WHICH BEETLE

The first question to be addressed is which Beetle? The Beetle world appears to be split into two camps which might be summed up as the 'traditionalists' and the 'radicals' – both love the Beetle, but in different ways. The traditionalists like the Beetle just the way it is, and whilst some might view the whole subject of customization as slightly infra dig, most will accept the custom enthusiast as a kindred spirit. The radicals favors one of the various schools of customization, and might view the standard car as OK for those who like that sort of thing – but not for them.
The Beetle is all things to all men; some might require an honest, roadworthy and reasonably-priced example, demanding no more of it than reliable daily transport with a little more character than one finds in modern cars; others might seek an early car for restoration or customization whilst yet another group may wish to by-pass the countless hours of hard lab our which go into such projects and buy an already restored or customized example.
Amongst restored Beetles there is a choice between early and late, convertible or closed, original spec or mildly customized; amongst customized examples there are Cal lookers, Bajas, Beach Buggies and Rails, plus innumerable one-off specials – the range of available options is immense.