# Living with the new 50's edition convertible



## crescentwrench (Apr 27, 2013)

Thought I'd make a thread for our car, if for no other reason than to give people something to read if they are thinking about the new Beetle 'vert. 
And I'm on vacation waiting for the wife to get up and move around, so I have nothing else to do. :bs:









With just over 1200 miles on it, I have a good list of pros.
The 50's edition is smart looking and classy. Everyone seems to like it and I have a major issue of a superiority complex because I think we have maybe the coolest car on the road right now. :laugh:









Pros:
The mandatory 2.5 had me worried a bit that it would make for a boring driver. Not so. The naturally aspirated engine has plenty of grunt, a nice exhaust note at idle, and pulls the car around nicely. It's also easy on fuel mileage and looks easily serviced. Overall, I consider it a great engine option, not just a mundane base mill or something I was stuck with in choosing the 50's edition. It's no GT500, but it does ok. 

Seats. The premium leather seats are very very comfy, easily adjusted, and fit us like gloves. This car is a bit of an econobox model, and I was worried about long term comfort. First road trip to the beach in it was 6 hours. No worries. I'm 6' and 32" inseam and didn't feel crammed into the car or uncomfortable in the seats. 

Transmission: the auto trans is really great. It's intuitive enough in D, but moving it to sport mode makes it more so, and tipping it to the manual shift section is even more fun. In traffic it likes to get into high gear and stay there. That's my biggest gripe, but not really a gripe. 

Fit and finish: Very nice. 

Retro wheels: Very cool. 


Cons:
No auto illuminating headlights. For goodness sake, my 99 Corolla has automatic light sensing lights. With all the big brother anticipatory tech in the Beetle 'vert, they couldn't install that? I've left the lights on twice now when shopping. :bs:

Interior storage: Not a lot of it. The wee salutatory dash compartment won't even hold a small handgun, much less anything of use. And then you have to choose between armrest and drink holder. 


I don't have a lot of gripes so far. Just a couple. More later.


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## Carbon Steel (Sep 6, 2010)

Disregard my other post about have you posted a pic. Very nice, i'd like to see some interior shots when ever you are able to.

My wife has a base 2.5 beetle and truthfully the interior is very nice, i like it. the 2.5 gets a bad rap, but i like it and we got 28 on the first tank. that is both her and i driving it, local and a windy back road for 100 miles.

Base radio, streams via blue tooth and iphone and sounds great. The wheels give it the look, love em, reminds me a little of my baby moons.

Dig the vert.


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## crescentwrench (Apr 27, 2013)

*Moar Pics!*


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## Carbon Steel (Sep 6, 2010)

That is a nice interior, my wife's came with the mats and first aide kit also. I said what a waste, then i was cutting a patch for the edge of my pool cover(box cutter deal) and sliced my knee, VW to the rescue. 


Nice combination the black and tan. The wheels are pretty expensive, alum wheel, center piece, hub cap and the beauty ring maybe 350 to 400 dollars (way too much, but), understated, but good quality and nice.


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## crescentwrench (Apr 27, 2013)

Thanks, bro. The wheels sold it. They're very dignified and not blingy. Just what she wanted. 

Our list of cons grows a little. Last night while loading the car with food in the rain, I noticed that when you open the decklid while it's raining or wet, it'll dump about a cup of water off the decklid right into the trunk. 

Another major con is that the top leaks at the windshield joint on both sides. 
We have a service appt Tuesday to get it sorted.


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## crescentwrench (Apr 27, 2013)

I should also mention our buying experience was great. 
Brent Curvin, a member here, was our sales guy at Harmony Motors in Asheville. 
We got a great deal on it, even though they didn't have one on the lot and had to call around to find one (one dealer sold a car from under them while they were on the way to get it for us). They persevered and threw in lots of cool stuff. 
We got a really nice VW hot/cold stainless mug, a VW water bottle, and some other trinkets with it. 

But the whole deal was super laid back and low pressure. Not the douchbaggery I expect from a dealer. 

Harmony does internet pricing too. You should definitely give Brent an email inquiry if you're going to buy a new VW product. They do some really skinny deals in web pricing and you will have a great time if you drive here to Asheville just driving the roads in a new car. 

And I say all this having a severe disregard for the buying process and dealers in general. I didn't want to like these guys, but I did. :thumbup:


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## Chrisho (Dec 1, 2012)

Fortunately for me I never had any leaks, I really never got much water in the trunk either when opening.

As for the top glove box, its great for a rag (dusting/windows) and holding spray sun tan lotion, just don't spray while sitting in the car


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## crescentwrench (Apr 27, 2013)

Right! With the black dash and the spring pollen attack, we've been keeping a microfiber cloth in there. 

eace:


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## Stu3 (Jul 17, 2012)

Well done crescentwrench. You do in fact have one of the coolest cars right now.

Agree that the 2.5L is a great base engine. We can hold our heads high. I didn't even think of it as a base engine when I bought my 2012. It was a less expensive than the Turbo and I preferred the linear power delivery and near-silent idle. To each his own. Both damn good motors IMHO.

