Hi there and welcome. I'm pretty new to this forum myself but already I have benefitted from some useful feedback so perhaps now is the chance to return the favor.
I have a 1500 1967 Beetle and, as you say, they are becoming quite rare but I have to say it is a wonderful car. With disc brakes up front and the additional power of a 1500cc engine I think it is possibly the best compromise between the old and the new. You don't say whether the model you are considering is a 1200, 1300 or 1500 so I don't know if the spec will be as mine - plus I'm not sure what the differences were for the USA spec models at that time.
That said I paid more in UK pounds than you are looking at in US dollars and whilst most of the hard work on mine has been done in terms of replacing the rot, I have still found a myriad of jobs to do that weren't apparent when I bought it.
At the end of the day I guess it all boils down to what you can afford financially in terms of restoration work, whether you will do it yourself, how long you plan to spend doing the work (and thus spreading the cost), and to what standard you want the work done - functional or concours.
In my experience all classic cars can eat money at an alarming rate if you let them. My plan has always been to write a list of all the work required and then priorotise it according to its importance for road-worthiness. I find this makes working to a budget much easier and gets the important jobs done first.
One thing is for sure - when the work is done you will have a really great Beetle that is cheap-ish to run, great fun to drive and that will not be depreciating like anything you drive out of a showroom these days.
Good luck whatever you decide.
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