OT, VW Rabbit convertible/Cabrio's
 

Anybody know anything about mid 80's-early 90's VW convertibles? I just bought a 1992 for my daughter and am looking at a 1987 for my son...what should I look for ? Common problems?

I tried several VW forums, but the people on there all seem to be, well, young, and use slang and weird spellings that make me feel like an out-of-place dinosaur.

We used to have a '85 convertible with over half a million miles, it passed smog with flying colors when we sold it.

I bought an '85 cab new, sold it with about 80k miles three years later. The only real problem was the clutch; I replaced it once and the next on was in sight when I sold it. Might have been my driving style, might have been commuting 70 miles a day through LA traffic.

It had the old Rabbit GTI engine, 90 horsepower (my God, now I wouldn't even buy a motorcycle with 90 hp), it was fine for normal driving, but you could definitely feel the effect when the AC compressor kicked in. For an engine that size, mileage was okay but not spectacular - right around 25 mpg, and highway driving didn't seem to change that.

Get leather or vinyl if you can, the stock cloth was crap and started tearing pretty early, but I drove with the top down most of the time, so it was getting beaten up by the sun. Finally, since the top folds into an external lump in the back (similar to the old Beetle convertbiles), if you don't use the tonneau cover (and nobody does, it takes a few minutes to install) the vinyl headliner, which was always white iirc no matter which color car you had, got filthy and was pretty hard to clean. Note that there's very little trunk room, though I think the rear seats fold down. Interior is surprisingly roomy, I'm a big guy and I was always comfortable.

Aside from the clutch, those are all fairly minor issues. It was a really fun car, and I enjoyed it a lot for the period that I owned it.

I hope I can teach my kids some basic mechanical stuff on small, simple cars. I did notice that every one I have test driven steers straight, but the steering wheel is not centered, and they were all WAY off, enough that just looking at it while I drove would make me nuts.

I bought one, am on the lookout for another, the trick is that the son thinks that most cabriolets are fruity, unless you get a really masculine color, whatever that is. I guess a 3-way black would pass muster with him.

I hesitate to jump in here, Dave, but what about image?

That's important to a great extent when you are young- does he want one of these?

Those cabrios are pretty good cars, but often associated with sorority girls in the mind of some, and unfortunately, with gays in the minds of some others.

If he-and you- are inclined have you guys considered a GTi?

What about a used Mustang convertible or a car like that?

I would no more put that kid in a Mustang than fly to the moon! He has ADD so badly that it's a wonder he can remember how to get home from school. The thought of that hormone-riddled kid with a V8 makes me ill. I don't mean to sound negative, but he is a bit difficult to deal with.

If I could get a SAAB 900 or GTI/Golf/Jetta that would work for me, I'll pick his brain and see what he thinks in the AM.

He and his buddies are more intersted in ski boats than cars, at least during the summer.

Yeah but put them in passing gear and they sound like a vacuum cleaner.

..or a slant six Dodge Dart, with a rusty muffler.

How about a Volvo? Safe, slow enough, and durable. I mean a 240 or 740 sedan with a b230 motor, not a turbo or 850 model.