Value of a GTI?

I've got a 1984 Rabbit GTI with a motor swap- 2.0L ABA with a 16 valve head. It's got a lot more power than any Rabbit deserves to have- loads of fun. 

I've  had it at the Challenge (and it performed well).  Per Schroeder drove it and was impressed with the power (but the suspension still needs to be dialed in). The car is rust Free, but has no interior and the paint is faded. Older racing tires, no roll cage. 

I was gonna dust it off and start racing it again, but the truth is I have too many cars and need to get rid of a couple. A friend is interested in buying it. 

Anyone wanna take a guess at the value of a car like that?  Range?

Thanks!

I have no idea but that's the exact car I was planning until I accidentally got involved with the Suzukis

It's a lot of fun!

I've actually got a really nice set of fender flares and front spoiler, and all the parts to convert it to a round eye. That plus a little bit of paint and it would be a real looker. 

I hate to let it go for a lot less than it's worth. The friend is only offering $1K. 

Its the only running "fun" car I have. I was gonna haul it to my new location and put it to work. The problem is, reality may mean that I don't have a lot of time to go racing. 

If a weekend's worth of paint and body would make it a $3500 car (or more),  I'm not selling. It it's gonna top out at $1500, I'll take the money and run. 

2-3k is my best guess. While we love the mods, 1st gen GTI buyers like originality.

+1 on $2-3k. That's a really desirable setup, just sounds like it needs some finishing.

In reply to SVreX :

How well done/sorted is the swap?  Check out the VW vortex mki classifieds and see how yours compares.    I would second the 2-2.5k depending on what’s there.  Have some pics for us? 

When I picked mine up, there was one on the local CL in half-missing shape for $2500 and the ad was taken down a couple days later.

Where did you find fender flares for it?  I was looking for some for my Rabbit the other day to no avail.

A running and driving ABA swapped GTI, and rust free to boot- that should help push the price up.  But I'm not in the know on the car market in the south.

In reply to paranoid_android :

I bought the flares on this board quite a few years ago. 

Here's a couple of pics:

Is that faded original paint or a faded respray?

Does it still have a headliner?

Flares and a decent quality respray would help the value, but even doing a decent respray yourself, it's going to cost a lot in materials.

The car in the pic doesn't need flares to fit it's tires. Adding flares, but not adding wider wheels/tires might make it look goofy enough that you wouldn't get the full value out of the paint job. Adding wider wheels/tires probably makes the whole paint/body thing financially unviable.

I think I'd sell the car as is and sell off the extra parts individually.

In reply to STM317 :

The car is currently wearing wider wheels and tires (but not the flares)

If I sell it, I will definitely sell the extra parts separately.  

In reply to SVreX :

I can't believe that isnt worth more than $1k.  In fact, to me that almost sounds insulting!

is it street legal/registered?

In reply to SVreX :

I see. That probably makes the bodywork/paint approach more realistic, but it all depends on how cheaply you could do (or have done) a decent respray.

Woody said:

Is that faded original paint or a faded respray?

Does it still have a headliner?

It's a faded respray.  Was originally a silver car.

I said no interior, but that's not actually true.  It has a partial interior. Dash and front seats- original GTI, in OK shape.  No rear seat- there is a strut tower brace instead.  It has door cards, but they are shabby and mismatched colors.  No headliner.  

jfryjfry said:

In reply to SVreX :

I can't believe that isnt worth more than $1k.  In fact, to me that almost sounds insulting!

is it street legal/registered?

I didn't say it is worth $1K.  I said the guy offered me $1K.  I asked YOU what it is worth!  

It is not currently registered, but could easily be returned to the street.

Too bad about the paint. I think an original silver car, outside of white, would be the best. Black and red are too common. But this is giving me an itch. Too many projects and not enough $$ but, man!!!......

Here in the rust belt I think that is at least a $3k car.

I think I’m in the $2k to $2500 camp, leaning more toward $2500.

2-2.5 seems right. With a full interior and registration, I could see that being pushed just north of 3k. 

The value in a rust free GTi is as a clean street car, but it sounds like it needs a lot of work to become that car. So with the missing interior pieces, faded respray in the wrong colour it's a track or hardcore street car. If I were looking at it I would think in the $1500-$2k (max) range as is.

If the flares and front spoiler are my old ones you’ll need a lot more wheel and tire to fill them haha...

these looks best with cabby flares.

In reply to chandler :

They are. 

Like I said, the car has a lot more wheel and tire in it now than in the pics. 

Sorry to dampen anyone's spirits but the value is what anyone would actually give you for it. With the work needed, non-original engine status, and paint it's worth that $1000. Unless you post it to CL and see what gets offered over that. 

In reply to vwcorvette :

I disagree. 

Since I haven't actually offered it for sale, establishing fair market value is just part of doing my due diligence. 

There isn't any reason for me to assume the value is $1000, just because that's the first offer some cheapazz made on a car that isn't even on the market.