Sorry to bother you folks with an off-make post, but I know there are
some people on the list who are knowledgeable about VWs, so maybe
someone can help. My brother is thinking of buying a used VW. I don't
know anything about them, so I'm looking to those more experienced than
I for advice. The following is his email to me about the car:
>Someone is selling a white 1987
>Volkswagon covertable. I forgot the
>name of the model, but it begins with
>Co... with an automatic transmission &
>has 85,000 miles on the car. The body is
>in almost brand new condition. He
>originally wanted $1000 for it. After I
>looked it over & listed everything I found
>wrong with it, I got him to come down
>with his price considerably.
>There are lot of little problems that I can
>probably fix myself cheap. Although the
>axles are good enough to last another
>year or so, they'll have to be replaced.
>The speedometer dosen't work. The
>catalytic converter needs replacing. It's
>not fully clogged but bad enough where it >probably caused a little
heat damage to
>the engine or valves. The manifold
>should be replaced but should also be
>good enough for another year or so.
>There's some oil on the top of the
>engine, but it looks like I should only
>have to replace the valve cover gasket to >fix it.
>The car was in storage since last
>summer. After we charged the battery
>up, it started up smoothly, right away on
>the first try. I drove it for about 5 miles,
>including some thruway driving. It ran
>smooth & nice.
>I originally went there just to charge the
>battery & get the car ready so he could
>sell it to someone else. The fella that
>was going to buy it, took it to an import
>specialist who claimed it was going to
>cost $4,000 to fix & it should be junked.
>So he doesn't want to buy the car. A
>cheap mechanic I took it to says he could >fix it up good enough for
only about
>$350.
>After we washed it & I drove it around, I
>like it. Being a convertable, it's a cute car >too. I'm not familiar
with volkswagons
>but always did a lot of my own work on
>my cars. My friends tell me those
>volkswagons are crap & I shouldn't buy it. >Am I missing something? I
looked this
>car over very carefully. I can't find that
>much wrong with the car that would cost
>$4,000 to fix & warrant junking it.
>I couldn't find any reviews on them on
>the net. I'll be able to get this car cheap.
>He'll even let me take it home & use it for >a few days next week to
see if I like it.
>It's still insured under his company's
>name. Has anyone heard or read
>anything about these cars? These
>engines look identical to Volvo engines
>from the same era & they keep running
>'till past 150,000 miles.
>My old station wagon cost me $100.
>Everyone told me I'd be sorry. I ran it for
>4 years, put over 50,000 miles on it. I
>only spent $174 (except for tires) on it in
>all that time. When I got rid of it, it was
>still running. The engine is still even
>running today, in another car. It had
>almost 120,000 miles on it.
So, what do you think, gang? Does this car have a chance? Or is it
hopeless? What would be a reasonable price to pay for such a vehicle?
TIA
-NORY
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