Digestible Collectible: 1984 Volkswagen GTI

Chris Tonn
by Chris Tonn

Once again, I’m dazzled by those wheels, just like the Quantum we looked at last week. I’m a sucker for clean, well-styled factory wheels: Oldsmobile Rally wheels, Fuchs found on Porsches, Rostyles worn by so many British cars. The Volkswagen “Snowflake” wheel is another that is difficult to improve upon by the aftermarket.

For some reason, that hasn’t stopped VW enthusiasts from “improving” their cars with incongruous tire and wheel widths and double-digit camber settings. “Stance” culture isn’t exclusive to the Wolfsburg faithful, but it has infected too many good cars.

Thus, today’s Digestible Collectible isn’t merely a collective dream/drool session over some random old car. I write today to plead with you, the good denizens of the Internet, to keep classics like this 1984 Volkswagen GTI safe from the ill-advised “tuners” of the world.

I need someone with more money than I (basically covers everyone here) to buy this GTI, and pledge the following oath:

I will keep it basically stock. Any modifications can easily be reversed, as I will keep all original parts neatly boxed and tagged for the next owner.

I will drive it regularly. If I happen to live in a salt-covered wasteland like Ohio, I pledge to store it properly until the crap is washed from the roads.

I will keep the original wheels, fitted with appropriately-sized tires.

This GTI is overpriced, especially considering the mileage. The photos might be misleading, as there seem to be dings and nicks in the paint that show in some pics but not in others. But mechanically? Perfect. As is the interior. Even if the car needs some cosmetic help, it would be a good deal for around $9,000.

This is the OG hot hatch, after all, and will be the bellwether collectible for all other sporty compacts of the era.

Chris Tonn is a broke classic car enthusiast that writes about old cars, since he can’t afford to buy them. Commiserate with him on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Chris Tonn
Chris Tonn

Some enthusiasts say they were born with gasoline in their veins. Chris Tonn, on the other hand, had rust flakes in his eyes nearly since birth. Living in salty Ohio and being hopelessly addicted to vintage British and Japanese steel will do that to you. His work has appeared in eBay Motors, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars, Reader's Digest, AutoGuide, Family Handyman, and Jalopnik. He is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association, and he's currently looking for the safety glasses he just set down somewhere.

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  • Turf3 Turf3 on Mar 03, 2016

    32 year old VW Rabbit? (Yeah, yeah, GTI, whatever, it's a Rabbit) I would give $2000 if it's running. Tops. Anything above that is Beanie Baby territory. Just because a sucker is born every minute, doesn't mean I have to be that sucker.

    • Krhodes1 Krhodes1 on Mar 03, 2016

      I wouldn't pay $1M for some old Mopar muscle car, but people have. The value of something is what someone is willing to pay for it. Doesn't mean it is you.

  • Motormouth Motormouth on Mar 03, 2016

    One of my first cars was an '85 diesel Jetta. No turbo. Would get fantastic mileage, but went through about an alternator a year. Upgraded to Sachs struts up front and with wider 185 GLi rims, it could take corners pretty well (all about the momentum when you have a grand 54 horsepower at your disposal). Had many friends who had GTis like this and was always a bit jealous, but wouldn't consider at that price. Far too much money, despite the cool wheels.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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