A friend wants to sell me his 81 NA rabbit

[Rabbit TD]

My 81 Rabbit was given to me by my friend who I got interested in these little things back in 1990 when I got one for my Son when he got his liscense.  I spent a year fixing it up and driving it to make sure it would be ok for him knowing he wouldn't have any money for gas or fuel and I would end up paying for that too.  It was getting 54 mpg back then, a 1980 Rabbit base model 4 door.  He had it 2 weeks and destroyed it and then destroyed mine that I got later on that year for myself too.  When Rodney said I could have the 81 4 years ago I thought, "This thing needs so much work that I really shouldn't even bother with it and at the time if I had known just one third of the money I've spent on it I'd never have gotten it then but I'm glad I did and everyday I drive it or every problem I have with it is an adventure to me.  I've learned a lot about diesels and still am now that I'm in the turbo world now and I especialy love driving on the Interstate especialy on the mountains passing people and they look like they're thinking, " How is that old thing able to do that", and it's getting pretty close within 2 miles per gal what my boss's 2009 TDI Jetta gets but it will run circles around mine if he wanted to.  I  think the bottom line is if you can have something like this as a hobby and it will not interfere with a persons bill paying or creating family problems then by all means do it, the only problem is there is always a better deal right around the corner most of the time.  A person needs to be able to do what makes them feel good which usualy is what their talents are to be able to feel good and this is way cheaper than Doctors, medicine and Psychiatrists althouth people that know us think we need one

[lovinthedeez]

I bought mine sitting behind some tweakers trailer after responding to an ad in the paper for "random vw parts".  it sat for three or four years because it had a leaky sunroof.  got it for 400 bucks (he wanted 1000)  i don't regret it at all.  and now the motor lives in my jetta. I'm a cheapskate, and i never poured much money into it, but it turned out okay for me; i guess.  depends on your neediness level. 
check out the link
 http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3820857

lowball him.  If it runs good, that motor and everything else that is there, is worth it at least in my opinion.

[79rabbit4dr]

It needs a good bit of work. The starter is bad the ignition needs replaced. Needs struts and a ton of interior work. Now it does run pretty good. he drives it to work and what not. He wants $700 for it. Body is clean and rust free. does it sound like a decent deal?

Spend a little more and buy mine... Seriously! Exterior is great. Interior is amazing. Gets 42MPG, and comes with a parts car you could sell and make back half the cost of the cars.   I'm getting a family car ('04 1.8T jetta wagon) and can't afford to take out a loan and insure both. I just put in ARP head studs and replaced the water pump and belts. I also have to sell my toyota pickup for this wagon but it'll be nicer for car seats, traveling to Seattle (family) etc...

http://www.vwdiesel.net/forum/index.php?topic=19791.0

Seriously consider it, i've got a few locals looking at it this weekend but nobody has handed me cash yet, and I'd really like someone who appreciates vw's to own it and take good care of it.

Good luck with whatever you do!  

[allsierra123]

I am making payments on it. So Its no biggie. I am probably not going to end up using it for long and after my van is done I will start playing around with it. I  wish it were turbo. eventually it will be my work/ maybe autocross rig. It may not ever be the fastest but I enjoy going out and running the courses anyway.

[maxfax]

Buy it now for $700.. Throw a few hundred into it, and wait for the next spike in gas prices..  Then sell it for crazy profit..
I couldn;t believe what people were paying for crappy Jettas and Rabbits last summer..  That was a big reason for selling Franken Bunny (And I was sick of the leaky sunroof)..

 I bought 2 81 Rabbit 4 doors for $400..  Mixed and matched till I had a decent running car.. Interior wasn't great, exterior needed paint & some dent repair, but no rust and it ran okay for unknown milage.. With the 2 parts cars (one of which I still am canibalizing) and parts I had to buy I had around $800 in it.. I drove it 2 years and sold it for a grand last August...

Oh but it gets better.... The dumbass who bought it rattle canned it black and tore out the back seat to install subs and amps..  With 200lbs of crap in the black he did nothing but complain how slow it was.. He needed some quick cash so he traded it for $500 and a crapped out Taurus month later (Stereo sill in the car). THe buddy ran it 2 weeks and it wouldn;t start one cold morning..  I saw it sitting in a yard with a for sale sign last weekend.. I stopped and asked about it, the guy wants $100 bucks for it w/o the stereo..  Oh yeah, the glow plug fuse is blown... 

[8v-of-fury]

THe buddy ran it 2 weeks and it wouldn;t start one cold morning..  I saw it sitting in a yard with a for sale sign last weekend.. I stopped and asked about it, the guy wants $100 bucks for it w/o the stereo..  Oh yeah, the glow plug fuse is blown... 

Did you buy it back? i would have.. another $400 in to it and sell it for another 1000-1300 lol

[maxfax]

I paid the doofus, hitched it to the Crown Vic and drug it home today..  I felt it best not to replace the fuse and drive it till the title is transferred to me tomorrow..

Now to find some decent interior parts to swap in and wait for gas prices to skyrocket again.. 

[8v-of-fury]

Now to find some decent interior parts to swap in and wait for gas prices to skyrocket again.. 

You Sir, are in fact a connoisseur