The Mystery Mileage VW

Mystery Mileage on a '73 Beetle

RAY: This puzzler came from a guy named Steve Boyd. As a way of introducing the puzzler he says, "The puzzler for this week was really bad. I felt I must suggest a truly automotive puzzler."

He writes, "When I bought my 1973 Beetle about 10 years ago, the hippie I bought it from told me that the 80,000 on the odometer were original miles. I didn't believe him for a second, because when I took the car for a test drive I noticed there was rust all over the body, the brakes would barely stop the car-- I had my heart in my throat when I stepped on the brakes—and the clutch was beginning to slip.

"I negotiated the price down to 400 bucks, and felt pretty proud of myself. I gave him the money and drove my yellow time bomb...I mean, time warp, home. About a year later, I got around to buying new tires. When I called around to get the best price, a tire vendor told me something that made think that, just maybe, I had been told the truth about the 80,000 original miles.

"What was I told?"

Think you know? Drop Ray a note!

[ Car Talk Puzzler ]