2015 Beetle 118TSI Manual Questions

[nightphotographer]

I have a few questions about buying a new beetle - my girlfriend's putting a deposit down on one this week and just wanted to clear a few things up.

She's getting a Denim blue Manual, 118TSI with panoramic sunroof, leather and xenons - what's the best price we can get one for? I know that's a pretty lazy generic question - but is there a rough idea how much we can knock a dealer down by? The local guys here are amazing and I'm on really good terms with all of the staff being one of only a few vw nuts in town - so I'm hoping they'll play ball a little.

I've always kind of ignored all the TSI problems because I never thought it would effect me as I don't want to own new car, but is there anything to keep in mind with this engine? Does it have the oil issues like the Polo GTI etc?

And How tunable is it? What kind of figures and what kind of brands will tune a 2015 118tsi?

As for lowering - is it just MK6 Golf Coilovers I'll need? And I'm assuming 5X112 unlike the last 5x100 Beetle.

Also it's going to be a new build and the dealer said it'll take 4-6 to build - how long are we realistically going to wait - she's not exactly patient.

[jamesatfish]

I've got a 2013 Beetle with the 118 TSI engine, and it's been fantastic. I'm confident a lot of the horror stories with the early engines have been sorted by VW by now, so I wouldn't be too worried about the engine in the Beetle. Ours certainly doesn't use excessive oil and I've had no need to top up lubricants between scheduled services.

APR released their Stage 1 tune for these engines not too long ago - it's good for around 155kW which feels just about right for the Beetle. Keep in mind the traction control is non-switchable so there's a limit to how much fun you can have in these cars anyway, so throwing too much more power at them probably isn't worth it. Other than the software however there's not much else available for the Beetle platform specifically, though as you noted it's a Mk 6 Golf underneath so suspension, brakes and so on should be fairly easily fitted.

I'm not sure if the factory is offering the RVC option yet but if not you can certainly retrofit one with very little effort - again it's exactly the same unit (including swivelling hatch release) as the Mk 6 Golf.

The wheels are indeed 5x112 as per the Golf.

I can't help you out on price or delivery time unfortunately - ours is DSG with different options (everything but the roof) so that won't help your comparison.