I too seem to use Sport more and more. Drive (D) is no fun and almost feels like the engine struggles (lugging? - is that the right word?).

I like shifting manually (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and let the car shift shift itself down to lower gears when coasting to a stop or slowing down (unless I need to shift down for more power when passing).


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## B.Curvin (May 4, 2004)

Thanks bro. Just doin' what I can. 




crescentwrench said:


> I should also mention our buying experience was great.
> Brent Curvin, a member here, was our sales guy at Harmony Motors in Asheville.
> We got a great deal on it, even though they didn't have one on the lot and had to call around to find one (one dealer sold a car from under them while they were on the way to get it for us). They persevered and threw in lots of cool stuff.
> We got a really nice VW hot/cold stainless mug, a VW water bottle, and some other trinkets with it.
> ...


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## crescentwrench (Apr 27, 2013)

Dropped off the car at Harmony Motors today to get the leak in the top looked at, and they gave me a loaner car to drive while they get to the bottom of the problem. 

Nice to see them take it seriously instead of blowing us off like it's no big deal. :thumbup:


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## Wildcat2012 (Apr 4, 2013)

I had a 2005.5 Jetta (first VW) with the 2.5, wish I still had it! A few cars later I got a 2008 GTI and, ok - faster BUT, required premium gas, DSG has $345.00 maintenance every 40K miles plus I got one of the old ones with the timing belt instead of the new version with the chain. The 2.5 has a chain BTW. It's on my list to own a beetle bug convertible before I get too old to care. Now, if I could just hit that Powerball....


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## crescentwrench (Apr 27, 2013)

Well, I really like the 2.5 increasingly the more I drive it. For sure. 

I just picked up the 'vert from the dealer. They gave us a loaner Passat SE to drive while they were working on the bug, and boy is it nice to be back in the bug! :laugh:

First class service though. I figured we'd have to go back and forth with the dealer about the leak. You know "we can't make it leak here... bring it back when it leaks again" type thing. 
But the service writer said "oh no, we have a guy who specializes in leaks. We'll find it and fix it." 

So, they found it and fixed it with a part for the front of the top that had to come from the wilds of Canadia. 

Excellent service. Pretty awesome feeling to know I have such a great dealer right here in my back yard.


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## crescentwrench (Apr 27, 2013)

Still dealing with the water leakage issue at the windshield fram/top seam where it drains through the channel. Or doesn't, rather. 

Took it in for a look last week and it was fixed after a day, but then when we went to retrieve it they saw it was still leaking thanks to a rainstorm. Kept it another day or so and then sent it back home with an explanation about how the weatherstrip has a water channel in it, and that channel has a tit from the making process. 

Wait a week and the leak is noticeably back. Car goes back to the dealer tomorrow and they're going to keep it for a week. 

Still like the car. The leakage due to the design is turning into a pain in the rear. :bs:


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## crescentwrench (Apr 27, 2013)

Still dealing with leakage on the passenger side. 

Still coming in and dribbling out about 1/3 of the way back on the top frame. Car's been in the shop nearly 20 days and 5 visits since we got it a couple of months ago.


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## hussdog426 (Nov 20, 2011)

:thumbup:


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## bogar (Mar 24, 2013)

It could be worse. We have had four rental cars so far trying to get our 50's edition back to new condition. (Damn you coca cola.)

Went on vacation in the mountains and had to get an emergency repair to be able to get back home. The car has now been in the shop for a week. So far we have only had possession for 1 month. 2 weeks at a time. We bought it five months ago.:banghead: 

Hope you make out well with your car.:wave: It looks nice. I have to look at yours just to remember what ours is like.:laugh:


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## Chrisho (Dec 1, 2012)

No leaks in mine, went through a helluva rainstorm on my vacation, whole interstate was doing like 30mph for about ten plus minutes it was so heavy. I do have the trunk problem, the issue is the opening is angled and the water coming off the lid really has nowhere to go but into the trunk


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## crescentwrench (Apr 27, 2013)

Well, according to VW the car is now fixed. It had a factory defect in a part of the roof where the top and windshield frame meet. 

But it's been a big fiasco. 

I'll write it all up after the dust settles. 

Probably the biggest problem with buying a car as an enthusiast and car guy in general is that you buy a car to have it be a part of your life. You also want to have a relationship with the dealer.

Unfortunately, in today's world of driving appliances, the ability of a dealer to relate to that and interact with you on that level is pretty lacking. Our sales guy Brent was great. He's an enthusiast too. But his voice got lost once things went a rung above him and stayed lost, seemingly, until we got to be in contact with people at VW corporate of the USA branch. 
Corporate cares about enthusiasts. Our sales guy cares. But in between is just a big bunch of people who want to do the least to resolve a problem. 

It's just how it works. 

