSamba.com, VWVortex, The Volkswagen
Club of America, are excellent sources for locating parts
and the knowledge base to do the work yourself.
The insides of these cars are even more basic than the
outsides, if that's even possible.
You've got one dial, speedometer with an odometer in it.
Here's your hood release over here, turn signals.
This is your headlight control.
Got a lighter because people still smoked back then.
For your ashtray, which is here.
These are your wipers.
And the very small glove box.
Now, in these cars, these old cars,
this valve here is your heat control.
Unscrewing it, releases the hounds and they run from the
back of the engine, forward in your heat channels
and out these vents here.
You're never going to keep warm in the Volkswagen Beetle
in the winter but it's a concession they made.
Later Volkswagens had levers mounted on the transmission
tunnel that controlled your heat.
And then up here on this car, there's a lever
for a reserve fuel tank.
You get about 3/4 of a gallon.
Because there's no fuel gauge, maybe they just assumed
you'd never run out of gas.
But if you do, you can switch that over, get yourself
to a gas station and get going again.
The base of the windshield is also a place
where water can get trapped.
Get into this cowl and...
Water that you don't see, is rust that you don't see,
and that can be even worse.
So you want to inspect not only the inside of the windshield
but the outside as well, look for rust bubbles.
Rust is the killer here and any rusty car is the
one you want to walk away from.
But any mechanical bits, body panels, interior components,
all of that stuff is available online.
So, you've done all your inspections.
You didn't find any rust, the engine's still in the back
where it's supposed to be.
The last thing to do is take it for a test drive.
(car door closes)
It's a good sound, it's a well-engineered car.
(car engine starts)
These cars, because of the way they're designed,
their shape, you've got a good green house, there's
good clearance for tall drivers, which I appreciate.
Visibility is excellent, front, side.
No power brakes means that you have to, you have to be aware
of when you need to stop.
And so, you are an active participant in the
driving experience in the Volkswagen Beetle.
What these cars lack in creature comforts and power,
they make up for in versatility.
They are surprisingly really good drivers in the snow.
They're rear-drive cars and with the weight of the engine
over the real axle and the skinny tires,
they cut through snow very well.
When you're out driving one of these, test driving one
before you buy it, you want to make sure that it's making
good power and good power is a relative term.
But that it's not bogging and that if you have to downshift
on your hills, that you can actually climb those hills.
And this car is having no problem
with the hills around here.
All and all, the Volkswagen Beetle is a
pretty safe investment.
You buy one for a few thousand dollars, drive it for a week,
or a month, or a year, or ten years, sell it for a few
thousand dollars or more if you've taken good care of it.
You're not going to lose money on it.
In the meantime, you've got a fun car to drive,
something that turns heads, draws smiles and waves,
and gets you into local shows.
There's really no reason not to own a Volkswagen Beetle,
at least once in your life.
(uplifting music)