Should I buy this fox?

Foxes are good cars. They're basic and were VW's entry level basic car but they're Golf/Jetta mechanicals and are pretty robust.

People don't buy a VW Fox with 170,000 miles because they like its name, its "cute personality", because they are "in love", or to extricate themselves from an "existential quagmire". They buy it because it can be had on the cheap, and they can be made to be fairly economical and reliable transportation by a minimally competent DIYer. Just a hunch, but something tells me you're not the type of individual that's particularly experienced with a wrench, and undoubtedly a car with 170,000 miles on the clock selling for $700-$800 will need some work, quite likely even a new clutch. You didn't mention what type of car you currently drive, but I think your best bet would be to put that money into a new clutch for your existing car and see how many more miles you can squeeze out of it. Then start saving a little money every week so when the time comes, you can buy yourself a more reliable and lower mileage Asian appliance.

Fox's here in the USA never had power steering! 5 speed Fox's were on the rare side so figure since you think it's cute... then you may also have a collectors item(lol)! They are as close as "the peoples car" VW has made in a long time. They are very basic and run forever, most of the time anyways. Anytime ones finds a car that runs well for under 800 then you done good. I purchased a 89 Fox(160,000miles) which needed a headgasket because the owner drove it after the water pump went bad for a few too many miles. Fixed it and sold the thing with 250,000 miles on it. Taken care of, they last.

!70,000 miles is certainly not excessive for a 15 year old car. The important thing is not the mileage, it's the condition. Is it a rust bucket? If so, forget it. How is the engine, transmission? Any leaks? Is all of the glass intact? How about the interior door panels and other upholstery? What is the condition of the paint, seals? Any collision damage? Does everything work (lights, A/C, heater, etc.)?

Good luck.

Just a FYI, but you know not all people who use "big" words like "existential" or talk about liking a cars personality are mechanically hopeless morons who should drive their Camry and shut up. Sure, cars haven't really been my thing in the past, but I'm very mechanically apt in many other departments, and there is always a first time for everything. I suppose all I'm trying to say is that: Dude, open your eyes. There are more than 5 (or whatever) types of personalities in the world. My experience? All those stereotypes are usually quite wrong. I guess you can never be to sure in usenet, but most of the AOL'ers and

Oh, and you can take your "Asian appliance" and shove it :-P. (;-))

As to the rest of you, thanks a lot for the advice. It really confirmed my hunches re: condition vs. mileage. If it's in good shape, I think I'm going to go for it.

Take care all,

-Blair

You're right, I'm ever so sorry. My therapist is always telling me that I'm too judgmental, and I just don't listen. You also caught me on a bad day last week. I started feeling especially bad about myself after reading your post because I couldn't understand all the big words you were using. I had to keep running back and forth to my bookshelf to get the dictionary, and I just snapped.

I have to go now, as Oprah is about to begin. Again, please accept my sincere apologies and enjoy your Fox.

Motor is a low compression model so chances of valve damage if the timing belt snaps are reduced to a practical nil.

Get a compression (both wet & dry) test on the motor. If it's tight and there are no outstanding issues then replace all the fluids (oil, trans, brake, coolant, etc) and get to motoring.

What's not to like?

TBerk