Young guy old Rabbit - very upset...

[Monomer]

I bought this rabbit around Christmas.


It was a garage kept car, with very little rust for it's age; something you don't see here in MI very often.

I bought it for $1600 - it was to be a daily driver to and from work. It only got this high of a price because it's 5 speed and a 1.6. I had my mechanic, my personal double ASE master mechanic take a look, and most everything wrong with it was simple (about $400 in repairs)


man, was I wrong.


I've dumped nearly $2500 in parts/labor in her already. Everything you could think of had some form of problem.




Today, the heatercore decided to burst - just what I needed. This car makes my Mercedes (which has twice the miles on it) look like heaven.

[idhoho]

So.... you bought an old VW diesel Rabbit knowing that you can't work on it yourself and didn't plan to learn. You relied on a mechanic for assessment of the vehicle. Let me ask you: did you get the same ASE MASTER to do the $2500 work? Yes you say? I thought so. Hmmmm. I think there is a pattern developing

Sorry for your trouble. Good luck on the remedy!

[Monomer]

So.... you bought an old VW diesel Rabbit knowing that you can't work on it yourself and didn't plan to learn. You relied on a mechanic for assessment of the vehicle. Let me ask you: did you get the same ASE MASTER to do the $2500 work? Yes you say? I thought so. Hmmmm. I think there is a pattern developing

Sorry for your trouble. Good luck on the remedy!

I've done tons of work on it myself. $800 of that is work I had him do - He's worked on a few hundered rabbits (and has a heated garage)

It's always good to have a second set of eyes to look it over.



I've learned plenty about the car, more than I wish a should have. oh - and 25 years isn't old...far from it.

[ahistand]

Honestly, if you know much about old cars, and sorry, but yes a 25 year old Rabbit is an old car, then you shouldn't have been the least bit surprised to find it to need $2500 worth of work especially if some of that money went to pay a mechanic. I mean think about it....all the car's systems will need to be gone through, unless someone has been updating it throughout its life, which is highly unlikely knowing the type person which has typically driven these type vehicles over the years. No offense guys....dont take that the wrong way, but its the truth. I think we are in a uncommon time for the old VW's (especially diesels) because they are becoming valued more for their usefulness and collectability by a different breed of people. So, nowadays, the Rabbits that are on the road tend to be fairly well maintained. I would say that this was not the case 10 to 15 years ago.
So you got one that hadn't been maintained, now your the lucky soul that has to bring it back up to snuff so to speak. Sorry, but that's the way it goes for these old buggers. And dont forget....this car was never built anywhere near as well as your Mercedes.....thats why your VW is a VW and your Mercedes is a Mercedes. It was an economical, very lightly built car back then, and still is i'm afraid. Hopefully after your cash outlay it is ready for the road.

[Greenmachine]

A rant? So you're pissed at your rabbit. Here are some positive/sympathetic thoughts:

1) When you're done fixing everything (or having it fixed) you'll have a "new" rabbit!

2) What other car will get you 50 mpg for the price? Not the Benz.

3) You could always sell it and make most or all of your money back on ebarf, where people pay exorbitant prices for old VW diesels - may want to fix the heater core first.

[82vdub]

Sorry to hear about your expensive repairs. Diesels are expensive to fix when they break, but typically, you get a lot longer lifespan out of them once done. The fact is that any used car can do this to someone, or then could be the best purchase one could find. You never, ever know, and the same holds true for a car you've had for years. You never know when it's going to start costing you some good money to fix and never know when it'll stop, if it does.

Last year I had to have my injector pump rebuilt, and I redid the timing belt, rebuilt injectors etc. Put about $1200 into the car. Then, over the last year, I've probably pulled the injectors out about 4 times, but only pulled them out likely once in the previous 6 years. So, it's anyone's guess when and where something will happen, but it sure sucks.

However, you have just happened to find one of the best VW help sites on the net. Sit back, watch, read, and learn.

What all did you have to do to the car besides the heater core?

[CoolAirVw]

Ah, the rant. Very valid of course.

But listen up, welcome to the world of old vehicles. You dive in to fix one thing and you find 5 more things to fix. As you fix each of those 5 things, you find 5 more things to fix. On goes this pattern till it slows down to 3 things to fix and then you find 3 more things , then the pattern slows when you fix something and there's nothing else to fix because you've allready fixed it all.

Lets not forget about the famous "while I'm in there scenario".

