1987 Volkswagen Rabbit

GTI 8V Hatchback

4 - Cyl.

Manual

1VWDB0177HV003531

Clear

Gasoline

Since many of you will be bidding on this based on my opinion and on my credibility I would like to tell you a few things about me. I have bought several cars through Ebay and I have only had one bad experience and that was my first one. The ad had very little detail and I didn't ask any questions. Since then I buy only when I know for sure what I am getting and I have been very happy with the other purchases. I have sold several vehicles through ebay and have received great feedback. I did however receive negative feedback on a 26 year old RV that when driven back home by the new owners had a faulty voltage regulator and a water pump that broke in the middle of their 1200 mile trip home. The buyer stated on their feedback that it should be looked at by a third party and that I have minimal mechanical knowledge. I cannot tell the future and could not know those items would break after several hundred miles of driving. I still maintain my credibility and would suggest anyone get a third party check on a vehicle or parts. I had up to this point a 100 percent feedback. That negative feedback docked my percentage for one year and I am happy to say it is back up to 100 percent again. Please if you do not feel comfortable bidding then do not bid or get someone else to view it for you.. I have even had independent people look at the vehicles for the purchaser and those are usually the people who end up winning the bid because they have told me it was exactly as described. If I don't mention a detail that you would like to know about then please ask me and I will get the info to you. This is a NO RESERVE AUCTION. There is no Buy it Now. I started this auction very low, much lower then what it is worth. I do this because I am confident it will get to a respectable selling price. I also don’t find it much fun bidding on something that has a reserve and not knowing if the vehicle will actually sell. So now everyone knows this will sell to whoever bids the highest. Much more fun this way and I think it caters to the serious buyers. What you are looking at is a very nice and very original 1987 VW GTI 8V. This was I think Motortrends car of the year in 1985 and was considered on of the top vehicles produced. This is a very fun car. These were called Hot Hatch cars. They were light weight, handled well and had suprising acceleration. This is an unmolested example of a great car. The suspension has not been dropped and no one has put a loud muffler on it. It is essentially the way the designers put it out to the public. Very clean and very nice. This has been well taken care of. This is one of the 8V models and not the 16V. There are positives for both. The positive for the 8V is that they were much less prone to problems. They had a little less horsepower but they were more reliable. This is a great handling car and it is so much fun to drive. It is practical and gets very good gas mileage. This is a 2 door model and still has good room for people or luggage since the back seat folds flat. If you are looking for a MK2 version then this is likely one of the best ones you will find. You will not have to wonder what modifications have been done to it and try to figure out how to service it with those mods since this is stock. And, if you want to mod it out some you would be the one knowing what you are doing to it. The body of this VW is in very nice shape. There is no evidence of any accidents. The body panels all line up great. The paint is in overall very nice shape and shines very nicely. The photos I took were after a high pressure wash when it was 20 degrees out. I wanted it to be clean but I did not want it to be wet since that tends to be a trick people use to make the car look nicer. So, after washing it I drove around for a few miles to try to dry the car off before taking photos. Well, most of the water came off but the rest froze in little beads. The cars body and paint is in very nice shape. There are a few small door dings but no dents. There is one small spot of rust that is just starting and I took a photo of it. This is the ONLY rust on the car. It is not rusted through so it could easily be caught right now. There are surprisingly very few chips from road debris and I suspect there might have been a bra on the car since it is in such nice shape. There is no hail damage. The sunroof has a very tight seal and as I stated earlier, I washed the car with a high pressure wand and no water came inside. The car does not rattle or squeek. The body is simply in very nice shape. Look at the photographs closely and see for yourself. All windows are in great shape with no cracks and no chips. The grill is in perfect shape. The headlights are in great shape. All lenses are in great shape. The outside mirrors are great. The car has fog lights that work as they should. All exterior lights operate as they should. The bumpers are straight. The red pinstripe is still bright. There are a few photographs that look like there are scratches on the paint but I assure you it is just the frozen water from the car wash. All window seals are nice and tight. The wipers are all good including the rear wiper. All wheels are in very good shape with no curb rash. The air dams are in good shape and are not cracked or warped. The wheel wells are in good shape as well as the wheel well mouldings. The doors open and close very nice and do not sag or rattle. The rear hatch does not stay up in the cold so they could likely use new hatch shocks (not suspension shocks, those are good). All of the body panels line up evenly. I do not know if the car has ever been painted but it sure is nice. It is not perfect but it is very very nice. The passenger door has several small paint chips from door dings that has been repaired with a paint stick but still in good shape. You would not need to do anything to this to have a very nice looking presentable car. Just catch that one rust spot now since it is only surface and you will be good for years to come. The drive train of this car is rather uninteresting to talk about because it just runs very good. It starts right up and runs strong. The motor leaks about half a cup of oil every 3000 miles. It is not messy under the car or in your driveway. It just has a small leak. Again this is not a messy motor. Engine has no strange noises. It is very quick for a natrally aspirated motor. The tranny is a manual 5 speed and it shifts great. The clutch is tight. There are no odd noises in the front driveline. This simply is a get in and drive it anywhere car. The exhaust system