Faults:
The seller thought there was a leak in the molding and dropped the price. It turned only to be leaves gathered in the engine well, stopping up water and flooding the passenger side... my bonus.
The strut mounts had gone bad. A common repair with high miles.
The a/c didn't work, and after a $300 recharge and check, I discovered on my own it was the fan control module behind the glove box. Common problem with the VW's and a $20, 20 minute fix.
The heater hose cracked. Not a cheap part from the dealer, but can be purchased after market for about half.
The sunroof track broke. A painful fix to remove the headliner and just about all the trim pieces to get to it. As anybody who's done this kind of work knows, it's impossible to tell what type of clips are holding trim on until you've broken them off... then it's too late. Be careful.
Sunroof headliner fabric sagging. This is a nuisance.
Fog lamp lenses were cracked when I bought it. The hella replacements are a fortune, but check around for cheap fog lamps with similar lenses. With some good aluminum caulking they can be a good substitute.
Turn signal switch broke. Expensive, but easy fix.
Fog lamp switch broke.
29th Jul 2006, 19:19
Great review. I own a '92. I have to question your statement of it "pailing in comparison to todays pocket rockets" however. I consider a pocket rocket to be any sub-compact to normally not exceed 30k. While there are some that perform better (R32 for one), many of them really don't.