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Mon Feb 28, 2005 6:46 pm

My neighbor is selling his 87 synchro. I asked him to tell me if he ever decided to sell it, today he did :wink:

Good things: Well kept, 2 nd owner, good body/no damage, locking rear axle, always maintained by VW dealer, all services performed, lots of stuff replaced

Bad things: 170 K miles, low oil pressure/ worn bearings diagnosed by VW dealership.

I am capable of dissassembling the engine and replace bearings, rings, cam,....

How much is the thing worth????

Help,

Neal

Mon Feb 28, 2005 6:58 pm

Depends on how solid it is, are you in a part of the country where cars don't rust? Is it a Westfalia camper conversion?

Mon Feb 28, 2005 7:00 pm

Not a camper but solid/no rust.

Neal

Mon Feb 28, 2005 7:24 pm

Like Mightyart mentioned, location is important. West coast Syncros have the highest resale values. If there are extensive repair reciepts, go through them and find out what works has been done in the last few years and how much has been spent on its maintenance. But with that many miles and an engine to be rebuilt, I'd say about 3 grand for a stock, clean, non-banged up, no rust Syncro, barring any of those expensive syncronaut upgrades like a driveshaft decoupler, a new VC, 15" or 16"alloys, rebuilt transmission, etc. Any of that stuff will raise the resale value considerably. A recent ebay auction of a pretty clean 89(rare year BTW) with an enigne on the fritz failed to achieve a bid higher than $3200. I have seen numerous stock running 86's & 87's in fair to very good condition sell lately for between $3000-$5500. BTW, I am in the market for a Syncro, can you tell? Trying to shake the fever...it's not working...

Mon Feb 28, 2005 7:40 pm

I am on the west coast, Norh Olympic Penninsula.
No decent VW shops around, one reason why he is selling. He had a good shop in Seattle and is mechanically not much inclined.

Neal

Tue Mar 01, 2005 12:21 pm

I bought my 87 Syncro GL with all options for $3500. One owner, 105k miles, strong engine. Got it in Twisp, WA, summer of 2004.

Consider the purchase price a down payment on the total. Most Syncro owners put at least what they paid for the vehicle back into it the first year. I did, almost, but mostly with optional items (16" rims, tires, used volkscafe bumpers, sound system). This summer is the subaru EJ22 engine conversion, so probably another 2-3 grand there.

Plan for it. Especially if the engine is on its way out.

Tue Mar 01, 2005 7:10 pm

Drove the Syncro today, nice ride, tight steering, no rattles and good brakes.
I offered $4000 cash and he did not take it, but he did not tell me to get lost either. We'll see......

Neal

Wed Mar 02, 2005 7:50 am

I wouldn't go any higher than $4000.00 if it needs the bottom end rebuilt.
The owner thinks it's worth more than it really is. $4000.00 is a good price for one with no problems.

Sat Mar 05, 2005 7:40 pm

Well, the owner has the syncro now parked in the alley with a 4-sale sign on it asking for $5500. Not much traffic in the alley.....
I think, I'll wait another week and see if we can meet somewhere in between close to my offer. I really want that thing....

Neal.

Sun Mar 06, 2005 8:37 am

I paid $7500 last May for my 91 Syncro, with no rust, solid all around. It had new heads and all the records. I probably paid too much, but I have one.

Synergicity is right about the purchace price being a down payment. I have already had to replace the starter, the prop shaft (with a GoWesty version, highly recommended), one front axle (and I can hear the other starting to go), and a headlight.

Wed Mar 09, 2005 4:36 pm

I paid $850 for an '86 syncro passenger. Granted, it needs an engine and transmission rebuild. However, it does run and drive. The body has a few dents, but it is complete and unaltered.

All the glass is good, interior is good to excellent, rear hatch is beat all to hell, engine has low oil pressure (~174,000 miles), transmission is missing high gear, and the body could use new paint. There is some surface rust on the chassis, but thats expected considering that it was used by a utility company in the mountains.

Check the vehicle over and look for obvious signs of abuse or lack of maintenance. Engine and transmission rebuilds aren't too daunting of a task. At least you know where you stand with those. Its the little electrical rats nests that will break you. Are the CV joint boots in good shape? Hows the exhaust? Do all of the gauges work? All of these things can add up to a lot of cash. The ribbon connection on the backside of the gauge package can be corroded from brake fluid spilling on it.

In the end, all syncros are going up in price. Consider the one that I have at the bottom end of the spectrum. By the way, I purchased mine in 2002.

Wed Mar 09, 2005 8:01 pm

1986 syncro off of ebay $1700, $700 to ship it 1400 miles. I'll have it in about 2 weeks. I'll post some pics and let you know how it runs. I'm pretty dam excited. I can not believe I'm not flying out and getting it myself. The guy Earl selling it is way cool and I wanted to meet him and go on a road trip. The reason I'm not going is it is almost cheaper to ship then to go spend a weekend driving. So I'll go snowboarding and let it just show up.

Wed Mar 09, 2005 8:07 pm

ncapener@olypen.com wrote: Drove the Syncro today, nice ride, tight steering, no rattles and good brakes.
I offered $4000 cash and he did not take it, but he did not tell me to get lost either. We'll see......

Neal

How did the engine perform and sound? You'd think it would be noisy if the bottom end was trashed. If it has an aftermarket or parts- store filter on it, THAT just MAY be the cause of the low oil pressure. I've seen that before. Did the oil light come on? Did it run hot?
I'm just asking because I've seen Vanagons with 250k plus on the bottom end that ran fine. It's not uncommon.

Thu Mar 10, 2005 8:28 am

Engine sounds fine and runs fine.
Couple months ago he took the synchro to a local VW "Expert", had it tuned and the oil changed to a low viscosity synthetic. Oil light came on the next time driving. I recommended using 20-50 oil and offered him a Mahle filter. He took the synchro to another shop where the replaced the oil pressure switch and changed the oil. Light came on again. Trip to VW dealer were they actually checked the oil pressure, changed the oil to 20-50 and installed Mahle filter.
Oil pressure was fine after that, but the shop did mention worn bearings.
One reason for selling the vehicle is that he has lost faith in the local shops and he is not able (or willing) to work on it himself.
What makes that synchro so attractive to me is that it has always been maintained and taken care of.

Neal.