The MK1 VW Rabbit is perhaps one of the few economy cars of the 80s that has survived better than its low-cost construction would otherwise have you believe. The Rabbit seen here is a diesel model with just over 80,000 miles on the clock, and the seller is the third owner. It’s been in the care of an elderly woman and a retired pilot before then, and you’ll find here on eBay with one bid to $3,500 and no reserve.
The yellow exterior is a perfect period color for the Rabbit, which began U.S. sales at the end of the 70s. The early Rabbits are desirable cars today, affectionately known as “swallowtails.” This later model may not have the same level of collectability, but its condition makes it worth preserving. The interior presents quite well, and the paint appears to be original throughout.
The lines of the Rabbit are otherwise unmarred, and I’ve always dug the adhesive stone guards put in front of the rear fenders – they remind of an aircooled 911. The body looks fantastic, and the seller notes the only major defect as being a misaligned rear bumper from when he backed into his truck. No other body/rust issues are noted in the description.
The seller confides that only three of the four glow plugs are working, but that the Rabbit still turns over and runs well in colder weather. The A/C still works and the seller notes he recently updated the front suspension and brakes, installed a new headliner, and performed a recent tuneup. For a clean survivor Rabbit like this, with plenty of miles left in its diesel powertrain, the current bidding seems downright reasonable.
While I never condone diesel car anything, this, I think, was the best of the bunch. I’ve heard of these things racking up hundreds of thousands of miles, and still deliver super mileage. I believe this is the all time mileage champ ever, reports of 40-45 mpg were not uncommon. ( not much more than that, some say 50-60, sorry, I don’t buy it, maybe under ideal conditions) Just make sure you carry some “fire-water” ( ether) with you. I had a friend with a pickup like this, and had to ether it at 70 degrees and you aren’t in a hurry. Pretty weak in the power dept.
Howard, mine was converted from a 3 speed to a 5 speed, and with other mods indeed got a legit 60 mpg. Driver technique is a factor (no digital foot). With my MK VII GTI you’re supposed to get mid-30s, and I routinely exceed 40 mpg.
we have had 3 of these VW Golf’s as they were called in S.Africa. Putting a smile on our faces when we think of the pleasure we had out of them raising children who eventually drove these self same cars after leaving school. Easily the best MPG we had out of all our cars and maintainence was dirt cheap and very little.
I had a bunch of these, including a pickup as well as a few gasoline rabbits. The diesel versions were good for about 40 MPG. This one has a lot more than 80,000 miles on it but it’s still a nice little car good for a lot more miles. The seats really give it away despite the 0 on the odometer.
That odometer is accurate. The foam in those seats did not hold up well at all for anyone over 200lbs. Everything I see on this car confirms that odometer reading.
Also, I’ll add, that the problem with sticking odometers were only on gas Rabbits. They had a counter gear for the OXS light that would jam up the regular mileage, rendering it stuck. Diesels didn’t have that.
This is the genuine article. My 30 plus years driving, building, and tearing them apart validate my claims.
Awesome looking VW Rabbit (Golf) Diesel. I remember when this generation was first on the market. At the time, I didn’t find them very attractive, at least not next to the Mitsubishi (Dodge) Colt. But it wasn’t bad, particularly with the Diesel engine powering it. I’d buy one today if I hadn’t already bought a new car.
My family purchased a new one in 1983 when we were returning from Germany. I drove it when I got my drivers license in 1984 and we were required to log the miles and fuel into the book. We did get 50 mpg on numerous occasions, especially during road trips on the interstate. 50mpg at 55 mph.
I have owned all three: Golf/Rabbit diesels, gas, and Colt. I am on my 3rd Golf since 1985; I find that with regular maintenance I can count on 200,000+ miles and 15 years of fairly trouble-free driving. After 15 years with my ‘85 diesel I was still getting 40 mpg around town
and 42 mpg on the highway. The Colt was a bit more comfortable than the Rabbit (a gift from my mom when I graduated from college; she thought that driving up to a job interview with my ‘64 bus was not professional) My ‘15 diesel has undergone all the retrofitting and now gets BETTER mileage than when I first bought it.
