{"id":19696,"date":"2026-05-22T00:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T00:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/19696\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T00:59:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T00:59:09","slug":"a-goodbye-note-tucked-in-a-beetle-sent-a-woman-on-epic-quest-to-reunite-car-and-owner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/19696\/","title":{"rendered":"A goodbye note tucked in a Beetle sent a woman on epic quest to reunite car and owner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trisha Rosado<\/a> bought a rusty 2003 Volkswagen Beetle<\/a> convertible at a veteran\u2019s auction in Philadelphia last August for $1,000. She and her husband collect Volkswagens<\/a>, and this one looked like a parts car. It had been sitting unused for five years and was in rough shape<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While cleaning it out, Rosado found an envelope tucked under the sun visor. It said \u201cfarewell my love bug.\u201d Inside was a handwritten letter from the previous owner to the car itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for keeping me safe, for all the joy and fun we had,\u201d the letter read. \u201cYou were my dream car. You made me feel special. I hope your journey continues and you bring someone lots of joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was signed by someone named \u201cTree.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no way we can chop this car up,\u201d Rosado told FOX43<\/a>. \u201cWe need to find the owner.\u201d<\/p>\n

She posted the letter on her TikTok (@the.beetle.queen<\/a>) page. The video got over 600,000 views and eventually reached Tree Palmieri in New York through a friend who recognized the story.<\/p>\n

Tree had owned the Beetle, which she\u2019d named Herbetta, for 22 years. She\u2019d bought it brand new in 2003 specifically to share with her father, a Marine who was obsessed with Herbie the Love Bug. \u201cWhen I was little, my father was obsessed with Herbie,\u201d Tree said. \u201cHe loved Beetles. My first movie was Herbie the love bug. We had a fish named Herbie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tree\u2019s father only got to enjoy the car for three years before he died. The Beetle became her connection to him.<\/p>\n

When Tree and Rosado connected, the car was already being restored with help from generous donors. Rosado started a GoFundMe to get it in perfect shape and transport it back to New York.<\/p>\n

\"VolkswagenA woman enjoys the fresh air while taking a break from a road trip. Photo credit: Canva<\/a><\/p>\n

The reunion happened in December. Tree got Herbetta back, fully restored.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is like my dad coming back, giving me a hug,\u201d Tree said. When asked what her father would say if he could see the reunion, she didn\u2019t hesitate: \u201cHe would say, \u2018Go get \u2019em, kid. Go get \u2019em.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosado\u2019s perspective on the whole thing: \u201cI may have found Herbetta, but Herbetta brought you to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The emotional connection people feel to their cars is real. An Aviva survey found that one in eight car owners feel a strong emotional connection to their vehicles, while 23% still think about their first car. Seventy-eight percent said a car had been part of major life events, and 19% said their vehicle reminded them of important moments.<\/p>\n

The comments on Rosado\u2019s TikTok<\/a> were full of people sharing their own car stories. One person wrote about selling their canary yellow 2000 VW Beetle when expecting their first baby: \u201cI cried when the new owners drove away in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosado says she plans to restore more vintage Beetles from her collection and give them away to new owners. Tree\u2019s letter didn\u2019t just save one car. It started something bigger.<\/p>\n

You can follow\u00a0Trisha Rosado<\/a>\u00a0(@the.beetle.queen<\/a>) for more car and lifestyle content.\n<\/p>\n