[Silverbullet89]

Yes, you read that right. I may have killed my bug and I can't feel any worse about it. So lately I was having a small leak with the coolant. It wasn't too bad and I didn't have much time to get it checked out (should have made time) but what's done is done. So essentially after adding water for a month or so, that is mostly what was left. Well, This past weekend my brothers and I drove up to Iowa (We live in Texas) for my grandmothers funeral. I'm guessing you can put 2 and 2 together at this point. It was about 10-15 degrees over night. We still aren't sure how bad she is hurt but I'm not sure at this point it is worth it. We drove her around the next day in town and didn't notice anything. After leaving town I heard the indicator (beep beep beep) and looked down and saw the temp light was on. After checking the aftermarket gauge, I noticed that it was running pretty hot. Water was low so we added some more (at this point we still didn't really realize what stupid mistake I had made). Temps went down to normal pretty fast, I mean especially considering it was like 20 degrees. It drove for maybe 2 to 3 miles before I felt a kick, almost like a misfire, then the EPC light came on and we started to lose oil pressure, pretty fast too. Once I noticed the temp shot up again, I pulled straight over. Before I had a chance to kill the car, it killed its self. My brother said there was smoke near both sides of the block...I'm guessing she's dead. Car starts up but idles rough. Water pump were about 99% sure its gone. what else? head gasket? Cracked block....Is it worth taking to a vw shop or should I invest in a different vehicle at this point?

 

[gibby1006]

I had a similar issue with a golf gti some years ago where the coolant was entirely water after a minth of topping up. Anyway over night it went to -15 and the whole system froze.....

after a few days in the barn thawing out with the use of a space heater every few hours i drained all the fluids, replaced the radiator & she ran like new

 

[jfoj]

It sounds like you are in a bad situation. You did not mention the year or how many miles are on your car, but these cars are STUPID cheap due to their less than stellar reputation, so if your engine is gone, I would not put money into it if it is younger than a 2006??

I would be looking at upgrading to a newer, lower mileage Beetle if you are going to consider a Beetle. You could probably sell your current car and get a newer similar car for and be out less than $4-5k if you play the game correctly??

I see ALL kinds of lower mileage Beetles in my area under $5k.

Here is a 2003 with 33k miles for $7250 - 2003 VW New Beetle - 33,500 Miles