'87 GTI for teen daughter?

[Tim Hancock]

Just looked at an '87 VW GTI. 120,000 miles, no rust, new brakes, wheel bearings, clean interior, new Kuhmos and ARE "Fiske looking" type wheels (stock wheels are to be included). Asking price was $1500. Are these things reliable? My other teen daughter drives my old 924 and I was considering picking up another NA 924 or 944 for daughter #2 but this GTI looks to be cheap and needs no work.
Seems like a good German built teen car that if wrecked, will not be a great loss!

Anyone know this era GTI?

[RallyJon]

If it's been well maintained and not hacked by a broke teenage boy previous owner (like most VWs unfortunately) it should be reliable. Is she a good, alert driver though? A GTI has almost no passive safety--ABS, airbags, crash protection, etc.--so she better be ready to avoid trouble at all times. Not a description I would give to most teenage girls...

Actual quote from my sister at age 16: "The deer just, like, jumped on the hood."

[widebody911]

Sounds like a good trade.

[Tim Hancock]

Well, she is better than the average teen girl when it comes to driving/operating vehicles but this one has a little more attitude than daughter #1. I know it sounds awful, but I am not too concerned with the whole airbag/side curtain thing (I grew up riding in cars that had lap belts tucked away between the cushions) !

Actually, would an '87 at least have drivers side airbag? This car, based on where it parks, is probably adult owned and it has one SCCA sticker on the back window. Everything else besides the wheels, looks stock. Oh well, I guess for $1500 it will not be too big of a deal if it turns into a lemon.

[RallyJon]

VWs didn't have airbags until the Golf 3 came out in m.y. '95. They took the budget way out with those electric sliding shoulder belts which are worse than normal seatbelts. But I think 1987 pre-dates even those--it should have normal seatbelts.

If you can find one, how about an early Golf 3? Huge improvements in every way over the Golf 2s.

[Tim Hancock]

I might just do that Jon. I have not been actively looking, because my wife is tiring of her 325i w/ 250,000 miles on it. She wants a newer bimmer, so the daughters may just end up sharing the 325 and the 924, but even with 250,000 the bimmer is a very nice car still and I kind of wince at the thought of letting my girls park it in their HS parking lot. I just saw this GTI on the way home from work and it seemed like maybe a good idea.

My daughters go to a rural school where all the other kids drive big pickups and crapmeros, so my daughters get off on driving "German sports cars".

[Geronimo '74]

Good deal, but not for a teenager.

[Vin-barrett]

I had a whole bunch of generation 2 VW's.
What RallyJon has to say is all on the money, just a couple add's
In 1987 there were both 8 valve and 16valve GTI's.

Things to look at are:

Front motor mounts- They wear out quite quickly and when they go bad the engine rocks far enough to break the cat-exhaust manifold seal. Easy fix for 8V. If the car is a 16V it will be a bit pricey as you will most likely have to purchase a new downpipe.

Timing belt on 16V. When they break pistons hit the valves.
The 8V will just spin if it breaks. No interferance.
Easy timing belt replacement- 16V's can be done in under an hour for sure.

16V distributer- It's mounted sideways right off the cam and the oilseal leaks soaking the distributer. Easy fix.

8V distributer- Make sure the Hall effect sensor isn't cracked off and held on with a zip tie

Shifter linkage. Just like a 911. Do the bushings and adjust correctly. Lot's of old VW's shift sloppy. Also you should have to push the lever down to get in reverse. If you dont have to the PO hamfisted it and broke a little 2dollar clip under the shifter. (easy fix)

Synchros, in the trans. Sometimes shift a lil crunchy, especially 1-2 gear.

An 87 GTI should have rear disc brakes. Make sure they're not seized, they often are.

If the car idle's a bit rough see if the dipstick collar is broken. Owners often overlooked that.

Is the floor wet? The plastic sheet behind the doorpanel is gone or ripped.

