Who remembers when you could pick up a used 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI for less than $2000? Those days are gone.
This particular example sold for $28,750 on Bring a Trailer.
Yes, $28,750.
Prices on Rad-era vehicles continue to climb, and this auction exemplifies that.
[The Quintessential Hot Hatch Has Gotten Hotter: Volkswagen Rabbit GTI]
Working backward through an inflation calculator, $28,750 comes out to about $10,200 in 1984 money.
Would you have spent over $10,000 to buy a Rabbit GTI when it was new?
Colin Wood said:Working backward through an inflation calculator, $28,750 comes out to about $10,200 in 1984 money.
Would you have spent over $10,000 to buy a Rabbit GTI when it was new?
Good question. The sticker price on this car, when new, was $10,175.
Colin Wood said:Would you have spent over $10,000 to buy a Rabbit GTI when it was new?
No.
In 1983 when they were new I test drove one and they weren't dealing so with tax I'd walk out the door for $8000. My problem was my used 1980 Datsun might've sold for $2500-$3000 and being in college I couldn't swing the extra $5000.
In hindsight..............
Point #8 for a 1983 model says under $8000.
That is chump change.
How about $87k for a 92 16V GTI
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1992-volkswagen-golf-gti-16v-7/
J.A. Ackley said:
Who remembers when you could pick up a used 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI for less than $2000? Those days are gone.
This particular example sold for $28,750 on Bring a Trailer.
Yes, $28,750.
Prices on Rad-era vehicles continue to climb, and this auction exemplifies that.
[The Quintessential Hot Hatch Has Gotten Hotter: Volkswagen Rabbit GTI]
this car didnt sell for 28k
it sold for 41k previously
today bat had server issues.
car hasnt sold yet - auction extended
here is new link
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-volkswagen-rabbit-gti-13-2/
It almost makes me wish I had kept mine stock. Nah, not really. It's nice to see them coming up in value. Still really buyable for nice drivers in the 6k range.
I came close to buying a 1984 GTI. I went with the Shelby Charger instead. No regrets.
I probably paid like $1800 for mine. At the time, it was just 10 years old.
GTwannaB said:That is chump change.
How about $87k for a 92 16V GTI
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1992-volkswagen-golf-gti-16v-7/
Yeah, that seems a bit spendy. Maybe if it was Montana Green....
My first real car. Bought it for $350 with 150k miles. Drove it until it disintegrated into a pile of rust at 300k. It was a cool car in it's time but in retrospect it was pretty cheap and slow even by early 1980's standards. Easy to fix though!
David S. Wallens said:GTwannaB said:That is chump change.
How about $87k for a 92 16V GTI
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1992-volkswagen-golf-gti-16v-7/
Yeah, that seems a bit spendy. Maybe if it was Montana Green....
Lots of accusations of shady in this one. More then double the highest known sale before now.
GTwannaB said:That is chump change.
How about $87k for a 92 16V GTI
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1992-volkswagen-golf-gti-16v-7/
That's the money laundering sale I was thinking of.
I paid $800 in y2k dollars for mine with an aba block already swapped in. The fact that they go for multiple thousands still seems weird.
How strange to be relieved to hear something is just money laundering...
I paid $900 for my last Rabbit (circa 2005?) before starting the usual "money laundering" of throwing $700 at a used JH and some shocks in order to make it worth at least $1000.
No idea what I'd pay for a Rabbit today, GTI or otherwise. I'd love to have one, but I don't really have a use for it, or a place in the project queue. It's hard to imagine paying more than $3k or so, which is not to suggest that I could get a decent one for that or that it should cost so little. I'm just unable to get my head around the idea one should cost Real Money.
Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) said:I paid $800 in y2k dollars for mine with an aba block already swapped in. The fact that they go for multiple thousands still seems weird.
Yeah, but yours was modified. How many stock GTIs are left?
When I bought my '83, nonrunners were going in the $2500 range.
If I was in the market for another car right now, I would be looking very hard for the nicest old gti available and would be ok with spending good money for it.
Personally, I would need mine in white but you really can't tell from the drivers seat...
Iirc I paid like $6-800 for a sorted '83(?) Back in 2005ish? Amongst a myriad of lesser dubs over the years... Yes, I would pay a lot to own a car that actually makes me feel something!
I paid right at $8K for my '84 GTi new. This is just one of many that have appreciated a bunch since I sold them (BMW 2002 is another. Hindsight and all that. . .
$34,000 hammer price
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-volkswagen-rabbit-gti-13-2/
guy lost $7,000
Pete. (l33t FS) said:Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) said:I paid $800 in y2k dollars for mine with an aba block already swapped in. The fact that they go for multiple thousands still seems weird.
Yeah, but yours was modified. How many stock GTIs are left?
When I bought my '83, nonrunners were going in the $2500 range.
Hard to say but mine was stock other than the block change and I don't see that effecting the value in either way today. Back in 00 it was worth double w that block in it 
I just got an 80 roller to start picking on, for fractional challenge money. I feel better ruining this one vs a gti shell.
tb said:If I was in the market for another car right now, I would be looking very hard for the nicest old gti available and would be ok with spending good money for it.
Personally, I would need mine in white but you really can't tell from the drivers seat...
Iirc I paid like $6-800 for a sorted '83(?) Back in 2005ish? Amongst a myriad of lesser dubs over the years... Yes, I would pay a lot to own a car that actually makes me feel something!
White over red or white over blue? My Rabbit GTI started life black over red.
Before I bought it, someone painted it white.
I repainted it white (basically pure white without and tint) and swapped in a blue interior. I really liked/still like the look of white over blue.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
I have actually had both interior combo with the white! I might have had a vw phase at one point without even planning to...
But for me, white over blue holds the best memories and I also think that it is the best looking. My '83 displayed its proir racing pedigree clearly but one clue was the minty blue interior that was replaced in the car but not even bolted back in.
I literally gave that car away to a family member that needed wheels and they eventually got it impounded by the police for numerous violations and never told me untill it was way too late to find it again. We all have one that got away and we would do almost anything to catch that vibe one more time, right?
I'm no purist, so I suppose a repaint is kinda an easy thing for the right car.
In reply to tb :
FWIW, speaking of racing pedigree, my blue interior came from a car converted to ITB specs. :)
In reply to David S. Wallens :
That is excellent! I think mine was the opposite experience, it was an itb car that probably had the interior sit in someone's garage for years. I adapted it from itb to an insanely good urban canyon carver. My "streetable" exhaust of a 4->1 tectonic tunic header into a straight pipe past the rear wheel really made a glorious noise reverberating off the glass skyscrapers when you wound out the gears bombing through gridlock on three wheels.
If I hadn't bought mine from an incredibly ghetto lot under the El in North Philly I would suspect we passed around the same wheels...
Edit: just remembered that I even received the oe front sway bar neatly packed in the hatch. Actually had to learn about why that was
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