Okay, like some of the rest of you I've also heard bad things about
later VW's but I'd like to at least defend beetles since I've owned two
of them and was very satisfied with both. My last bug (which I still
own, BTW) was purchased new in 1970 and up to this Fall was driven on a
regular bases form the time of purchase. The only reason it's not being
driven now is because I gave it to my son and he's off at school at the
moment. It still runs fine. As far as the electrics are concerned, it
still has the original generator, starter and voltage regulator. I've
never had to replace any of the switches or wiring. Admittedly most of
the external bulbs (including the sealbeam head lamps) have been
replaced over the years. As for Bosh plugs, I've never liked them in
any car and stopped using them in my VW as soon as the car was out of
warrantee.
One more confession: About 2 years ago the oil slick in from of my
house was getting so out of hand that I decided something had to be done
so I pulled the engine and had it re-built. Up to that time it still
ran good, wasn't the least bit sluggish and started readily and
instantaneously (as it always had and still does). As a matter of
course I had the distributor rebuilt since I was having everything else
done but not because I was experiencing any electrical problems. BTW,
the original clutch plate was still serviceable even with will over a
100kmiles on it. Considering the way my wife and son drove this car,
that one hell of a testimonial. BTW, I did have the clutch rebuilt and
I did replaced the throw-out bearing.
In short, I kept this car because it has always been completely reliable
and dirt cheap to own. The only time this car ever left me stranded
anywhere was the day I bought when I ran out of gas because the German
dealer where I picked it up was too damned cheap to put enough gas in it
to get me to the hotel where I was staying. One other point about this
car: when I picked up, I asked about how to break it in. I was told
there was no break-in, to just drive it flat-out right off if I felt
like it. I did just that, from day one though I have to admit I never
thought I would be keeping the for as long as I have.
Since the original thread of this discussion was Bosh vs Lucas electrics
(I think), I'll relate the story about the turn signal in my snake. I
bought the car in '66 when it was two years old. Within a few weeks the
arm on the turn-signal switch broke off. I called up Carroll Shelby's
Performance Motors to see if they had a replacement. Yes they had them
but when they quoted me the price, I nearly went into shock. Eventually
I decided to bite the bullet and remove the old switch (not an easy
task) to see if anything was salvageable. As I checked it over, it
looked suspiciously familiar. Sure enough, it was identical to the one in
my '65 VW. So I went to the local VW dealer and bought a replacement
switch at a considerable discount. This replacement switch has provided
25 years of trouble free service. This is not to say that the VW switch
was any better, in fact, they were clearly made by the same
manufacturer. I can only say that the use of German electrical
components in British cars has gone on for quite some time.
Roland Dudley
cobra@hpcdcsn.HP.COM
CSX2282
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