Dales944

I'm thinking of picking up a cheap convertible for this summer (my wife, mostly). Does anyone here have any opinions/advice on the '80s VW Cabriolets? I want to spend $3K or less, and there seems to be many of them around that price. Are they reliable? Are they easy to maintain? I'm assmuming parts are cheaper than the 944, right? Any trouble spots I should be aware of (like the 944 battery tray issue)? Finally, can anyone suggest a comparable alternative (I don't really want a LeBaron or Cavalier)?

TIA!

fpena944

What year in the 80s? If you choose one I'd go with any after 1985 as I believe they put the aerodynamic bodykit on it that year. They're not very fast as they only put out about 90 horsepower and have a lot of weight to push around but they do handle pretty well.

I had both a 1984 and a 1992 - in both cases I increased the power and modified the suspension to make the cars more "GTI"-like.

In any case they were both very reliable cars and aside from the 1984 not being very weathertight I did not have problems with either - just the usual front-wheel drive maintenance issues like CV joints/boots. In fact I didn't baby either one and put over 100k on the 92 in about 3 years.

Maintenance is much less expensive than the 944 but the Cabs are unique in some cases so parts are a little harder to come by then some of the other VWs.

The only other alternative I can think of to this vehicle (that doesn't feel flimsy and is still within the same price range) would be an on E30 series BMW convertible. But they did have plastic rear windows and the top was unlined.

Good luck on your search!

fpena944

What year in the 80s? If you choose one I'd go with any after 1985 as I believe they put the aerodynamic bodykit on it that year. They're not very fast as they only put out about 90 horsepower and have a lot of weight to push around but they do handle pretty well.

I had both a 1984 and a 1992 - in both cases I increased the power and modified the suspension to make the cars more "GTI"-like.

In any case they were both very reliable cars and aside from the 1984 not being very weathertight I did not have problems with either - just the usual front-wheel drive maintenance issues like CV joints/boots. In fact I didn't baby either one and put over 100k on the 92 in about 3 years.

Maintenance is much less expensive than the 944 but the Cabs are unique in some cases so parts are a little harder to come by then some of the other VWs.

The only other alternative I can think of to this vehicle (that doesn't feel flimsy and is still within the same price range) would be an on E30 series BMW convertible. But they did have plastic rear windows and the top was unlined.

Good luck on your search!

BartW

I could have bought an 84 on Saturday with a pretty crappy top for $50. If you want I can see if my friend still has it, it is about 3.5 hours North of Dayton, OH.

Dales944

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by BartW:
<strong>I could have bought an 84 on Saturday with a pretty crappy top for $50. If you want I can see if my friend still has it, it is about 3.5 hours North of Dayton, OH.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Uh, you're kidding, right? Does it run? Would it make the trip back to Dayton? If so, PLEASE check with them. I'll give you a nice finder's fee, too!

Tremelune

My mother had an '86 cab and it was awsome. Doesn't so much accelerate as make up it's mind to go forward, but it's tight, and little, and just a blast to bomb around in. Made it to Floda and back at something like 150k miles...On sunny summer days it was my car of choice over the Porsche. Always feels like your going too fast <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

If you can past it being a chick car, they're great, great fun. You can make 'em look a little meaner with some more lights up front. They're bulletproof.

R.B.

I bought a 1990 VW Cab new and still have it. I only drive it summers and it is still in show room condition. No repairs to date yet, only maintenance. I like it and it is easy to work on.

There are also alot of after market VW suppliers for parts. Good luck!

-R.B.

BartW

I just called my buddy, he took it to the scrapper yesterday. He owns a towing company and impounds cars for two cities North of Detroit here and it was a drunk driver's car who never came to pick it up, it was driving down the road when he got pulled over and my buddy just wanted the $50 impound fee for it but it is too late now.

Dales944

Bart - thanks for checking. I appreciate it.

Thanks to everyone else, too.

BartW

I just wanted to see if you were still looking for the Cabrio??? I came across a much nicer one today. It has a new top and 175k on it and it has been repainted from green to black, overall nice shape and did not seem to be rusting anywhere. It was at a tow yard over here in MI and at the last minute the sheriffs put a hold on it but if it does not get picked up it will be on the auction block in two weeks and will most likely only bring a few hundred dollars since the people there don't like to pay much for anything and this is not a mass market car. I screwed up today and did not buy this beatiful 91 Alfa Romeo, it had nothing wrong with it and only 109k on it and went for $800, I just checked Ebay and realized that a near mint example like that would bring about $4k.

Dales944

Thanks! Yes, I still want to buy one. Can you send me an e-mail - Dales944@hotmail.com with more details, etc???

Thanks again. Sorry to hear about the Alfa, I'd be kicking myself too. It's times like that where you could really use mobile internet service on a cell/hand-held, huh?

cas951

I have two of them for my Daughters. The first is a 88 Cabrio with approx. 125,000 miles. i've owned this car for 5 years and it's been trouble free other than regular oil/filter change & routine maint. The other is a 2002 VW Cabrio which is the last year in Production for this model. So far so good. my daughters love the cars.