I am often asked by both buyers and sellers as to what is a reasonable price for the VW Type 181 so I thought I would post something here for you to peruse and use as a starting point. I can only provide some very broad general guidelines without actually knowing the car.  However, the following guidelines are only slightly more generous than the Old car editions of the Kelly Blue book and NADA Guides which usually run 6 months to a year behind the real market.

There are variables to consider such as:
         Location, You'll get more in the west - particularly Southern California;
         Condition, body much more than engine since the 1600 engine is readily available and costs
         a lot less than a front clip - Any damage to the body is a big ticket item!
         
The mileage really doesn't mean much unless you have complete documentation. Most aircooled VWs are on their 2nd and 3rd engines and many do not have the original speedometers in them. If you are the buyer make sure the serial number on the engine starts with AM and that the speedometer DOES NOT have an ATF idiot light.  You would be surprised how many cars are being sold with 10,000 miles and have a speedometer that was manufactured 10 years after the car was made. 

0000-2000 Poor (Major damage - front or rear apron, side body damage) Parts Car

2000-3500 Fair (Needs pan(s) or Top, has repairable fender, etc.)

3500-5500 Average (Needs some work, but not ashamed to drive)

5500-6500 Good (Looks good but can find something to work on)

6500-8000 Excellent (Nothing to fix)

8000-++++ Feeling Lucky, not really looking to sell the car or you are selling a custom car.  

There are a few that sell in the top price range just as there are still some $300-$400 deals out there.  Coincidently, most of these seem to be sold to friends and neighbors.  We have lots of these in our classifieds, however, I am only aware of two that actually sold for the asking price.  Some of these listings have been there over 5 years.  (All of my Things are available if anyone wants to pay in this price range.) Bob Miller (Original Riverside Thing Registry) and I both guestimate that there are somewhere between 6,000 to 8,000 of the original 29,000 "Things" still out there. Uncommon yes - Rare No.

This guide is for private individual car sales, the commercial Thing Businesses have expenses and stand behind all their products, parts and cars, and you can and should expect to pay more.  

Copyright © 2002 PNWTA