Prices have been creeping up on ghis for some time. Even the "nice ones" require a very hard look over as apparently the definition of nice is vague. I'd vote for one with mechanical issues over body issues but that's just me.
Prices have been creeping up on ghis for some time. Even the "nice ones" require a very hard look over as apparently the definition of nice is vague. I'd vote for one with mechanical issues over body issues but that's just me.
LanEvo,
That's all too true. Same thing has happened to E36 M3's, many are total beaters now. Well, that's happened to lots of expensive German performance/luxury cars. They depreciate to the level where people can afford to buy them but not afford to maintain them.
I check my local craigslist for 190 Cosworth's daily. Local PCA'er had one as his DD, I should've bought it when it came up for sale this summer.
So what are the chances of finding one with good paint and body? I would say slim, at best.
Go check it out. If it's mechanically clean and rust free it may be your only chance to find a decent one.
I absolutely love MKII GTIs. I've owned 4, but all were 8Vs. I would still have my 91 I bought from the original owner if I was able to properly store it for prosperity.
docwyte wrote: That's all too true. Same thing has happened to E36 M3's, many are total beaters now. Well, that's happened to lots of expensive German performance/luxury cars. They depreciate to the level where people can afford to buy them but not afford to maintain them.
At least with the E36 M3 they made a million of them. You can still find clean, adult-owned examples. I'm not sure if that's possible with cars like the MkII GTI anymore.
docwyte wrote: I check my local craigslist for 190 Cosworth's daily. Local PCA'er had one as his DD, I should've bought it when it came up for sale this summer.
The 190E 16v is tricky. They were only sold for 1.5 model years (late-'86 through the end of '87). Something like 2500 were imported in total. Somewhere between a third and a half were automatic, which ruins the car. And about half were in that awful shade of "astral silver," which is actually more of a bronze. That means you have fewer than 1000 in the combination that everyone wants: black with manual transmission. It's getting harder and harder to find a decent example.
About 6 years ago when I started building my 16v project car, you could find a very clean black/manual 16v for $7-10k. Rough exampled were $3-5k and truly pristine examples might jut top $10k. For example, there was a California car with 25k miles, single-owner (who was a Mercedes tech), black/manual, and perfect condition in and out. It sold for $12k and we all thought that was nuts!
Now, there's a clean (but not perfect) black/manual on ebay with a BIN of $40k.
Better buy soon!
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk/contents
Haven't read the article from this U.K. mag but it might be enough of a 'noodge'. 
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk/contents
p.65 not p.4
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