Purchased first New Beetle convertible in our area of NC. Loved it! Problems shortly began. Most serious was the transmission hard shift that increased over the years. Dealership said a new transmission was needed for $6,000! Yipes. VW HQ would not cover it. Complaints fell on deaf ears. Attempted to drive and ignore. Finally received a letter in Nov 2010 about a warranty extension for the transmission valve body....for cars with less than 100,000 miles. My car was just over that and they refused to honor the replacement.

Finally found a whiz mechanic that suggested he could replace the transmission valve body for $1,600. Cured the shift problem. No troubles in that area since then.