Re: [T3] Low Mileage T3 value

["ralph" <oldford3@home.com>]

<x-charset iso-8859-1>My recent purchase, 69 T-3 sqbk had been sitting since 83.  It has 46,000
miles on the odometer (speedo and cable still work) and by pedal wear/seat
wear, it's true.  But it sat outdoors for 17 years.  There isn't a piece of
rubber that can be salvaged. The paint is pockmarked with 1-2 inch rust
spots, especially on top.  Dashboard falls apart when touched, the rubber on
the back of the rear seat and engine deck is white from the sun and falls
apart like the dash, etc, etc.  Even the windshield has sucked in rainwater
between the laminations, and is clouded on its perimeter.  The oil, by what
I was able to drain, was nearing the consistency of grease.  (I'll be
changing it every 20 miles for a long time - or probably doing a full
teardown just to clean the sump).
    I paid a grand, but only because it came with a pick-up truck full of
spare parts,  a roofrack and very decent bumpers (from a different -
arizona- car).
    I've been trying for 2 weeks to get the fresh air inlets cleared of
debris from leaves/buds from the trees it sat below for those years.
Foolishy powerwashed it when I got it home and it took a week for the 1-1/2
inches of standing water to be mopped and dried out of the floor pans due to
drain blockage!
    The brakes work, sort of, brake cylinders all will move out, but don't
like to retract back.
    I could go on for 3 pages!
    Low mileage???  Yeah, but so what?  A car with 146,000 miles, but
mantained, garaged, tended, would be worth 5 times what I paid!  And once I
get it all back to proper condition, replacing all the "tell-tale" wear
parts (rubber, vinyl, plastic) and a re-paint, nobody's going to believe me
that it has only 46,000 miles!  I wouldn't!  Mileage on any car over 25
years old is not a critrea affecting price.  Judge it for what you see in
weather wear and age wear, not what the odometer says will be the mechanical
wear.
    Find a T-3 with under 10,000 miles and you've found a seller who put her
up on blocks for 25 years as a pure investment.  You'll still be replacing
rubber, on a car you paid $7-8000 for!  Sit in it?  Heavens no, you'll crack
the vinyl seats!
Ralph

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Campen" <dave@campen.eurobell.co.uk>
To: "type3" <type3@vwtype3.org>
Sent: Friday, December 28, 2001 4:44 PM
Subject: RE: [T3] Low Mileage T3 value


> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Everett Barnes" <everettb@thesamba.com>
>
>
> > I've seen a number of awesome original Notchbacks/Variants for sale in
the
> > past year in Europe for around $4-$6k with 60-70K Kms.  A nice
> all-original
> > '67 Squareback was here in the states for $5000 for a long time, actual
> > sales price unknown. There have been a few mint, low-mileage '66-'67
> Fastbacks
> > for $6-$7k that I personally thought was crazy money.
> >
> > A car with 30K miles should drive like new and should still be an
> untouched
> > original.
> >
> Just to add my two penn'orth; many cars with ultra-low mileages have done
> all their driving around town, and have as much suspension- (bouncing up
and
> down curbs/ kerbs and potholes) and engine-wear (cold starts and racing
away
> from the lights) as any higher mileage car. Also many will have been
> "stored" (dumped might be a better word) in the open for a number of
years,
> which will take its toll on all the bodywork and interior. In the case of
my
> car with 31000km, the suspension and steering are still good, but the
> interior has faded away due to being stored outside for some 16 years, and
> the heater still blows out pine-needles from some German's back garden!
>
> The immaculate low-mileage cars do exist, but they really are rare.
>
> Dave
>
>
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