Just about everything went wrong with my car. During the time I had it, the car had to receive a new clutch, transmission bushings, fuel pump, alternator, 3 coolant hoses, about 10 gallons of anti-freeze, and re-wiring was done inside the dashboard after an electrical fire started when I flipped on my headlights one night.
I really racked up about 105,000 miles, but the odometer was also messed up when the electrical fire happened, so I didn't fix it.
The power steering went out, but this car is easy to turn without power steering.
Condensation built up in the engine and it was EXTREMELY hard to start in cold weather. I usually had to flick the key back and forth about 30 times before it would start, then I would hold the gas in half-way for a while to get it to idle for me.
The final straw was when I got some new tires and noticed the axle boots were worn and all this dirt was between the axles. I just up and sold the thing for $1900.
Although all of these things went bad with my car, for some reason, I still loved the thing. I went out and did something stupid by getting some Pontiac Sunbird Convertible and I sold the Roc. Now I want it back so badly. This Sunbird is too reliable. I used to enjoy hitch-hiking after one of my roadside disasters with my Scirocco. Call me an idiot, but I liked this type of stuff.
I used to get it in first gear, and hit the gas real hard repeatedly. It would bounce up and down like it was doing the worm. It was really loud because of the holes in the muffler and exhaust system, but it gave it a kind of ringing sound when the engine was around 7000 rpm. I used to think I looked so cool in the Roc. I was always smiling in it and waving. I would be cruising down a LONG stretch of road, and I would have it in 5th gear. I would get tired of just sitting there and smiling, so I would hit the clutch and yank it into 2nd gear. Then I would work my way back up to 5th gear just for the fun of it. This was SUCH A FUN CAR. Roc, wherever you are, I'm so sorry I sold you to that local punk rocker with the blue hair. I love you, Roc.
That's funny, it sounds exactly back wards to everything I've ever experienced. I've owned 5 VW's and 3 GM's in my life, and I will never buy another GM. I can't even imagine a reliable GM let alone a troublesome VW. That's the problem, I own a VW, it gives me no trouble so I take it for granted, then I sell it, buy a GM, it eats $200-$300 in parts a month, and I end up in another VW.
Great review, laughed all the way to Germany where I am picking up my 16V!
Can you give me some tips on car maintenance?
I owen a 87 roc I bought from a friend for 800.00 it was in ex.con. no dents paint was perf. she was a beautiful represention of the year 1987. when european cars were the hype they drove the Autobahn. A car that was to drive there was a roc. Now inport that car to america you get the 1987 scirocco 16 v, the car still to this day can blow away most stock car's of the same cubic inch... volkswagen thank you for A car that is such a great ride today...tricky0ne.
Well its no wonder you had so many things go wrong when you nearly blew the motor going from cruisin in 5th down to 2nd. The pistons probably almost shot out the cylinders or exploded out the bottom...
Yea, it's unfortunate but the 16Vs are vulnerable to the same issues, but most can be fixed by tightening ONLY ONE nut! All the problems you list could have been resolved if you'd tightened up on the nut located right behind the steering wheel.
Hey, try dropping that Sunbird from drive to low once and you'll be back to hitching for good.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site