Beetle Gls

Would you buy 2000 Volkswagen New beetle for $5,000?

Hi,

I am interested in this car. It has 96K miles on it. It's clean 2000 Volkswagen New Beetle GLS. Lime Green, 5 speed, tan and black Leather Interior. Power windows/locks, heated leather seats, power moon roof, anti-theft, remote locks and cruise control.

Am I making the right decision?

Thanks,

One of the keys to pricing a car is to effectively rate the car as the price will vary widely based on condition and mileage. Mileage is pretty obvious. You should base condition on a Carfax report (which would also help catch any odometer fraud) and your own review. Before you buy your final step should be an inspection by a qualified mechanic - but that's too expensive to do on every car you look at.

There are a bunch of places to check car prices on the Internet. NADA guides is one - but since they are owned by the car dealers association I never recommend them. KBB is another. Driverside.com is a new site and they have a couple of extras - great data showing price based on mileage; DriverSide Estimate where they search actual listings to find what cars are actually selling for in local markets; and estimates for trade in pricing.

If the car is in as good condition as you say - it's a good deal!

http://www.driverside.com/value-your-car/volkswagen-new_beetle-2000-3052-6468-0

Also take a look a the DriverSide cost of ownership - service, gas, insurance and even depreciation to see how the price will drop over time. I find that most folks look at the one time sales price - not the ongoing costs which continue long after you buy your car.