On the fence about 2001 Beetle TDi automatic

I'm looking for a beetle because my fiancee and found one for $2500. It's one owner and he has changed it with synthetic castrol every 5,000 miles, injector pump 170k miles, idler pulley, timing belt/water pump at intervals, garage kept. I know they are plagued with transmission issues but it's first one went out at 130k miles, next made it 12k miles, and the third was replaced at 186k miles all by volkswagen. Now it's at 250k miles. My question is did it receive an improved transmission (valve body) when it went in around 2012-2013 that would mitigate those issues or is still the same one from 2001? We're okay with the transmission going out in another 60k miles but I wanted to know.

It has an automatic transmission...my advice is to let it alone.
If you do buy that car...What you've bought is one big repair headache

Unless the car is in such impeccable shape that there is nothing wrong with it. And I am not going to be vague. Timing belt details and oil changes documented. Tire rotations and such. No 2001 alh with 205k miles and an auto is worth remotely 2500 in my opinion. I would not spend more than 1250 out the door; that leaves you with 1250 to manual swap to a 5spd and never have to deal with a auto trans again to have a solid car that will last twice those miles if kept up with
But 205k you are looking at minimum to check on:
Control arm bushings; subframe bushings; wheel bearings all 4 corners; tie rod ends mainly the outers; brakes especially rear calipers for seized or sticking pistons. Struts; strut mounts; bearings and all that good stuff. If the coolant is any color other than pinkish turn around and never look back


That's my 2 cents.

Note! I've got 4 mk4 platform vehicles 2 are at or over this beetles milage and have the same trans in 1; the auto is such a setback for these alh motors it's not even funny. Anyone ok to drive a manual trans can easily gain 10+ mpg which is substantial with a manual swap. 02 jetta auto with 209k miles avg 36/38 mpg. 01 golf same car but manual swapped I'm seeing 49+ mpg @ 309k miles.
This is real life avg mpg by comparing full tank fills over 5k miles within the last 2 months

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

I've been doing some reading on here.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
On a 2001 it's easier to do the immobilizer delete,..
in case he buys it and someday has a key problem.

Parts car only, unless it’s in such good shape that it’s a 5 spd swap candidate. Maybe $1000...$500 would be better, you have to ask yourself how much you want to put into a driveway ornament.

I agree, I would walk away. To answer your question, it probably got the same exact transmission that it came with from the factory. So... it could last 200k or might not make it back to your place. My $0.02

Waaay too much money for the current market.

My $.02

At that price, I'd pass ...

-Likely it needs a Timing Belt change now to include all the components
-Why change the oil every 5k miles? 10k miles is the correct interval
-Seems I've not seen any Castrol oil that is ALH spec
-Obviously the Auto Tranny has been problematic .... the history is there
-Obvious that the 0M1 Automatic is prone to be a PITA
-Prolly needs a transmission fluid change
-Prolly needs the other fluids changed (brake, PS, Blinker, coolant, etc.)

-I've never replaced wheel bearings on my MK4s (not that they will eventually need replacing), but at 250k miles, they are likely still good.
-If you do the work yourself, Control Arm Bushings are any easy task and not expensive
-Does the AC work
-Has the blend door issue(s) been addressed
-Has the snow screen been cleaned or removed (good luck accessing it)


............. but, I know a 2001 Jetta Automatic at 200k miles that has never had the fluid changed. Transmission works fine according to the owner.

.............. I changed the Automatic Transmission fluid in a 2001 Beetle recently that the owner knows it had not been changed since he owned it (140k miles). The OE plastic retaining cap was still intact. If that is an indication that the fluid had never been changed, well the original fluid had 340k miles on it...

Truthfully I wouldn't be "on the fence" about it. I would look for something else. Something without the O1M auto. The possible future maintainence/repair costs far outweigh the benefits.

In the TDI world, AT Beetles are the bottom dollar. So, comparing it to another MKIV ALH should be done at a fraction of the value.

My two cents - don't pay a lot. I'm currently working on rebuilding an ALH (TB was bad, but my IP is toast and I needed to pull a head from the junkyard). It also has the automatic that EVERYONE hates. The previous owner, who is an idiot in his own right, claimed it never got over 35mph, which leads me to believe the transmission is in safe mode. Which is fine, because this will only be used for ranch use. But still, if you're looking for a daily and not a project (or eventual 5 speed swap), I'd stay the hell away from any automatic from 1999.5-2003!!!