When you can own a classic vehicle that combines utility with desirability, you’ve got it made in the shade. Sadly, most vehicles offering some utility aren’t all that collectible because of the very fact that they were used, heavily. When you find a vehicle like this European-market 1986 Volkswagen Doka Transporter Syncro listed here on Facebook Marketplace, you have that rare combination of a vehicle that can do the heavy lifting of either a suburban or rural lifestyle, while retaining its value for the long term. Syncro-equipped VWs are hard to find stateside, and this one is offered for $15,000.
Is this listing a touch old? It sure is. And in some cases, I’ll assume the seller simply hasn’t deleted the listing. But these days, you can’t be too sure since the market for such vehicles has softened quite a bit. On my local Facebook page, there’s a very cool Mercedes transporter that’s been listed for a similar amount of time and the price has been dropped no fewer than 10 times. This is a vehicle that no one actually needs, but someone undoubtedly went through a fair amount of effort to import it. The seller claims this Doka came from Poland, and while it’s mostly sound, it does have some rust issues to resolve. However, you can’t beat the utility of one of these with its folding bedsides and under-bed storage.
One reason for its slow selling may be the single cab configuration. When these show up with the double cab, pickup bed, and Syncro 4WD, they fetch a solid number; with the limited ability to ferry passengers, this VW begins to seem like a bit of an extravagance for a pickup truck with limited power and sometimes troublesome reliability as its relates to water-cooling. The interior is highly utilitarian, which is typical for VW trucks from this era, especially in the European marketplace. Related to the double cab, the seller does mention he has access to those vehicles in Poland and can order you a model with four doors if desired.
The VW needs a new muffler flex pipe, which the seller claims broke in while in his care. The rust is contained to the bed and rear wheel wells, but it all looks fairly manageable (or you could live with it indefinitely.) The engine in this Doka is one of the less desirable setups, a 1.9L non-turbo diesel, which actually gives it less power than the gasoline “Wasserboxer” engine sold in U.S.-market Vanagons. In this case, it it makes about 65 horsepower and I believe around 120 lb.-ft. of torque (that torque number could be off, FYI.) Regardless, this is a military-grade rig so don’t expect big power. Would you hold out for four doors and a turbodiesel at a higher price?
The trucks we used in Germany were 3 doors, which always seemed a bit odd to me. The rear seat passengers only had one door, and had to slide across.
I thought Doka meant Double Cab, but I could be mistaken all these years. Love these!
– Matt