I know I'm forgetting alot but generally these are good reliable cars but in no way a "put gas and forget" kinda car

Here was my favorite 87 GTI

[wludavid]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
so the daughters may just end up sharing the 325 and the 924, but even with 250,000 the bimmer is a very nice car still and I kind of wince at the thought of letting my girls park it in their HS parking lot.

IMO, the car you know is better than a car you don't know. If you buy the GTI for $1500 and it turns out to need work, you really don't know when to call it quits since you don't know the car. You've had your BMW for awhile it seems, so you have a feeling for what it costs to maintain.

Besides, in reading this thread, I was about to recommend a '90 or '91 325i or 318i. They're solidly built, have ABS and driver airbag, and a wealth of information and aftermarket parts. If kept in good shape, there's even a chance they won't go lower in value than they are now.

Also, you may have grown up with fewer safety features, but there is a lot more disparity in car sizes these days. I wouldn't feel comfortable putting my daughter (if I had one) in a car that weighs 2500 lbs and no passive safety features on the road with soccer moms in 5000-lb monsters. I don't mean to be a fearmonger, but that's the way I see it. Hell, I get nervous that my (older) sister is driving a 2800-lb corolla. YMMV

[yellowline]

Go the 944 route.

Definitely safe, keep in the Porsche family, has enough power to get out of its own way, plus you can probably pick up a decent one for $3k.

I looked at an E30 325 before the 944 (both same asking price). If it wasn't rotting, it would've been a tough choice. A big plus for a 944 is the galvanizing. You'll have the car for awhile, assuming she's careful. Not so sure about the VWs and older BMWs.

[wludavid]

Originally posted by yellowline
If it wasn't rotting, it would've been a tough choice. A big plus for a 944 is the galvanizing. You'll have the car for awhile, assuming she's careful. Not so sure about the VWs and older BMWs.

E30's were all galvanized. Well, all but the first coupla years anyway, I think. There are areas where they will rust though, and no car is immune.

[Vin-barrett]

How bout a VW with a 944 drivetrain?

[yellowline]

Originally posted by wludavid
E30's were all galvanized. Well, all but the first coupla years anyway, I think. There are areas where they will rust though, and no car is immune.

It was an 87, and there was a good bit of rot under the left front fender. Just not a good feeling.

My 944, though a FL car for almost 20 years, has no rot. Tiny bit of rust on the left front fender, where the wheel kicked up sand and salt all winter on bare metal. I'll get around to it.

Since she won't be driving to school in major snowfalls, I see no reason why it couldn't be a good car for a responsible kid who lives in a northern state.

[yellowline]

I like that VW/944. Must be a little rocket!

[Tim Hancock]

Thanks for the responses guys, I will try to test drive it today. (Funny, #2 thinks she is getting my 951, which I am currently repainting, for her 16th birthday in December. She probably is not going to be too happy if she ends up with a Golf instead. This might be fun!)

[wludavid]

Originally posted by yellowline
It was an 87, and there was a good bit of rot under the left front fender. Just not a good feeling.

My 944, though a FL car for almost 20 years, has no rot. Tiny bit of rust on the left front fender, where the wheel kicked up sand and salt all winter on bare metal. I'll get around to it.

Since she won't be driving to school in major snowfalls, I see no reason why it couldn't be a good car for a responsible kid who lives in a northern state.

I've got a little rust in the trunk where the spare tire tools sit. It's something I should fix. But like you, it's something I'll get around to. My '87 e30 has been a VA car its whole life and while ugly, has no real structural issues.

[notfarnow]

Love the shirt on this guy:

[Superman]

I'm looking for a car for daughter #1 who is a good driver, but I am wanting air bags. I think they stop people from dying in head-on collisions and collisions with ummovable objects. Nothing had air bags in the '80's. By the mid-'90's they all did. My daughter has always liked German cars the best (she's a smart girl). I like them too. The 16-valve units are especially fun to drive.

[Tim Hancock]

My '87 951 actually has airbags.

[notfarnow]

You guys must've gotten airbags before us folks in the great white north. My VW is a 96 and it doesn't have them.