Hi, Mark-
Yes, and it's the way it goes for me, routinely. Most of the last ten
or so cars I've owned came to me cheaply and without my looking for a car.
Our Wisconsin winters are no respecters of bodywork or appearance, either.
Owning semi-beater quality cars means that I don't really feel bad about
continuing to drive them when the weather sucks. So, it's -10F (say, -22
or -23C), snowing, and the roads are bad? Good steering, good brakes,
reliable car, what's the problem? Salt covers everything? The car I drive
already has rust, so it's not like I'm responsible for it developing new
brown spots. I've already considered the idea of holding the '85 for good
weather driving - in a year or so it'll be eligible for collector's plates.
Has quite a few body dings from adjacent parked car doors, but nothing
serious anywhere. Could be worth some $ to bring up to excellent
condition...
I have not put a battery into the car, nor tried to turn the engine
over. Wind chills getting down to -35 or -40F aren't worth the effort.
More snow tonight and tomorrow. I'm in no hurry. I'll probably swap in the
'86 engine, and THEN do the tear-down on this one. For that price, I don't
even CARE what's wrong with the engine, unless it turns out to be something
completely superficial that I can easily repair, in which case I'll be even
happier with the deal!
Ron
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Reda" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 10:41 PM
Subject: Re: [a2-16v-list] Another car, though no 16v engine
> Ron,
> That's a great story.
> Its kinda funny how we come across our cars and how we take them in.
> So, what's was that noise? Does it need a new engine?
>
> I guess its in great shape being from Cali. Unfortunately our Canadian
> winters aren't very nice to our cars. By the time winter is over our cars
> look old and ugly. Our roads are heavily salted, it's amazing what 1
winter
> can do to a car.
> It saddens me to see people driving their 911's around in this weather
too.
>
> Mark.
> Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Darner" <[email protected]>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 11:27 PM
> Subject: [a2-16v-list] Another car, though no 16v engine
>
>
> Gentlemen:
> I bought yet another VW last week. A guy came to the door of my barn,
> where
> a friend & I were putting new hooks onto a tow chain. Guy says, "Steve?"
> and we chorus "He's in the house; what do you need?" [Steve is my older
> son]. Guy says that so-and-so told him that this might be the place to
sell
> off a VW that he had (I recognized so-&-so's name, and my friend actually
> knows him, so we were off to a fair start). He'd bought this car, sight
> unseen, after being told that it had problems, but ran. Had it flatbedded
a
> hundred miles, then found out that the engine made horrible noises. He
> GUESSED that it might be a bad piston, so went to the dealer to try to buy
> one. Of course, they sell only sets, and he got discouraged, letting it
sit
> at his father-in-law's house. Didn't open the engine, not even pull the
> sparkplugs, so doubt that he knows more than the fact that it makes bad
> noises. F-I-L wanted it moved, didn't want to be snowplowing around it
all
> winter, so the guy wanted to get $100 out of it (half what he paid, not
> counting shipping costs). Told me that if I was interested, take a look,
> and take it away; he knew where I lived, so wasn't worried about the car
(or
> me) disappearing. Buddy & I went over, looked it over, and hooked up my
tow
> bar and a light bar that plugs into trailer harness. Decided that my S10
> wasn't the answer, so got Steve to tow it home with his Cherokee (snow on
> the roads & two-wheel-drive were NOT a good idea!). I paid up Monday.
Got
> a Carfax yesterday from a friend at work. Totally clean title, no damage
> reports, ever, no lemon laws, no recalls, no stolen car, etc., etc. Spent
> its life in California (San Rafael) & Las Vegas, NV. Passed emissions
year
> after year, has had just two owners (registered, since the guy I got it
from
> never registered it), has been in a dry climate its entire lifetime [no
> rust!], and 104,000 miles on odometer is for real. Mind you, this is a
1985
> GTI (8 valve), mostly very clean, though driver's seat cover is shredded -
> very common for them. And, I have a friend in Milwaukee with a 1986 8v
GTI
> engine awaiting a new home ever since his car was struck from behind a few
> years back. I'll give him back a $75 check for money he owed me, plus
> another $75, and I've got a perfect-fit engine that I know was excellent
> when removed, and has had fogging oil and been turned over every month or
> two. Such a deal, eh?
> I keep telling my wife that I don't look for cars; they come and find
> me. Here's another one! I wouldn't have found it if I'd looked. It was
on
> a road I haven't been on in at least five years, and behind a house, out
of
> sight. Even when we went there, it was so snow-covered that there was no
> clue as to what version Golf it was, nor did the rust-free status show.
Of
> course, there was no For Sale sign, either. Yet, it found me, despite the
> fact that I was inside of a barn, behind a house, on my own property, and
> I'd never met the owner of the car.
> "Typical" I call it!
>
> Ron
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