Think Small: Cheap 1968 Volkswagen Beetle

I hope this one is still around when this is published because it was listed just 12 hours ago and it looks like a good deal. While American car companies were in the horsepower wars in 1968, Volkswagen’s tagline was “Think Small.” Their campaign aimed to change the way Americans thought about small cars. I remember my Uncle Ronnie had a bug in the early sixties, while all his brothers and sisters drove big GM sedans. I thought he was cool for the time. This garage-stored 1968 Beetle is available here on craigslist for a mere $3,000. It is in beautiful East Wenatchee, Washington. Thanks, Jack M., for putting this bug in my ear!

The seller starts out by saying they are too old for restoration projects. Is that actually true? Can you be too old? I can’t imagine seeing that day myself. The engine in this little ride is a 1973 dual-port with a single Empi carburetor. They claim it runs strong and has no leaks. However, they do say that the carburetor needs tuning. The 1973 1600cc dual-port produced about 50 horsepower, which helped balance performance with good fuel economy. The torque spec of approximately 63 ft.-lbs. added to its drivability.

Volkswagen Beetle interiors in the 60s were never something you would call luxurious. Spartan comes to mind. The velour seat covers look to be in decent shape, and the headliner around the rear window looks sad. A new headliner for around $300 would fix that. The paint is described as a “cheap green metallic over the original beige.” The body looks very clean, and there are chrome reverse wheels with baby moons. The wiring harness is new, and it has been completely rewired. The gas gauge doesn’t work, but the seller has a new one in the box. There are also lots of other new parts, according to the ad.

I was a little surprised by the going rate for a Beetle these days. Oldcarsdata.com shows 303 auctions in the last year, with a median price of $13,331 and the upper quarter of sales at $22,000. As of this writing, there are approximately 279 1968 Beetles for sale online, with an average price of $18,269. Is this the one that makes the most sense to buy? For the money, it doesn’t look like it needs much to make it better than it already is.