240D vs. VW Beetle - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

edge · #1 04-09-2003, 07:39 PM

240D vs. VW Beetle, Which was faster, 240D or say, 1974 VW Beetle? Which is more reliable? We all know the 240D is much more comfortable and classy but the VW may be more reliable and easier to maintain...VW Convertibles sell for more than 240D or 300D's nowadays...

william rogers · #2 04-09-2003, 07:48 PM

if you can find a car more reliable than a well kept 240D it must be made on another planet.........
William Rogers.........

Stevo · #3 04-09-2003, 11:17 PM

A Benz or a Bug? Hummm. I have often thought about how it was driving my "64"Bug from Wa to Ca and back years ago. Man was that a LONG trip. I got 33 MPG which is what I get with my 240D 5 spd and thats where the similarity ends. I dont know about which would be faster 0 to 60, thats a good question, I really never thought about that but I,ve often compared them both getting 30+ MPG and how nice it was to be riding in the Benz.

I still love the Bug as Its been in the family since my wife had it in collage. IMO both car have been very reliable , laying on your back to adjust valves is no big deal and having a cooling system w/o water is good. I will keep both cars for a while.

franklyspeaking · #4 04-09-2003, 11:27 PM

I have owned both....acceleration and top speed is probably a wash. The bug's aerodynamics were so bad it made highway driving in windy weather impractical. It's heating/defrost system was the pits. I've owned the 240D for 9 years and it is the most reliable car I have ever owned....no spark plugs or points to maintain; change the oil and fuel filters and drive.

edge · #5 04-10-2003, 12:17 AM

Stevo, my first car was a green VW beetle that I bought from a friend in college $200. I rermember laying on my back adjusting valves, then adjusting points, paper gaskets on the oil screen filter, bleeding the brakes, changing the muffler, adjusting the wing nut on the clutch by removing the left rear tire. Used it a year and sold it for $275. It's amazing that your wife still owns it.

#6 04-10-2003, 01:14 AM

I learned to drive in a Bug. I have also spent time behind the wheel of a manny tranny 240.

Considering the Bug was designed when Rudy Ulenhaut was still a young man, I dont think its fair to compare these designs

but that doesnt matter.

I would say they are about the same speed. The 240 is much more stable at speed for obvious reasons, while the bug might get off the line "faster."

As for longevity, I would say the 240 engine lasts longer, but at this age, its really just a matter of how much effort is put into keeping the car on the road. I mean, ANY car can go forever with enough $$.

I like both.

Mike

The Warden · #7 04-10-2003, 01:33 AM

My first car was a '74 Bug...it was a fun little car to drive around, but not practical, at least for me. It finally blew a piston after 2 months of driving...didn't like Pacheco Pass

I woudln't mind having another Bug (or better yet, a bus

), but not as a vehicle that I'd have to depend on as a daily driver. The 300D does that job nicely thus far.

#8 04-10-2003, 07:15 AM

I can't imagine how this question could have ever even entered someones mind.

I drove a '68 Beetle 54,000 miles in a little less than two years. in late '69 through mid '71. I drove it all over Germany and occasionally into Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria. Even in the mild temperatures of Germany, it broke a compression ring on what else, number three cylinder. I then brought it back to Texas where it quickly died in the heat.

The maintenance and care required to keep Hitlers Revenge on the road was constant compared to a 240D. In fact, I'll bet that a 240D with no maintenance whatsoever except a 20,000 mile oil change interval would go at least twice as far as a well maintained, air cooled beetle.

A Beetle requires CONSTANT: oil changes, every 1,000 miles (no oil filter, just a screen,) Frequent valve adjustment (yes it's relatively easy, but if you leave them alone an exhaust valve will stretch until it opens and burns,) Ignition tuneup including points, plugs and a good going over about every 10,000 miles, Clutch and throttle cables frequently need attention or replacement, heater boxes rust off of the motor, snow melts off your shoes under the pedals and sticks the clutch pedal after refreezing overnight.

