Looking for a convertible that’s easy on gas and has room for four? Volkswagen solved for these requirements in 1979 when it introduced the top-down version of its Golf compact. Sold in the US until 2002 under the Rabbit name, then simply as the Cabriolet, this model was ubiquitous in the 1970s. Here on craigslist is a two-owner 1991 VW Cabriolet for $6000, located in Akron, Ohio. The car runs and drives well – no need for a trailer – but a few flaws should probably be remediated if you want to retain the car long-term. One can be seen in this opening photo, where the front bumper is sitting crooked… Before we move on, I must issue a mea culpa – I can’t recall who tipped us off to this little Cabby, but thanks, whoever you were!

A 1.8-liter fuel-injected four-cylinder resides in the engine bay, good for 94 hp. This one has traveled just shy of 78k miles, and while it runs well, it’s dripping coolant – not much apparently, but I’d want to investigate that problem. The brake system has been rebuilt, and a five-speed manual puts the power to the front wheels. The Rabbit/Golf configuration was a departure from the intensely popular Beetle, where everything happened in the rear. No one cares – the Golf has outsold the Beetle worldwide by several million copies.

The interior is in good shape, given the car’s age and mileage – kudos to the owners for maintaining that light-colored upholstery. The seller notes that most of the power options work well – the top mechanism and the windows – but the air conditioning needs help. Speaking of windows, note that the rears do not retract completely – it’s a design idiosyncrasy that VW managed to foist upon us – whether due to engineering limitations or safety regs, I do not know.

So far so good – mostly – but here’s the fly in the ointment: across the entire cowl, rust has formed, begging for a window-out repair. The seller notes that the strut towers and wheel wells appear clean – no mention of the rest of the undercarriage.

The top is decent, and most of the paint seems acceptable. Sales data show that prices have been in an upward drift: I found several Cabs that were at least partially restored, a few low-mileage, few-owner cars, and a handful revised into racing machines. No question putting work into these cars will enhance value – but prices remain below $20k for even very nice examples, limiting how much can be spent before the equation turns negative. What do you think about the seller’s price?