Bagging a hole in one
Some lucky buyer kept it on the fairway with this car, netting a solid Cabrio in time for the warmer months
One of this sale’s best buys?
Yes indeed. The market likes later VWs and while the following divides into air-cooled and water-cooled camps, the latter is immensely strong, driven by younger enthusiasts with modern classics interests. This was Barons’ first 2020 sale and punters were out in force, and with a large number of fired-up punters come strong prices. More recent Barons sales have seen large numbers of people attending on both sale day and preview days.
Tell us about this one
This wasn’t an ultra-low mileage, one owner, heated garage and dryweather-only example. But it had a lot going for it, as the £2000-3500 estimate indicated. Starting with the bodywork, all was very good; bearing in mind that this Golf was nearly three decades old there was no evidence of corrosion and the unusual Dragon Green metallic paint was good all round. The panel fit was very good, with doors lining up and opening and closing precisely and not dropping on their hinges. The tidy bumpers fitted well and the wheelarches, which were part of the Clipper body kit, were straight and undamaged. The steel wheels were tidy with no signs of kerbing. Inside it was all clean and tidy and free of damage. The cream-seat facings and door panels were clean and tidy with little sign of wear to them and the dashboard, steering wheel and plastic trim had no signs of damage or fading. A new hood had been fitted in 2016, and there was paperwork to prove it.
What about the history, then?
First things first – this car had covered 128,000 miles in the hands of four owners. However, such mileage is commonplace with earlier Golfs and this one had the advantage of service history supporting the mileage, with stamps in the book and related invoices. The vendor said it drove faultlessly and MoT-tested until 3 July.
Sum it up
No question – this was a canny buy, especially with spring not far off; the price paid was more than fair. The first-generation Golf Cabriolet isn’t exactly a rare sight at auctions, but examples tend to be either scruffy and needing plenty of work, or ultrasmart and consequently way more expensive. Here was a delightfully middle-ground example that was good to go. Someone certainly picked up a bit of a bargain with this car.