5 classics found
€12,000
-22.8%
20
High
Volkswagen Beetle 1 generation
The Volkswagen Beetle is the most successful car design in history. Over 21.5 million were produced across factories in Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, South Africa, and beyond, over a production span that stretched from 1938 to 2003. Those numbers alone make the Beetle a statistical anomaly. But the reason it endures as a collector car has nothing to do with statistics. It endures because it has soul.
Ferdinand Porsche's original design - an air-cooled, horizontally opposed engine mounted behind the rear axle, driving the rear wheels, housed in a rounded, aerodynamically efficient body - proved so fundamentally sound that it survived virtually unchanged for six decades. The Beetle was never the fastest, never the most spacious, never the most sophisticated. It was simply the most well-judged: reliable, affordable, endlessly repairable, and possessed of a character that owners describe in terms usually reserved for pets rather than machines.
The split-window (Brezelkäfer, 1945–1953) is the collector's grail. The divided rear window, smaller dimensions, and early specification make these cars genuinely rare and increasingly valuable - €30,000–100,000+ depending on condition and provenance. Export models with chrome trim and improved interiors are the most desirable.
The oval-window (1953–1957) is often considered the sweet spot for serious collectors: distinctive enough to be recognisable, rare enough to carry a premium, but not so stratospherically priced as to be inaccessible. Good examples range from €15,000 to €40,000.
The large-window Beetle (1958 onward) is where most buyers will find their car. The 1200, 1300, and 1500 models span three decades of production and a vast spectrum of specifications. A solid, running 1300 can be purchased for €8,000–15,000, making it one of the most affordable routes into classic car ownership. The 1302 and 1303 "Super Beetle" (1971–1975) introduced MacPherson strut front suspension and a
A solid, running Beetle (1300/1500 from the 1960s–70s) can be purchased from €8,000–15,000. Oval-window models (1953–1957) range from €15,000–40,000. Split-window Beetles (pre-1953) start from €30,000 and can exceed €100,000 for exceptional examples. Cabriolets carry a premium in every era.
The Beetle is one of the easiest classic cars to maintain. The air-cooled flat-four engine is mechanically simple and endlessly rebuildable. Parts availability is outstanding - virtually every component is available as a reproduction. Basic maintenance can be performed with standard tools in a home garage.
Germany is the spiritual home with the widest selection and deepest specialist knowledge. Scandinavia offers meticulously maintained examples. Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Greece) yields low-rust bodies. For late-model air-cooled Beetles, Brazilian and Mexican imports offer competitive prices.
The split-window Beetle (pre-1953) is the most valuable and collectible. Within that category, Export models with chrome trim command the highest premiums. The Karmann-built Cabriolet is the most desirable body style across all eras. Among later models, the 1303 Cabriolet and any Beetle with documented early ownership history carry collector premiums.
