We found this 1994 Volkswagen Beetle here on Craigslist in Austin, Texas. These VW’s dubbed “Mexican Beetles” carried the nostalgia of “The Love Bug” coupled with slightly upgraded interior and updated fuel injected 1600CC which was added in replace of the long-used carburetor the year prior. 1600i badging was offered on these “new” “old” Beetles. Also added were electronic ignition, hydraulic valve lifters, and the oil filter was upgraded to the more common “spin on” install. The seller is asking an unnerving $10,500 for the offering.
This Beetle shows in nice shape in the seller’s pictures. The seller states it is “all original” with 70,000 miles showing on the odometer. The cabin is neat and clean, and the modest upgrades of the model blend nicely with the timeless classy look of the iconic car. The padded dash, softer controls, and striped seats all look welcoming. You can’t get much more basic than a Beetle! This one is outfitted with simple steel wheels, manual windows, and locks, but does include an AM/FM Cassette player.
The Seller boasts the car runs as it should, with plenty of power and averages 35 miles to the gallon. Perhaps the most attractive feature about the VW is the clear “blue” Texas Title. The import process is on its rearview mirror now, and there will be no legal issues with US registrations. With that said this little VW Beetle looks ready to venture anywhere your hippie heart desires.
1994 marked the 40th year of VW in Mexico. While this was not one of the three special editions offered in 1994, it is still a historic car. The Beetle underwent a few changes during its production and distribution in South America, yet remained the essence of the original VW most will think of from a simpler time now faded from modern culture.
This Beetle could be a great daily driver or weekender for the average buyer or VW enthusiast. The only downside is the sticker shock. The seller is asking an unnerving $10,500 for the offering. However, as new car prices soar, vintage car prices keep pace.
It’s nice to see this, but the price IS eye watering. For the same money, I’d take the 64 you just recently posted.
I just noticed looking at the pics in the Craigslist post, it has a 5 digit odometer, 6th digit being 10ths, the first digit is a zero, over 100k?
If it’s from Mexico wouldn’t it be metric?
It’s a metric speedo. 10288 kilometers. 55 MPH=88 KPH. Someone did the math to convert. Per google, it converts to about 63,000 miles.
The odometer reads 02880 kilometers so that is 100K or 200K.
Nobody will ever know, not that it matters at this point 26 years later.
Here is a 1994 Fire Beetle which was one of the special models that year.
Metric speedo makes sense. Otherwise, the car would be using about 1/3 of it’s speedo.
What do you guys think would be a reasonable price for this car in this condition, which is average?
Those are the seats in the Fire Beetle.
Price doesn’t seem too out of line to me considering condition and the low number of “modern” imported beetles available. All air cooled VW’s have been taking a large upswing in values over the last handful of years. And I am hoping that holds true at least through next year when I put mine up for sale! HAHA
Is that price in Pesos? If this car is over ten grand, does that mean that a Nissan Tsuru would be over twenty grand? Here’s your sign.
As a owner of a 71 Beetle I think the price is a little strong. Also the build quality doesn’t match the German Beetles. Fuel injection parts I believe are Bosch but specific to the Beetle so they would have to be sourced from Mexico. I remember people trying to smuggle them in and swap VIN numbers before the 25 year import law came to be.
Where are the front blinkers? Is that a flat windshield I thought beetles after a certain year had curved glass ?
Front signals are in the bumper.
The Mexican Beetles used the 1968 design up until the last edition in late 2003 like this one.
Curved windshield was for 2nd gen Super Beetles. Another thing, IIRC, Mexican Beetles never received the updated ’70+ IRS rear suspension, but stayed with swing axles.
And yes, fantasy price.
Only the Super Beetle that came out in 1971 These came with a larger front trunk, McPherson struts up front and a 1600CC engine with WOW! 60 hp!
1973 and later Super Beetles had curved windshields, but the Standard model did not. The Standard was produced until 1977. The Rabbit came out in 1978 to “replace” the Beetle. The Beetle convertible was produced in 1978 and 79, after which all Beetles ended in the US.
The Rabbit came out in 1974.
I had a 1990 Mexican beetle. It was my daily driver in Chicago and Arizona for 13 years. Great car. I paid $3200 for it, added over 100,000 miles to it and sold it for $3200. It had 145,000 miles on it when I sold it. I use it a lot and wish I still had it.
Mexico is in North America.
Do these meet U.S.A. safety specs from D.O.T.? Will a motor vehicle dept. register and plate them?
Right now a 1995 model can be brought in, depending on the day of manufacture.
They are exempt due to the 25 year old rule.
The hydraulic lifters are a plus. A lot of people would not bring their cars in for maintenance, the valve clearance would tighten and the exhaust valves would spend too much time off the seats, especially number 3 that had its air circulation inhibited by the oil cooler. The result would be that it would “drop a valve”. If it was shut off soon enough, it could be repaired without splitting the cases to clean out all the metal. Doing a valve job on an air cooled VW motor is not expensive and is just good maintenance.
If anybody wants to see the price they are selling for in Mexico, I have set up a site that shows that.
I don’t want to step on any toes here. My site does not have cars for sale, they are just to see what they are offered for to compare to the US versions.
If you do want to see this please send me an email to vmgmtwinbro@gmail.com and I will send you the URL.
That seems a good price to me. Here in the UK the prices of Beetles are rocketing skywards at an alarming rate. A good one like this here would be approaching double the price in GBP…
Daymo, if that is true, over time, as I live in Mexico, I can send some over there if there are buyers.
Aren’t there beetles available from Germany, which is closer?
Germany ended production of the classic Beetle in the late 70s so the youngest of those are over 40 years old now and most have long disappeared. High demand for those that remain means high prices!
It was good that the Mexican beetle offered special edition with upgrades, the best was the FI, hydraulic valve lifter and electronic ignition! The old solid lifters were a pain in the neck! To perform it, the engine had to cold and you have adjust it every 3000K. I believe the FI system is the same as the ones on ’76 thru ’79 beetles. The asking price is too high, You probably can get one cheaper in Mexico. Remember it would probably take some time to find these “upgraded” edition and the Beetle is no longer made in Mexico.
Most of the beetles have been run in to the ground here in Mexico.
If you do find one you have to take in to account the transportation and whatever taxes the US requires plus more transportation to your town. You do not want to drive these on the highway.
Why in the world after all this time didn’t VW increase engine displacement more than the one even in “super” beetle? – especially with a restrictive cat converter on there!! It must be suicide trying to get onto an expressway that’s at a very steep angle with 1 of these, with today’s crazy fast traffic.
& say yer prayers if your beetle has a/c & its ON & 90+ degrees out. lol
Also, i wonder if after all these years if VW fixed it so one could actually get some heat out of these things in the winter. Actually where ARE the heater controls on this thing? lol
Completely unrealistic. These are not high value value propositions. When people bought them they had shell put on an old VW pan and called it restored. The Total Cost was about $11,000. If you Bought one in Mexico they were $7000 range.
$4000, to the Right Buyer. At Best.
They are not Made like German Beetles. They are Sought After. They are Not worth even Close to this Much.