Expert Buyer

The venerable Beetle is a good call if you’re looking to buy a decent aircooled Dub for less than £10k

Volkswagen Beetle

With Golf MkI values ratcheting ever higher, the case in favour of the eternal Beetle is mounting. Factor in the prices being paid for air-cooled campers, not to mention the Beetle’s slinky Karmann Ghia cousin (pay less than £10k for one of those nowadays and you’ll have work to do) and the Bug seems like an obvious choice.

Such is the Beetle’s kerb appeal and cult status that many are snapped up by auction houses and high-end dealers seeking crowd-pullers for their catalogues and forecourts – though that trend is skewed a little in favour of cabriolets; saloons are just as common in private classifieds. The proliferation of the Type 1 – the Beetle’s official name – has helped keep values under control, especially for the later models, and that’s great news if you want one to enjoy from behind the wheel.

Your main decision will be choosing between an early model with torsion beams and a swing axle at the rear, or a 1971-onwards car with MacPherson front struts and independent rear suspension. Performance improvements were incremental over the decades, and post-’71 cars generally offer the best value by most standards – being cheaper to buy, more comfortable and with a little more poke from their 1.6-litre engines. Generally speaking, it’s agreed that there’s a sweet-spot around 1967.

But the fact remains that the earlier the Beetle, the more it will woo collectors with extra cash to spend. If the classic market really does cool off in the coming years, expect those earliest models to retain the biggest percentage of their value.

Imports are worth considering if they’re rock-solid, unmodified and free from signs of dodgy maintenance or repairs, but – perhaps predictably – those built in Germany have the most consistent reputation for quality.