I'm going with a friend this afternoon to look at a car I know little about, an '02 Volkswagon Cabrio. What do I need to know about these things to determine if it's going to be a reliable, frugal driver for her? (This wouldn't be my first choice for her, but there you have it.)
Well you will obviously need to take your purse. Besides that your curling iron, clippers and your other hair styling essentials. 
Look out for any signs of funky electricals, gauges not working, lighting. Top operation. Transmission shifting. Bring a code scanner (Dangerzone $80 or less) Always, always, always scan used cars if OBDII. Drive it. Check for roof leaks. Oil leaks from under the engine/transmission interface. Exhaust leaks. If manual, shifter operation.
An escape path?
Look for action. Any thing to pay you back for the years of frustration you will endure trying to fix things for her on that car. The only thing that can make it better is if she's hot and will give it you.
If not, suggest she get something else. Like a Miata, E30 convertible, Mustang convertible, 240SX convertible, or any other car not produced by VW during those years.
If it was a Mk1 or Mk2 I'd say go for it, but the Mk4 is terrible.
PHeller wrote: Look for action. Any thing to pay you back for the years of frustration you will endure trying to fix things for her on that car. The only thing that can make it better is if she's hot and will give it you. If not, suggest she get something else. Like a Miata, E30 convertible, Mustang convertible, 240SX convertible, or any other car not produced by VW during those years. If it was a Mk1 or Mk2 I'd say go for it, but the Mk4 is terrible.
Yeah, I hope she'll let you ride the beef bus to tuna town, because this is going to be a nightmare for you going forward if she gets it.
What everybody else said.
In fact it's even worse than an MKIV, it's an MKIII/MKIV hybrid
If it looks like this, you have chosen well young Padawan.
Funny enough, she is a hairdresser. Stereotypes gotta start somewhere, right?
Yeah, I'll probably try to steer her away from this. She's actually not the convertible type, but she's looking for cheap wheels, and I imagine she can pick this up for $2500. Actually looks pretty clean from the listing, but I had a feeling RUN AWAY would be the consensus.
She's actually been shopping for an old Yota 4x4 or a Scout II, but she's car-less now and getting desperate.
automatic transmissions in these are terrible, and they tend to eat coils every 6 months or whenever it rains.
$2500 cabrio?!? Go to Atlanta and get her a Miata
This one had 7 stored codes that the small-time dealer cleared so he could advertise as having no CEL on. A coupe misfires, ignition timing, evap code... And it wasn't nearly as clean as advertised. No real loss.
I think I'll be doing the shopping for her at this point. CL here I come!
Anything other than an '02 Cabrio?
Glad she passed on this one. VAG does NOT = reliable, particularly at that price point.
alex wrote: She's actually been shopping for an old Yota 4x4 or a Scout II, but she's car-less now and getting desperate.
With Yota 4x4 and Scout listed, my guess is she is looking for something capable and unique.
If so, I would try offering $3.5k on this Isuzu Axiom. No one else will think to look for one. Notice that in the dealer's pictures, the trees still have leaves. This cool truck has likely been for sale a long time.
If more convertable is needed, an Isuzu Amigo.
If you want ultra unique, this Isuzu Vehicross Ironman Triathlon Edition
Sounds like XJ might be the answer here.
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