So your thinking about picking up that VW around the corner? Seems like you never seen it running. Come up with $300 and its yours. You've never seen any other car for so cheap. Should you buy it? Why not?  You've read all the magazines and practically know about every VW on the planet. Well now you don't have to go it alone. Here are some tips you should know when buying a low priced VW.

    The first step is checking the car out. Depending on how you are buying the car, private party or dealer, will determine how much you will pay. Usually a private party is just selling the car for some dumb reason so expect to hear a story or two. Find out as much about the car as you can. Start with the basics like: What has been done to the car? How many people have had it before you? Where is the car from? What are those stains? etc, etc. A dealer won't tell you much about the car but ask anyway. After the interrogation, inspect the car. Look EVERYWHERE for rust. A rustbucket isn't worth the $300 price on the cracked windshield. "Why is the windshield cracked?" Would be a good question to ask about now. Study any damage on the body. Look carefully at dented fenders and body panels. Make sure any rust is on the fenders and not on major body components. If it runs, start it up and go for a ride. Listen carefully to the sounds of the motor, tranny, brakes, and suspension. Look outside to see if it smokes. After the ride let it idle for a while. Open everything and check it out. Check over the motor. Is it greasy, hot, and covered with spiders, is there a big pile of wires on top? If it doesn't run, ask why. After the car is shut off check out the wiring. Look for burned, frayed, or absent wires. Look over the fuses too. Check to see if there are any burnt, missing, or gapped fuses. Gapping is when someone uses a metallic object to replace a fuse. This is highly dangerous so make plans to fix it. Check to see if your lights, horn, signals, anything electrical, works. Now that the car has been off for a little bit smell around a bit. Smell for gas, oil, or anything burnt. If you smell anything, you'll want to fix it. Look under the car for leaks. If its watercooled, look for coolant on the motor and the ground.

    If everything checks out and your confident that everything is cool. Decide wether or not the you want the car. If you bought the car, bring it home and start combing the car for everything that would prevent your VW from being safe and street legal. don't forget to check out all the advertisers on VWMAGAZINE.COM. They will help you a lot in fixing your car. It wouldn't hurt to invest in a good metric tool set also. Don't buy cheap if you can help it. You'll only be wasting time and money with broken tools. Remember to have patience when working with your VW. Ignorance can lead to a lot of misfortune if your additude is used more than your tools. Remember to stay focused on your car. In time it might become very respectable ride.

Written By Kenny on 10/25/98 -EMAIL:psykow@aol.com