Seems I’m always looking to recreate the past or something – yesterday afternoon, while digging through listings for a completely different car, I stumbled upon a car from my past. Ordinarily, I would curse the advertiser for using misleading keywords on their listing, but in this case, it’s a 1978 VW Rabbit C, which is very close to the 1980 VW Rabbit L on which I learned to drive. In a way, it’s quite surprising how rare these have become, given their historical significance. However, they were cheap drivers for most people (including my parents), so most rusted to pieces or cost more to repair than they were worth. Fortunately, that fate didn’t befall this car, a 1978 model in the most basic “C” trim level, available in Tacoma, WA for $2000.
Posts Tagged ‘under $2000’
Be Vewy, Vewy Quiet – 1978 VW Rabbit C
May 31, 2013Back in Black – Pair of Renault 17 Gordinis
August 9, 2011While taking something of an unintentional hiatus from writing here, I stumbled across a pair of Renault 17s for sale. Knowing the significant amount of interest this car is still generating, I couldn’t let the listing pass without doing a quick writeup. Since it’s a black car and the pictures are tiny, it’s hard to judge much of anything, but the fact it exists and was driven as recently as a few weeks ago does say something about its condition. And worst case, you have a mangy, spider-infested parts car to show you how things should look… when a car is mangy and spider-infested. You can find them listed for only $850 – how could you go wrong?? – in Scottdale, PA.

Kudos to the seller for having the balls to open up the hood – I was uncomfortable enough finding dead black widows and their sticky webs (hint: they don’t stick to blue surgeon’s gloves) under the hood in my former Lancia Beta. If he’s like me, he wore thick leather gardening gloves when he did it.
Rares Grenouilles – 1969 Peugeot 204 Cabriolet and 1974 Renault R12 Break
May 20, 2011Lose track of the classifieds listings for a couple of weeks, and all kinds of rarities pop up. Among others in the last couple of weeks, there are a couple of French cars their sellers would gladly foist upon you. Since it’s a sunny day out, we’ll start with this handsome Peugeot 204 Cabriolet. The seller wastes no time in pointing out this car was styled by Pininfarina, who also designed the “FERRARI TESTAROSSA”. Which is like the seller of a Hyundai Excel saying his car was done by the same guy who did the “ALFA GTV”. Find it in Los Angeles for $1500, which is a total steal for anything designed by a guy who did Ferraris.