I could go on and on. The one saving grace if you were to want to drive a Beetle today is MOBIL ONE. The oils that we had when the Beetle was popular were not up to the job of handling the high oil temperature of this air cooled engine. If we had MOBIL ONE readily available, the engines would have been much longer lived, but the maintenance above would have still been necessary.

I'm not sure about a 240D, but I know that in a drag race, a Beetle would run off and leave the MB diesels of the late sixties. There were plenty of them in Germany in those days, so I know.

All that said, the Beetle was definitely stingy on fuel and a reasonably good utilitarian car for its day, but comparing a Beetle to an MB diesel is like comparing a Republican Gaurd soldier to a US Marine, no contest whatsoever IMHO.

Have a great day,

jfikentscher · #9 04-10-2003, 10:39 AM

I had a 1965 VW Squareback 2000S all through college. European import. Pancake engine. Two carbs. Little rocket ship!

My father ignored the oil light and siezed the engine. Wish I could find another. Have never seen the 2000s anywhere else.

However, the ride in my Mercedes is no comparison.

Joe.

Stevo · #10 04-10-2003, 12:30 PM

Edge
Sounds like this thread has stirred lots of memories. What a great "first car" for a kid to have and learn how to take care of.

My wife was coming home from school in the VW and coming off the freeway a little too fast, rolled over in the ice plant.

a guy came along and helped her roll it back upright and away she went.

A few years ago we had the top straightened out and the car repainted. Our daughter learned to drive in that car.
I gota admit I was a little disappointed when I first read the owners manual for the Benz as I expected it to be a little more informative. Maybe in the "60s" they were. The VW manual had all the maintenance jobs like valve adjustment, tune up , brake & clutch adjustment complete with good pics. Anyway its fun to hear all the VW stories.

#11 04-10-2003, 12:37 PM

and what I like best about the 240D is that it is at the opposite end of the SAME continuum that starts with the VW (real) beetle.

Simple, durable, engineering design good to start with and refined over decades. Economical, great value for money. Parts available, and also a wealth of technical info exists on either car (because they "persist in the environment). If you can keep the mechanicals AND the cosmetics from going up at the same time, either can be a "perpetual" car.

Bought my '73 super beetle convertible new just out of college...have it still...have had 240D for 150,000 miles now.

#12 04-10-2003, 12:42 PM

Thinking about using an original Beetle as a "Perpetual Car" makes nicks and cuts appear all over my hands.

I'm not at all ready to go back to a car that requires such CONSTANT preventive maintenance in order to keep it on the road.

If that's your thing though, go for it.

Have a great day,

jfikentscher · #13 04-10-2003, 12:42 PM

My Father had a 1962 VW Beetle. The kids in the neighborhood would lift up the car and place it sideways in the driveway so he couldn't get out. That really got him teed off. He would wait up at night to try to catch those responsible but he never did. We drove that car until 1975. countless miles since the odometer stopped around 200,000 in 1969.

Joe

#14 04-10-2003, 12:51 PM

in fact, the air cooled VW and 240D diesel have 3,000 mile oil changes in common. I would suggest that a lot of the "constant" maintenance problems were worked out by '71 when the "super" beetle arrived.

edge · #15 04-10-2003, 01:09 PM

JIm B+ said it right, they are at different ends of the same continium. I bet alot of 240D owners had VW's in their early years. The '74 Sun Bug was the last one I had. 'Bought it new for $2900. I loved the corduroy seats with brown tex on the side that felt like leather. I took it cross country twice, the odometer stopped working at 83,000. I never had to do anything except change the oil, points and plugs. In 1980 when I went to grad school in Phila, someone stole it and stripped it. The cops found it in the worse of Philadelphia neighborhoods and told be I had to move it! I remember going there at sundown on a rainy night with my wife. Scarry as hell, it looked like it was raped and my lady couldn't understand why I was taking time to close the sunroof. I loved that car, must have had 200,000 miles on it and I was going to keep it forever. I ending up selling it to $75 to a junkyard. Then I graduated to a 1965 911 Porsche which in the 911's first year alot of the parts when interchangable.