It might seem a little odd, sad perhaps, to get yourself a copy of your car’s “birth certificate”. But then, Beetles aren’t your average car, and Beetle owners tend not to be too average either! To most people, the details of when the car was built, when it left the factory, what the original colour was etc, is of no real interest. But when you consider that most of these cars are over 30 years old, it’s actually quite interesting to find out what colour VW originally intended them to be, and to see whether they left the factory with any extra bits and pieces added.
Anyway, that was my way of thinking, so late in 2010 I filled out the online form, paid my €35, and as the turnaround time was a matter of weeks, consequently forgot all about it. Fast forward to the middle of February 2011, and an envelope that was clearly from Wolfsburg popped through the letterbox. My mood soon changed from excitement about finding out a little more about Betty, to, well I guess you would describe it as “shock” when I saw the date she was built. 14th September 1971. It only happened to be my gran’s birthday!
Freaky, huh?
And naturally once Clarence had joined the fold, we needed to get his birth certificate too – although there were no spooky coincidences where he was concerned! I’m not entirely sure how VW justify the price increase from €35 to €50, but there you go. I’m not convinced that the fact it now comes in a very nice folder is worth an extra €15…….
The one thing it did show, however, was that the rather natty striped seat covers he’s currently sporting are not the original beige vinyl – although I can’t help but think that that’s a good thing!
And of course, it’s great to have that to add to his history.
If you want to order a birth certificate for your own VW, head over to the Stiftung Automuseum.