Faults:

Exhaust gasket blew at 198,000 miles.

Common wear and tear on the interior.

Put a new engine in it as I wanted to have an even faster car!!

Old engine was running strong before I took it out.

Other than that, no real major problems.

General Comments:

Very fast and agile. Will beat most stock cars from 0-60 - Mustangs, Civics, Preludes, other V-Dubs. The Rabbit or mk1 Golf was the start in sporty hatchbacks, light and fast. My Rabbit's body only weighs 700lbs!!! With the new 2.0L engine in, it flies!!

The Rabbit handles like nothing else, it sticks to the road. I can do about 55-65mph round a corner without any or very little body roll.

I strongly recommend getting one.

I want to keep this Rabbit for as long as possible, and maybe even put a 3.2L VR6 turbo in it!!!

Faults:

Latches on vent windows broken.

Exhaust leak.

General Comments:

This is my first Volkswagen and I'm impressed. I bought it hoping for lower gas costs and it has proved to be very efficient.

Although it needs a tune-up and basic up-to-date maintenance, this car is incredibly reliable despite its age.

The cabin is tiny, but cozy and simple.

Faults:

Battery died a month after I got the car--was only 2 months old (seller had receipt)

Seats were reupholstered (they were vinyl and the car has no air conditioning)

Headliner came loose-replaced.

Some rust on driver's door, nothing major.

New carpeting and patch in floor pan, as there was a leak in the passenger's side floor. At first I thought it was the vent window, but I pulled up the carpeting and found things growing in the insulation. So far the patch has held, and it's a lot quieter in the cabin with the new (non-mildewed) insulation.

Brake lights and dome light work when they feel like it; typical VW wiring quirk.

Other than that, no major mechanical failures.

General Comments:

The shifter sticks sometimes--third gear is almost on top of first. The clutch is fairly friendly though.

Seats are comfortable, now that they're no longer vinyl. They also came out of a 2-door Rabbit, so they swing forward when you flip the lever on the side. Very handy for getting a briefcase out of the back seat when the rear doors are frozen shut (or the handles aren't working--another typical Rabbit quirk).

The hatchback stays up on its own. Most '90s American hatchbacks/wagons can't even dream of that with the original strut. And even the Japanese sometimes have trouble with them (my head still hurts where the tailgate of my Subaru bonked me).

I hate the turn signal indicator--ONE LED??!! What's with that?

I love my bunny! It should serve me for years to come. This is the second '83 Rabbit I've owned, and I refuse to let go this time.

Faults:

The first bad thing about this car is the fuel injection, I had to change it to carburetor.

The ceiling fell down.

General Comments:

This car has never gave me trouble since I put the carburetor on.

I like to drive it fast (not rude) everyday.

The stability in this car is like having glue on the tires.

Fun.

Faults:

The glow plugs went, a very inexpensive, but frustrating repair.

Odometer doesn't work.

Broken engine mount, inexpensive and easy to repair.

Parking brake cables are seized up.

Broken vent-windows.

General Comments:

Its generally a fantastic car. It doesn't have much in the horsepower department, but I get between 50-60miles per gallon with it. It sounds like a John Deere tractor! And its very reliable, even in the winter. It's definatly a head turner.

Faults:

Glow plugs needed changing.

Water pump went out.

Alternator belt shattered.

General Comments:

This is a sweet little car. It behaves and drives just exactly how I want it to. I often times can go places where I've seen SUV's get stuck and cruise right by. I trust that it will last forever.

This is one of the best cars that VW has made (Passats, Jettas, and Beetles are cool too). I love it.

It gets 30-40mpg. I used to own a huge beast but I'm strictly a diesel or VW fan from here on out.

Faults:

I bought the car at 120K miles with a burnt exhaust valve (This was the result of a hose failure not tended to by the previous owner.) Vent windows came loose from their pivots. Front fender rust. Still a solid car.

General Comments:

I have replaced the original 1700cc engine with a good used one (1900cc from a GTi) and have had few problems since. These cars are plentiful and cheap as used parts cars, and they have wonderfully stiff chassis and great aftermarket parts availability. Mine has lots of aftermarket speed parts and they have all worked and fit perfectly. Check any VW or Compact car magazine and there will be many, many sources. Rabbits make great autocross cars with minimal investment. Mine was the 3rd place vintage import in the 1995 One Lap of America on a total investment of 1200.00!