Aircooled VW South Africa

Hi People,

Since my '70 Beetle was stolen last Sunday (see under stolen vehicles), I'm looking for a worthy replacement. I've been looking at Karmann Ghias for a long time and find them extremely cool. I'm really looking for a daily car though and that's where I have some reservations.

The thing is, I'm not extremely skilled when it comes to car mechanics. I understand how everything works and all, and could replace the simple bits, but I wouldn't have the tools and/or know-how to replace my clutch, for example.

With the bug that wasn't a problem, I just dropped it off at my "beetle guy" and he would just fix whatever needs fixing and a couple of thousand rand and a week or two later I'd be back on the road for 6 - 10 months. I spoke to him and he claims a Ghia wouldn't be too much of a challenge either.

What I'm wondering about: can I expect similar reliability/daily usefulness from a Ghia?

Secondly: if anyone knows of a nice one in good nick – please drop me a line!

Ghia mechanics exactly the same as beetle.
Problem is body parts when you get involved in an accident.
Ghias got some rust issues that you should attend to.

Ghias are more sought after, there were not that many built, where beetles are plenty. Ghias use exactly the same mechanics as a Beetle. Just the body differ. And it' is a two seater. The rear seat is for small children only.

In the driving of the cars I think that the Ghia is more stable on the road especially in windy conditions than a beetle. But because of the way they were built, rust is the big factor with a Ghia. So look out for that.

My 2 cents.