While I'm putting those mounts, head gasket and clutch in there I'd better bore the cylinders, put in new intermediate shaft bearings, get rod bearings, valve job, oil pump, trans front seal and bushing ect ect ect...


for example....When I finished my 5 month engine rebuild, immediatly my injection pump started leaking.

Just dont get yourself into a car payment and instead use that "monthly payment" to repair a economical (read Good MPG) car. Commit yourself to learning and buying tools and dont be afraid to dive in.

[Fatmobile]

then you find 3 more things , then the pattern slows when you fix something and there's nothing else to fix because you've allready fixed it all.

Then you start modding things
Glow plug light in the dash that actually tells you when the glow plugs have power, manual rad fan switch and hey even a light to tell you when the fan is on, coolant level and overheat warning light, TURBO.

I think this point touches about all of us. I've paid too much for a Rabbit. Guy said he rebuilt the engine,.. he reringed it and stuck a sloppy loose used head on it.
I've pretty much resigned myself to getting cheap or free non-running Rabbits and going completely through them.
Really if you'd have gotten a cheap non-runner, $2500 wouldn't be too bad to invest. It's the $1600 starting price that nailed you.

[woodrat]

I've never bought a car with a bank loan, and in the last twenty-five years, have had over 70 different old/used vehicles. Sometimes they turn out to be real losers, like the 60 international 4WD truck I paid $2000 for and drove for about a month before it died, and I couldn't get any parts for it. Sometimes they turn out to be super awesome, like the 82 tercel I paid $300 for, drove everywhere for a year and then sold for $250, or the jetta carat I paid $700 for, put a new starter and windshield in it and drove it for 22,000 miles before the tranny broke. It had 250k on it when I bought it!

Right now, I am getting ready to put a cylinder head on the $300, 135k, 89 diesel jetta that I've had sitting around for a year.

The trick is to get them cheap enough that you can afford to fix them up, or walk away from them if they really go bad.

It is unfortunate what happened to the diesel VW prices in the last couple of years. Way back when these rabbits were a lot younger, I never paid more than $350 for a diesel VW. A couple of years ago, I decided I wanted another one, and now that they all have a billion miles on them and all the heads are cracked and loose, everyone wants thousands of dollars for them. I held out and kept looking until I found my $300 jetta, with a broken injector well. I think it will work out nicely.

I have a friend who got sick of looking and paid $4k for a nice quantum TD that was supposedly all fixed up like new. It wasn't.

Hang in there and consider it a lesson well learned.

[Monomer]

yup, I needed to vent.



After driving the GEO around for a week, I want my rabbit back. I'm sure if the 'core went out when YOU were driving and bellowed smoke at you, you'd be a little upset.


The PO "rebuilt" the motor. Judging by the massive amounts of blowby, I'd assume he had no clue what he was doing; but I'll leave that project for summer.

Right now I have to track down a heatercore, and check timing and test the pop pressure/spray pattern of the injectors (and replace the nozzles again - and NOT with bosch india. I could have done a better grinding job by hand on these...)

[Fatmobile]

AC heater core or not?
If it's AC you might want to take a look at my project car "RIP Old Blue".
I cut a holt in the side of the box so I could just pull the heater core out, instead of pulling the dash and box, disconnecting the AC arrrgh.
If non-AC,..... you're on your own

[Monomer]

AC heater core or not?
If it's AC you might want to take a look at my project car "RIP Old Blue".
I cut a holt in the side of the box so I could just pull the heater core out, instead of pulling the dash and box, disconnecting the AC arrrgh.
If non-AC,..... you're on your own

I've read the thread, and plan to do it this way (it does has a/c, but not for long )

I'm trying to find a core locally - no luck. What the "Normal" price on these?



and where would one find an a/c del. bracket? - the PO messed up and broke a couple of mounting bolts - and now the rigged setup keeps snapping bolts...

[VW Jon]

Mercedes-Benz are complicated and expensive. Even the parts for a 20 year old model are high priced. Chain drive oil pump, replaceable sleeves in the block instead of having them cast in. Too many extra parts. No thanks.

[lyeinyoureye]

I've pretty much resigned myself to getting cheap or free non-running Rabbits and going completely through them.

Werd! More wrenching less talking, except about wrenching.

I'm trying to find a core locally - no luck. What the "Normal" price on these?

FWIW, I sold one for $40 shipped.

[Fatmobile]

Those non-AC alternator brackets are often hard to find, especially with the small upper bracket and adjuster bar.
If you look around you might find one for $40 shipped.
I have one but it would take $50 plus shipping to get me to let go of it.