I had one when I had an hour plus commute to work. You have to WANT to drive these. The vibration is relentless as is the lack of power. I had glow plug issues and replaced them twice in a very short time because the relay went bad and were stuck on…..burned them out. What results is the need to plug it in on a 90 degree day. Rabbit diesel guys are inventive. I installed a push button (on and off) when I turned the key on. No more issues. Head gaskets were a problem and timing belts must be replaced on schedule.
I frequented a Chinese restaurant that saved me their use fry oil. I filtered it and poured it straight in. Car ran fantastic and was FREE. Older Rabbits need an oil baffle in the valve cover to prevent engine runaway. Happened to me once. Scary.
Sold it for a three cylinder 1994 Geo Metro. Better all around car to me. 49 MPG and cruise 70 mpg all day long. It had more power too. I rolled 300K miles on it before I got rid of it. Still running. Funny my old Rabbit is too
I owned one, got 85mpg documented out of it, made it into a lookalike Kenworth, Hey it is a diesel, I put 150k on the clock, and only got rid of it due to my stupid used ether to start it. Ether increases the comp ratio to 30-to-1 blew holes in the top of two pistons. Great car though.
got 3 or 4 of the P/Us in the back forty, only 1 a diesel.
What similar fits easy to re-power the others?
The infamous 2009 – ’15 TDI?
Coupla hundred $ each?
VW folks may correct if I’m wrong on this assumption. Were diesel engines ever offered in the Cabriolet version?
PJ, no they weren’t. Those buyers were a very different type of person.
Can you imagine the sound of the engine while riding in a convertible?
I have vivid memories of being frozen in terror beside my friend in his when he pulled out to pass a semi and we didn’t have enough jam to push through the wake he was leaving. Another truck was bearing down on us and we ran right out of road. The complete lack of power was downright disturbing.
The Swallowtail is a 1975 only model which started production in 1974. I’m sure very few survive today, I saw my first one last year at Cars and Coffee. They are best identified by the “dip” in the rear tail light panel.
I’d be interested to get it & use it as a dd,
but couldn’t stand to drive it in the Winter,when
they salt the roads here in SW Virginia.
Owned two of these, non diesel. Would love to have one of these and a Beetle as my first collectors cars. If I buy a school bus company here in New York. I will have a place to keep these and other collectors cars that I desire.
My good friend had one in high school that we then took to college with us as well. We routinely got 50 mpg out of it which was great because we were broke college students. I taught him how to “roll coal” by shifting into 4th gear and flooring it to smoke out people behind us climbing hills :). Great little car that lasted a long time.
these were the last good real Volkswagen (as the name suggests, “car for the people”) easy and cheap to maintain and repair, and almost undestroiable, our had 350k miles when we sold it still running, and i know more then a few like this in Germany, all with the first engine and transmission, only the first 1.5 L diesels made trouble,
I had a co-worker who had one for years. In winter, the start-up vibration was so bad that every circuit board in the dash eventually cracked. Glowplugs were a constant battle, and even when they worked, deep cold starts (up here in the Great White North) were doubtful. I used to have to push him around the parking lot with my Fairmont wagon until the cylinders generated enough heat to sustain combustion. As a joke, when I sold the Fairmont I advertised it on the office bulletin board as a “1980 Volkswagen Diesel Starter”.
Still have the ancient ’81 diesel 2-door, definitely not a powerhouse. But when swapped with a 5-speed transaxle it made a huge difference over the original 4-speed “economy” trans. Original engine took to “running away” on me, after about the 3rd (overly-exciting) instance of that I located another 1.6 to swap in.
This engine typically runs about 47 mpg, but after getting some alignment problems straightened out it actually breaks 50 mpg now and then. The cam and injection timing have to be spot on, and max fuel screw tweaked just right (and it won’t get that mileage at 75 mph on the Interstate, but on rural back roads it comes into its own). I’ve known people with “TDI” models that’ll get 60 mpg, but the old 80’s “prechamber” engines weren’t that efficient.
It’ll start down near 0 degrees, but anything below that it really needs to be plugged in (at 5,000 ft. altitude anyway). With block heater plugged in I once started it at -15F, so I could jumper my wife’s fuel-injected Olds (there’s something about GM fuel injection that just goes all wacky at extreme cold, have had at least 3 different models fail to start at below 0 temps — one time the Celebrity even flooded seriously, we finally jumped in the old VW camper, -20 degrees, it fired right off. Like to froze to death, but it was moving…)
Those were the days (??)