When a long-term relationship goes belly-up it can wreak all sorts of havoc, especially when it comes to divvying up possessions following an acrimonious split. But for 83-year old Oscar Almaguer, rather than being forced to sell his beloved Beetle – he ended up having to live in it instead!

Yes, that’s right – Oscar, from Monterrey, Mexico, has lived in his 1967 Beetle since he divorced from his wife over a decade ago. For him, it’s home – a place where he stores all his earthly belongings from cooking utensils to a bucket of water which he uses for washing. His cutlery and a plastic cup are stashed in the frame underneath the roof and he’s removed the doorcards and uses the space to store a saltshaker, a bottle of hot (Mexican, we presume) sauce, and a container with coffee.

The sorrowful tale all came about, apparently, when the couple hit problems and sold everything they owned in a half-way split divorce settlement. His wife, however, had other ideas and did a runner – leaving poor old Oscar with only the Beetle to his name…

By the looks of it, the Bug’s in need of some ‘home improvements’ with several layers of grotty-looking oil-based black paint covering just about everything, including the dashboard. Perhaps it’s a primitive attempt at insulation?

Meanwhile, the back seats of the Beetle (which is given the nickname ‘Vocho’ in Mexico) have been removed to provide space for Oscar to sleep, albeit we expect in a curled up position given the limited width.

The pitiful story comes from Daniel Becerril who took these moving snaps of Oscar and his Beetle on the outskirts of Monterrey for Reuters.

The Beetle runs, but he only uses it to go from the soup kitchen, garage and church so it’s not clocking up a big mileage. Viewed from the back, obviously a fair bit of renovation’s been carried out, presumably by Oscar himself…

It’s a sobering tale for sure, but apparently Oscar’s turned down housing and shunned offers to buy his ‘home’, preferring the solitude of life in his beloved Beetle. The loyalty between him and his Bug is touching to say the least, but the benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing and we can’t but help but wonder whether he should have bought a camper instead…

Ian

The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage