Most reliable older VW

Something that I find suspicous is alow mileage car that hasnt been driven that much, but the interior was worn enough to be redone as well. In my experience, its usage thats wears out an interior. So how do you wear out the interior, without putting any miles on the car? My 85 GTI has about

180K miles on it, all original, the interior looks great except for teh side bolsters of the drivers seat, its time to have the drivers seat reupholstered, but all other interior parts are still pretty pristine, no worn spots on anything but the drivers seat, and its a daily driver.
Reply to
Biz
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Run the numbers for the "Blue Book Private Party Value" for this car in the zip code where it resides. I think you will find that even if all that the seller tells you is true, i.e., 68K mileage, excellent condition, etc., Kelley still values the car at less than $1,000. Even the retail value (the value of a fully reconditioned car sold by a dealer) would be less than $1550 according to Kelley. By the way, it's very unlikely the car meets Kelley's criteria for excellent condition:

"Excellent condition means that the vehicle looks great, is in excellent mechanical condition and needs no reconditioning. It should pass a smog inspection. The engine compartment should be clean, with no fluid leaks. The paint is glossy and the body and interior are free of any wear or visible defects. There is no rust. The tires are the proper size and match and are new or nearly new. A clean title history is assumed. This is an exceptional vehicle."

If you still think you want the car, the Kelley information will at least give you some basis for bargaining.

Kent

1987 VW GTI 8V, original owner, 221,500+ miles
Reply to
Kent

I disagree, and so does edmunds.com.

I've driven my '91 GTI for over 13 years now and have consistently averaged

12-15K a year. My commute varied from 5-15 miles each way, 5 days a week. That I believe is reasonably average.

And if I go to edmunds.com and put in my '00 Eurovan, I find that between

64,400 and 64,410 miles is where they start taking away from the value for a mileage adjustment. That suggests to me that a '00 car is reasonable to average about 12,880 and 16,100 a year (depending on if I divide 64,400 by either 4 or 5 years).

So it's fair to say that 15K is average.

Reply to
Matt B.

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Reply to
Tom's VR6

My vote is for an 85 to 92 golf. I own an 89 (RIP) and an 86 Golf, both 4 doors with sunroofs(sp?). The 89 is resting on blocks in my yard not because it broke down but because I totalled it. And so you know, I'm very glad we were driving that car and not some weaker other make. We spun off the road flipped the car onto it's side and hit a telephone pole. My wife, daughter (5) and I were all completely okay. Even the glass bottles in our groceries in the trunk were okay (the mushrooms were a little bruised). Now we drive the 86 which I bought for $400. CDN back in Feb. Neither car has ever left me stranded. Repairs are fairly easy and inexpensive. And I have found that while there are various little annoying things that break, like the door latches, they are never that big of a deal unless you're totally mechanically retarded. And even then if you find a mechanic that drives a VW they usually tell you what's really going on instead of gouging you (like replacing the $2. light in the HVAC faceplate instead of doing like VW says and buying a whole new one for like $200 bucks.)

That's my take on the situation,

-Andrew

Reply to
DruG

Hard to go wrong with any of them. I'd probably vote for the Golf as it was more popular than the Fox so junkyard parts are easier to find, and the Rabbit is a good car but is older than the other two and is starting to be something of a rarity.

Once they really get up there in years and miles is where the VWs start to shine over the Japanese cars. The Rising Sun has it all over the Krauts in "initial quality" and all that crap that JD Power and Consumer Reports cares about but once the odo rolls over 200K miles give me a VW any day, I bet compression will still be in spec if it's been maintained by anyone other than a complete retard.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

Oh I almost forgot you should check out

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he's got a pretty neat site mostly devoted to his 87 golf.

-Dru

Reply to
DruG

Get the Golf. The Fox and the Rabbit are special models, not sold often (at least here in Germany) - the Golf is an best seller. If you need any spare parts, you'll find em for the Golf. It is known for its durability and - next to the Vanagon/Transporter/Bus and the Beatle - it is one of the "foundations" of the Volkswagen company. You will find spare parts for that car in a houndred of years. :)

Of course you should have a look at the special configuration of that car - diesel engine (turbocharged?)...

Tim.

Reply to
T. Wodraschka

Reply to
Rob Guenther

Forget the car...check out the pics of the "party"...check out that HOUSE!

Reply to
Matt B.

Check out that house?? It's huge yeah but it's seriously lacking in style. And where's the landscaping? If you ask me that house reeks of "more money then they know what to do with".

-Dru

Reply to
DruG

If there is no rust, go for it!

Bill

78 Rabbit...10/77 - 4/02 82 Convertibles(s)...since 93 95 Golf GL...since 11/99 02 Passat 1.8T Tip GLS...since 4/02
Reply to
William Maslin

How can I remove the "restrictor" on my 1988 Fox??

Reply to
Lambert Moonen

lol I consider the VW Fox the NEWER Fox and the Audi Fox (VW Dasher/Passat) the older Fox) I guess the 1988 VW Fox is older than the 1993 Fox though! ;-)

which one? exhaust restrictor behind cat. conv. can be modified by exhaust shop

exhaust manifold might be replaceable with one from the 79 Audi Fox but you will need to relocate the 02 sensor and change the downpipe to match.

throttle plate can possibly be replaces by a larger one (maybe Audi 5000) and the intake manifold might be similar to the Audi 4000 (I believe the later ones are larger 85-87)

I heard that the cylinder head valves were smaller but I am not sure on this.

I might even think that the fuel distributor might be a little restrictive also.

Also I am told that the very early VW Foxes had a different transmission gearing in it (maybe one for the mountains) and it was quicker from a stop than the more expensive GTi that VW was selling at the same time.

Or which "restrictor" were you talking about?

later, dave Reminder........ Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes. Frieda Norris

Reply to
dave

Jim B.

Reply to
jimbehning

good vehicle It is one of the older/original Foxes, and one of the good ones too! There was a body change with the 78s that used 4 headlamps IIRC.

I liked my 78 Fox quite a bit and drove it far and fast until I found my 1980 Audi 4000 then I sold the Fox. lol

later, dave Reminder........ Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes. Frieda Norris

Reply to
dave

3400 miles per year is not necessarily a good thing anyway, if you are looking for a reliable daily driver. The car could have been an all city driving car, or driven twice a day on a very short commute (i.e. always cold started and never got warmed up properly). And check the service records to make sure that maintenance was done by the time schedule (where it says "every 15,000 miles or one year" a 3400 miles per year car needs it done every year).
Reply to
Timothy J. Lee

The Rabbit in the US is the a1-platform Golf (1975-1984 in the US, plus continuation in convertible form until about 1993 as the Cabriolet).

Reply to
Timothy J. Lee

If you are talking about 10+ year old cars, the reliability is more of a function of previous owner car and maintenance, as reflected in the actual condition of the car and the maintenance records. Except for particular models that have fundamental reliability problems that just won't stay fixed, brand and model matter less for reliability when looking at cars that old.

Reply to
Timothy J. Lee

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says: The Exhaust Restrictor is that donut-thing between the catalytic converter and back exhaust

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Reply to
Matt B.

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