My first was a 56 beetle. Picked it up for a couple of hundred. The kingpins were shot so couldn't go over 30 mph or it would shake like life out of anyone inside.
After I got the kingpins fixed it ran like a charm. It didn't have any instrumentation other than and odometer. Took it on a long trip and forgot to check the oil regularly. The engine seized and that was the end of that car.
I hear Mexico is still building the old model with the rotary engine. It was a great car, it is just too bad VW decided to stop selling them in the US and Can.
I don't like the new ones, they look like a pregnant toad rather than a beetle.