Volkswagen Foxes are perfectly quirky. The cars were allegedly manufactured by Volkswagen Brazil and were sold in North America from 1987 to 1991. They were offered as 2-door and 4-door sedans as well as wagons. The example at hand is offered on Facebook in Eastpointe, Michigan for $1000. It’s said to have 93k miles on the chassis. Thanks to Sam61 for the tip.
The exterior is finished in a vibrant red. The seller notes that the wagon has been repainted at least twice. The car has a significant amount of rust which is where the seller stopped the restoration process. The Fox’s wheels appear to be in good condition. Some significant bodywork and rust repair are absolutely necessary before this car is fully finished.
The interior is finished in toupe cloth with a black dash. Its cabin is in better condition than the exterior but some attention is definitely needed to get it back to its prime. The next owner could choose to completely revamp the inside and make it extra custom.
A 4-cylinder engine sends 81 horsepower to the wheels via a manual transmission. The seller notes that the car runs and drives. One of the brake lines is no longer operational. The car is accompanied by new brake parts and lines, axles, ball joints, and tie rod ends. The seller is also including a new fuel tank and smoked tail lights. This is a hefty restoration project for someone who happens to love these wagons. It’s very uncommon to find a running vehicle for $1000 so the price is right. While these cars weren’t manufactured to be luxurious, the next owner could potentially modify and restore this example into something special. If you are an oddball enthusiast or are just looking for something cool to learn some bodywork skills on, contact the seller on Facebook.
By the time these came out they were way far away from the original German VWs we loved. The build quality just wasn’t the same with the Fox so they never caught on with collectors
Definitely not the same quality of the earlier German-built cars. Case in point: on a very rainy day years ago one of these was parked in a nearby casino valet parking lot when it suddenly began to flash the lights with the horn continuously honking.t
As that happened the engine started, the car lurched forwards and because the wheels were turned it picked up speed to about 5 mph traveling in a continuous large circle.
Someone in the casino called the cops and when they showed up you should have seen their face when they realized no one was inside the car. One of the cops got his car in front of it with his back bumper to the front of the VW and slowed to a stop.The VW stalled and stopped but then tried to start again! When it finally quit trying to start one of the fireman that had shown up opened the hood and cut the leads off the battery.
Turns out that some of these had an issue when water would run down the radio antenna into the fuse box..
Nope, not the same craftsmanship.
Sounds partially like my Gen 1 Jetta coupe. Every time it rained hard, drips of water would travel along some wire (never fully diagnosed it) down to the footwell fuse box and would blow out the fuel pump relay.
I put 204k on my 1989 Fox wagon in 6 years. It let me down twice: when the clutch cable broke, and when the fuel pump went out. Never went anywhere under 90 MPH. Loved that car.
Believe these were 4speeds.
Later ones got the 5-speed transaxle.
Thanks Alpha. I thought the 4 door sedan special edition ones in black looked really sharp. Wolfsburg ?
Yes, they had Wolfsburg editions of this car. I considered a wagon many years ago when these were at the bottom of the depreciation curve but never pulled the trigger. The interior was really low rent but other than that it’s basically an Audi 80/Dasher. Not the best handling set up with the engine hanging beyond the front axle.
WOW! I haven’t seen a Fox in years! What a find. Too bad the rust has taken its toll.
My good friend had an Audi Fox back in the early 70’s. Don’t remember if it was a 2 or 4 door. So I supposed back then, as today, VW built it.
My Fox wagon was one of the most reliable cars I’ve ever had, over 165,000 miles. I’d have kept it till the wheels fell off but for the dump truck that made it two feet shorter.
For $1000 you are buying a spare engine for your Porsche 924 project :-)
My GTI was in the shop (again) the VW dealer lent me a Fox out of pity, or maybe spite. Either way, that and my GTI swore me off VWs forever. The Fox was the definition of a disposable car. These a reason you never see these anywhere but similar vintage Corolla’s and even Nissan’s are still rolling.
Why was the engine mounted a la Audi instead of transverse like VW?
Dave Peterson,
Great question! I worked at a jiffy lube in the late 90’s during college. I remember having the engine mounted front to rear, but front wheel drive ( I believe I’m remembering that correctly). Nissan also had a car from late 80’s or early 90’s that was fwd with not a transverse mounted engine.
reminds me of my sister’s Rabbit.
It lasted forever.
I like the waggy (this 1) but
give me the diesel p/u.
Guy here has a few.
Makin a fleet for 5 + member family…