is clean and quiet. The alternator keeps the car charged. It does not overheat. The battery is strong and is a name brand (Interstate). The Air Conditioner works good. The heater works good. The suspesion is tight and firm. It goes around corners flat. The brakes are strong and have plenty of life in them. The shocks soak up the bumps as they should. There is no sag and the vehicle sits level. The windshield washer pumps both work. There is no smell of burning oil. Again, this is simply a get in it and drive it car with no issues that I can think of. The emergency brake holds the car just as it should. There is no play in the shifting of the tranny. The steering is good with no excessive play. The tires would need to be replaced soon. I was going to do this myself however it is probably better for the new owner to do so since they will know what driving conditions that want the tires to perform in. I would have bought snow tires if I were keeping it and you might live in Florida so I figure it will be your choice on the tires. The tires are worn evenly though and are safe to drive but it is an expense you should understand you will be paying for in the next few months. It has a spare tire that holds air. It has the jack and wheel tools. The underside is not rusty. The interior of this is in mostly very good shape with a few things showing wear. The items showing wear would be the driver front seat bolster on the outside of the seat. The seat still has plenty of support but the cover would need to be repaired. I do not think the whole seat needs repair just repair the area where it is worn through with new material. The driver door interior panel has some wear low where a person likley put their foot on it to open the door. Other then that the intior is in very nice shape. You can tell this was a well taken care of car given the mileage and the condition. The carpet is in nice shape but the factory VW driver side floormat is worn. Get a new one and you are in good shape. As I said the actual carpet is in good shape. The dash is in great shape. The gauges are all clear and work well. This has the little trip computer that tells the outside temp., MPG, time, average MPH, Miles and Oil Temp information and it all works flawlessly. The horn works. The wipers work both front and rear. I do believe there is an "upshift" light, if so it does not work. Then again I always thought those were annoying little gadgets. The heater controls work great and change the air flow where you direct it too. The radio is an aftermarket CD player. It works fine but it appears that it was hooked up to an amplifier and probably a bass speaker system at one point but it is no longer. The radio still works though but there are extra wires at the back of the car if you ever wanted to hook up better quality speakers. The ashtray is clean and there is no evidence of a smoker owning ths car. The steering wheel tilts. The cigarette lighter works, so you can hook up your charging units to your phone if you needed to. All of the heater vents are in good shape with no cracks. The dash has no cracks. The turn signals turn off when you straighten out the wheel just as they should. The glove box opens and closes good. The shifter boot is in good shape. The seats move forward and back smoothly. They both fold for easy access to the rear. The windows are manual and roll up and down good. Speaking of windows, there is no excessive wind noise as the seals are still in nice shape. The mirrors both have remote access on the doors and operate well. The interior lights work just as they should. The sunroof opens and closes nicely. The headliner is in very nice shape. The rear seats and passenger front seat is in great shape. The package tray in the back is in nice shape. The rear carpet area is in nice shape. The plastic interior pieces are nice. The doors lock and unlock like they should. The seatbelts all operate well. The passenger door panel is in very nice shape. The sunvisors are in great shape. Overall the interior is very nice. Those who will ask about the MPG. I think the factory rating was lower then what I have been getting. I average anywhere between 32.2 and 39.5 MPG. This is very good for a nice little sporty car. I do think most GTI owners get in the high 20s though. I am not sure why I get this good but these are real numbers and it is not because of the gears being off or anything silly like that. These are the real numbers. If you are looking for a very economical vehicle to drive and something you can drive safely then this is it. This is easy to work on and the parts are cheap. Insurance is cheap. There is a lot of room inside the car. The other nice thing about this car is that it is done going down in value and will likely go up in value if taken care of especially when gas prices go higher and higher. Whatever you spend on this car today it will likely be worth the same in a year or ten. Newer vehicles are still going down in value. So if you are looking to get the best for your money this might be the car for you or your new driver in the family. I usually rate the cars I sell on the following. 1. A car I would trust my wife to drive across the state at night by herself. 2. A car I would drive across the state with a minor tool kit and minimal mechanical knowledge. 3. A car that should be trailered. This car fits into catagory 1. Of course I would suggest if you are uncomfortable that you should have someone locally look at it for you if you are bidding from a distance away. I dont see anything that this car needs to be a daily driver. The car is located in Rapid City SD. This is a fantastic time to visit this area if you are buying this car. You can see Mount Rushmore and Crazyhorse Monument. You could fly into our airport and drive home. If you are local and would like to view the car please let me know. Also, ask any questions you might have prior to bidding. I am serious about selling so please be serious about bidding and buying. This is a NO RESERVE AUCTION. Highest bidder will take this car home. I am not interested in a trade. Payment will be 500 dollar paypal deposit. The remainder is to be made within 7 days of auction end. I will accept the remainder in cash or certified cashiers check. Also I will accept the full amount in Paypal but if I am charged a fee for it I will pass that fee on to you. I will assist in getting the car to a shipper but I will not get quotes for you. I may trailer the car for a price to Sioux Falls if that would help you but that needs to be arranged ahead of time and is not a condition of sale unless we agree to it. Please have fun with the auction.