I'm going to look at one for sale this afternoon.

I know of a few areas prone to rust like around the battery under the seat and the front and rear edges of the longs.

Anything else i need to look out for that i'm not aware of?

If it has a sunroof, it probably leaks. That would let water into the passenger compartment whenever it rains and could possibly rust just about anything thats attached to the floor. I've had a couple of them that had drivers seats that would rock side to side.

Also the suspension bushings go bad often, and make the steering wheel (or the whole car) shake.

Mechanically, the car was actually in pretty good shape and the engine ran great.

The rust, however, was substantial. The whole rear part of the floor pan was rusted through, the battery had fallen half way through and was held in the car by some plywood and straps.

Bummer ...

Floor pan repair panels are available for standard beetles, but that may not be true for super beetles. Lotta work, but not as much as a Porsche. Best done with the body off. I wouldn't own a SB anyway. Too much hassle with the front end and the steering boxes (or rack, on the later cars).

The Cap'n

pans are a breeze, talk to McMark...its a two day job to do both pan halves.
Heater channels are about a day a side....buy the best parts...there are thin parts and thick parts...buy the thick ones.
I would also suggest removing the bottom of any new heater box and coat the insides with something to convert the shelf rust and then paint it....

As far as the front suspension goes, its the best of the beetles.
Look at superbeetles.com.
There are some coil over kits that are superior to the original setup, 944 parts fit...wider wheels fit .....

Many of the problems we faced over the years have been addressed and then you have a beetle that handles.
The new coil over struts, new disk brakes...and new front suspension bits are really the best way forward with one of these...it solves all sorts of old issues.
Keep looking if you want one..the supers have the lowest resale value right now, but the best suspension.

Take a look over in Germany and the UK...they have a very serious passion for the supers....cause they race them.

If I was looking (I have three old beetles, thanx) I think I would go for a sunroofed later style one with the curved windshield.

There is also an Ljet version that you can get from the few people that have imported the mexican ones.

Rich

The Mexican cars used Digifant not L-jet...