We picked our car up today after driving a loaner Passat around for weeks. 
VeeDub is offering to buy our car back and sell us another 'vert (not a 50's edition because there are no more) at a very reduced price. And that's fair. But the downside is that we give back a car we bought with leather and heritage wheels for a standard 2.5 'vert with pleather and base wheels. So, that feels like a raw deal. But no one seems to be able to find another 50's edition anywhere for us. We thought about waiting for a '14 and using the voucher for one of those, which are priced similarly to the 13's. But there are no special editions and we'd have to upgrade the car to a tech/nav package (which we have 0 interest in getting because the tech/nav setup is terrible- we used it in the Passat loaner and it's no bueno) just to get real leather. We'd also have to buy heritage wheels at about nearly 2 grand for the set through the dealer. So, we'd piece together an equivalent car in the 14' model year for close to 35 grand. 
The heritage wheels and leather sold my wife on the car. She's a car person, having owned a mint Nash Metropolitan and other classics, and she had that *wow!* moment when she got the car. Instant love. 

So here we are.

I will say that other than the leakage hiccup and the doors getting clunky (see the recall on the door/window hardware) that the Beetle 'vert is great. The car feels and drives like it should cost 15 grand more than it does. And the 2.5 in sport mode is really not underpowered at all. And we live/drive in the mountains, do road trips, commute with it, etc. so we see it in a lot of different circumstances. 
I'd like to buy a turbo 'vert in the future. Like an R-line or something. I like the heck out of this little car. But the seeming inability of the service departments to tackle challenging fixes is concerning. 

So, we'll see what happens, I guess.


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## silverspeedbuggy (Aug 8, 2001)

Well that stinks. Overall it seems like you're staying pretty positive about the whole thing. One question: when you say 'base' wheels, what do you mean? Do you mean the "Turbine" wheels? If so, those ARE the Heritage wheels with a decorative trim ring in them. Pop off the spokes and BAM! it's the Heritage wheel you love. The lack of leather is a bummer. Keep us posted.


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## crescentwrench (Apr 27, 2013)

Yeah, our awesome sales guy made that discovery on a base 2.5 'vert in their lot. 

We actually got in contact with another dealer and asked if they could get us another 50's edition and they said "yeah, we found 3. How soon do you want it." 
So, I explained the situation, had the regional guy from VeeDub call the sales manager and explain it, and the car is on the way. 

The wife decided that the leather was a sticking point after she sat in her car again and smelled the leather. Olfactory cues are a big deal for the brain, and I understand her linkage to that. 


So, as of now we're getting another 50's edition to replace hers, barring any malfeasance or ole' switcharoo behavior at this other dealer. At any point we can keep our money in our pocket and just decide to not buy another VW. So, it's not like we have to put up with any stupidity.



> Overall it seems like you're staying pretty positive about the whole thing.


It's pretty hard to not be positive about it. When VW -USA's people got our case put on someone's desk, we got nothing but positive interactions. 
Basically they asked "what is it that you want? How do we keep you as a VW customer and make you happy?" 
The wife didn't take it as an opening to ask for a bunch of swag or free stuff. She just said "I bought a new car. I just want one that doesn't leak." 
They said "okay. We'll buy you out of your loan (we went through Wells Fargo, who are a colossal pain in the ass, apparently, when working out things like this.) and you can get a new replacement at a deal price." 

How do you dislike VW when they handle your problem so quickly and fairly? We can't. 
Corporate gives a crap about the happiness of VW customers.
That's actually kind of nice. 

My Bro-in-Law just went through a similar thing with Ford because of his Boss 302 Mustang. It had 1200 miles on it and the transmission fell out of it. It took him something like 6 months to get a dealer to even agree to take it in to do the warranty work on the trans. And then Ford gave him a fit about it. At no point did anyone at Ford say "we want to keep you as a Ford customer." 

So, right now, we're big fans of VW.


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## RedBugD (Jul 14, 2013)

Glad to hear it. It sounds like VW is standing behind their products!


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## crescentwrench (Apr 27, 2013)

Yeah, VW is great. 

Dealers can be a little  but to be honest this is a very odd situation and a lot of the staff are in uncharted waters. So, I ain't even mad, really. 

Besides, what's the point in being mad?


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## crescentwrench (Apr 27, 2013)

Old car is now repurchased by VW and new car is in the driveway. If anyone wants, I'll write up the experience, but I'd rather not rehash it for no reason. 

I'll start a new thread for my new car.


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## JR Martinez (Feb 25, 2003)

Any pics? I keep two can koozies and a miniature umbrella in top glove box.

I had some issues myself w/my 2012 denim blue 2.5 prelaunch edition with heritage wheels, issues fixed: window motors replaced, cracked windshield replaced, rear bumper paint bubbling at fender/bumper joint being painted 3 times, I still love the darn car.
VWoA reimbursed us one month car payment, plus loaners galored.


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## crescentwrench (Apr 27, 2013)

Waiting on parts to get us the trim rings, mirror covers, and for the leather guy to take the car and put leather on it. So right now it looks pretty gestapo with the black wheels.


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