I had a 2001 Beetle TDI, 90-something thousand miles when I got rid of it. The only problems I ever had with it, the front and rear left light bulbs went out, and there was a touchy relay somewhere that kept the check-engine light on (typical problem for the last-gen beetles). Other than that, I'd never had a single problem with it, even after a 2 day blitz driving 3,000 miles across the country.
I beat the hell out of that car and it kept being awesome. Maybe yours was built on a Friday.
