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A Stationary Beetle Deteriorates More Than a Running One: The Maintenance Saga of 2025

Anyone with a sizable collection of vintage cars knows this all too well: keeping the fleet in good shape is no small feat, especially when some barely leave the garage. That’s exactly the case with my Itamar Beetle. In 2024, it covered a mere 300 km. And that, dear reader, is a problem, because as any car enthusiast will tell you, a car left idle deteriorates faster than one that’s regularly driven.

Now in 2025, I’m taking steps to ensure it stops being a decorative piece and gets back to fulfilling its purpose on the road. The first step? Changing the oil. Yes, even with only 300 km on the clock, the oil was as tired as I am on the Monday after Carnival. Some argue for changing it every six months, but to me, that’s overkill—once a year is just fine.

The second step was retiring the awful diagonal tires that were on the car. And when I say “awful,” I’m not exaggerating. I’m not talking about aesthetics here, but pure functionality. The car was simply unbearable to drive with those. These tires had been a temporary fix for... six years. Temporary, of course, in the classic “it’ll stay until it doesn’t” sense.

The Itamar Beetle, the last batch of Brazilian Beetles, originally came with radial tires. Unfortunately, finding radials in the original size today is almost mission impossible—something worthy of Tom Cruise. The solution? Opting for Nankang 165/80R15 tires. They’re close enough in size and won’t leave me stranded—on the road or otherwise.

Oh, and since we’re on the topic, here’s a personal opinion: preferences are like Beetle headlights—everyone has their own. While I find the look interesting, I’m not a fan of lowered Beetles or ones with wide wheels. But as they say: long live diversity.

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