[Vwdiesel] Selling my Rabbit D

[Doyt W. Echelberger]

Opinions requested from the list on setting a price on my 1984 Rabbit 
4speed Diesel Hatchback.

The car is not going to be used by my family anymore, and I am driving an 
85 Jetta TD which I like better than the Rabbit. Odometer reads 107k miles, 
but it stopped in 1994. Probably has 170k on it. I bought it in 1992 
from  a guy in Sandusky, Ohio. His wife had put about 90k on it since new, 
long distance commuting between cities to her job.

So what does it look like?

Interior: Headliner gone, good wool seats and 4-spoke steering wheel from 
82 Jetta. Driver seat could use a few leather patches on seat and back 
bolsters, where driver belt rubbed.

Body: Color Faded Red, rust areas on doors, mostly (not under 
windshield...mostly door corners.) Floorboards replaced with galvanized 
sheet metal. Not a pretty car but straight, sat outside most of its life. 
Left tail light lens broken. See the pics. The front bumper is an inch high 
on the passenger side.
            Doors open, close, locks are OK, windows roll up and down. All 
glass intact without chips or stars, or
            scratches.
            Windshield and its seal   replaced a few years ago. Hood held 
down with racing pins.

Lights, (brights, dims, stops, parks) horn, instruments, wipers, heater 
blower, radio, emergency blinkers all work.

95% tread on one year old tires. About 500 miles on them, and on new pads 
and rotors front. New brakes on rear at same time.

New exhaust last summer, still looks like new metal.

Engine starts easily and runs well, 4 good glow plugs, injector pump OK, 
new water pump last year with new alternator and belt. New coolant hoses 
all around. Glow plug bus bar connections cleaned up last year.

One year old battery, new cable to starter.

Steering and suspension aligned last year, all CVs and tie rod ends, etc 
checked OK.

What does it need?  The new owner will probably need to put in a clutch 
during first year of ownership or maybe very soon, and will choose to 
replace the brake booster cannister. Vaccum pump works and the deal 
includes a good spare vaccum pump that needs diaphragm. The way the brakes 
work now is that you have to push really hard on the pedal to get a full 
stop, and I think it is because the booster is original and just too old. 
The vacum pump pulls good and the brakes are new, so it must be the booster.

The right rear wheel tends to lock up if the car sits for a month. It is as 
though the emergency brake comes on, but that isn't it. If I back up a few 
times against the lockup, it breaks loose and rolls just fine until I park 
it outside for another month or two.

I bought it for my son in 1992 so he could have a car at college. He drove 
it for 8 years and then started driving my 82 Jetta diesel most of the 
time. The Rabbit just sat in the back yard and I kept it up as a plaything. 
It became a hobby. I had 3 diesels most of that time and was considered a 
bit eccentric because no one understood why I liked diesels.  The car has a 
salvage title because in 1994 somebody bumped my son at about 5 miles an 
hour while they were sliding into a snow bank. The front bumper of the 
other car bent the right rear fender and rear door in front of the 
passenger rear tire....in about an inch. The insurance company totalled the 
car because the repairs were about $800 and that was about 80% of the book 
value of the car. So, I bought it back from the insurance company and fixed 
it myself and had to retitle it....inspection and all. Anyhow, that is why 
it has a rebuilt salvage title. Runs out fine, no unusual tire wear, no 
pulling to one side. Passenger rear door closes but binds just a tad at 
very end of closure.

Ebaymotors shows 4 or 5 similar models for about a thousand to fifteen 
hundred. But they look better....garaged, shiny paint, no rust showing.

A neighbor saw it in my yard and said he is interested in buying it and 
running it on an island in Lake Erie where he has a summer home. Wants it 
to run around in on the island when he is there. So, I have to set a price 
on it.

Whadaya think? About a dozen low res pics are available in jpeg if you want 
to see them. I don't have a web site, but will email them to your private 
address as attachments and limit the bandwidth to whatever 
kilobytes/megabytes you say, if bandwidth is a problem.

I'd really appreciate somebody else's opinion.

I figure the injector pump, motor, and tranny are worth at least $400. The 
4 almost new tires on rims are another $100. The new brakes cost me $500 
and the new exhaust was $200. It must be worth about $800, but I know I'm 
eccentric or even a little crazy about diesels, so....talk to me.

Doyt Echelberger in Ohio