Locally, I found a 90-92 Golf 4 door with good body panels. I wanted the doors, bumpers, and hood from it, and was told I could get the doors for $400, and I figured not much more for the bumpers and hood, since I'd be buying it all at once.
I called parts place, and the right door was $200 and the left was $225
Ok skip that...lets try the other items on my list...
Ahh, yeah, I need a complete ABA, and does it come with a dizzy?
I'm told they have a good used engine, but they can't tell me how many miles were on it. Sure, every other junkyard can, but they can't
OK, how much loot for the engine with who knows how many miles on it?
$900. What?!?!? Oh, and a $400 core charge if we don't get another 2L engine back!
Lemme get this straight....$1300 for the engine if I wanted to swap it in my A2? You, my friend, are on drugs!
I asked if they sold any, and he told me in the month and a half he had worked there, they had sold a few. Wow. Wow. Again, wow.
What is even more amazing, this is coming from a guy with an 84 GTI with an ABA block converison. He was one of US!!!!
I asked him how much he paid for his 2L a few times, and he never would say, other than saying it wasn't quite that much, he bought only the block, and he bought it somewhere else. I laughed, and said I bet he had...then I asked if he ever went to the Vortex site, and he said he hadn't. No surprise, or he'd realize what a used $1300 ABA sounds like....a joke!
I told him they are between $350-$400 used for a complete ABA. He asked if that was with the head. Hell yeah that is with the head...everything but the dizzy buddy!
OK, lets skip the engine, since you are all obviously on dope over there.
I then asked about a rear beam with discs, and they had just a bare beam, $150, or $375 for the beam with brakes.
No thanks.
How about my last item, I'm doing 11" brakes on my 87. I'm told his buddy has 11" brakes on his Rabbit. I told him any knuckle from a 10.1 car should work, as long as it has 4 bolt hubs. I mentioned the A3 rides should have what I need...which is just the steering knuckle, and the hub that should be pressed into it. I've got new bearings, ball joints, calipers, etc. to bolt to it.
He does some looking, then his buddy jumps on the line. Jason this guys name was.
Hey, A3 knuckles won't fit on your car, they use a different hole to bolt up with.
What? What hole?
The ball joint is different than on your car...you need A2 16V knuckles.
Right....you crack head. The A2 16V knuckles won't fit my 87 ball joints either. They'll fit about as well as the A3 joints....which is why I mentioned I have newer style ball joints ready for the swap.
Keep in mind, I had said nothing smart to them at this point, other than to ask how much the one guy paid for his ABA.
I'm explaining to Jason how and why the knuckles from the A3 will indeed fit my A2, and this and that, and I'm interrupted by the first guy.
Uh, he got off the phone...he was, uhh, I guess to busy to listen to an explanation.
I told him Jason was a dumbass, A3 knuckles will fit my A2 if I use the right ball joints, and he told me they could sell me reman A3 knuckles (reman means new bearings, I guess) for $130 a side. But they wouldn't be able to take them back if they didn't fit, since I was arguing with Jason about the fitment.
This is from a place that deals only in VWs? A place ran by people who own, and even, gasp!, mod their VWs? I can't believe it.
Needless to say, I won't be buying any parts form them, they can keep their $1300 used engines! Hahahahaha!
Locally, the doors I figure will be $400, the engine is going to be $325, I'm hoping for $200-$250 for a complete rear beam with discs, and $150 for both sides on the knuckles.
Anyway, sorry for running on, I just couldn't get over the way I was treated by Jason on the phone (too busy to listen?), and over the incredible prices they want for used VW parts.
Broke
I called parts place, and the right door was $200 and the left was $225

Ok skip that...lets try the other items on my list...
Ahh, yeah, I need a complete ABA, and does it come with a dizzy?
I'm told they have a good used engine, but they can't tell me how many miles were on it. Sure, every other junkyard can, but they can't

OK, how much loot for the engine with who knows how many miles on it?
$900. What?!?!? Oh, and a $400 core charge if we don't get another 2L engine back!
Lemme get this straight....$1300 for the engine if I wanted to swap it in my A2? You, my friend, are on drugs!
I asked if they sold any, and he told me in the month and a half he had worked there, they had sold a few. Wow. Wow. Again, wow.
What is even more amazing, this is coming from a guy with an 84 GTI with an ABA block converison. He was one of US!!!!
I asked him how much he paid for his 2L a few times, and he never would say, other than saying it wasn't quite that much, he bought only the block, and he bought it somewhere else. I laughed, and said I bet he had...then I asked if he ever went to the Vortex site, and he said he hadn't. No surprise, or he'd realize what a used $1300 ABA sounds like....a joke!
I told him they are between $350-$400 used for a complete ABA. He asked if that was with the head. Hell yeah that is with the head...everything but the dizzy buddy!
OK, lets skip the engine, since you are all obviously on dope over there.
I then asked about a rear beam with discs, and they had just a bare beam, $150, or $375 for the beam with brakes.
No thanks.
How about my last item, I'm doing 11" brakes on my 87. I'm told his buddy has 11" brakes on his Rabbit. I told him any knuckle from a 10.1 car should work, as long as it has 4 bolt hubs. I mentioned the A3 rides should have what I need...which is just the steering knuckle, and the hub that should be pressed into it. I've got new bearings, ball joints, calipers, etc. to bolt to it.
He does some looking, then his buddy jumps on the line. Jason this guys name was.
Hey, A3 knuckles won't fit on your car, they use a different hole to bolt up with.
What? What hole?
The ball joint is different than on your car...you need A2 16V knuckles.
Right....you crack head. The A2 16V knuckles won't fit my 87 ball joints either. They'll fit about as well as the A3 joints....which is why I mentioned I have newer style ball joints ready for the swap.
Keep in mind, I had said nothing smart to them at this point, other than to ask how much the one guy paid for his ABA.
I'm explaining to Jason how and why the knuckles from the A3 will indeed fit my A2, and this and that, and I'm interrupted by the first guy.
Uh, he got off the phone...he was, uhh, I guess to busy to listen to an explanation.
I told him Jason was a dumbass, A3 knuckles will fit my A2 if I use the right ball joints, and he told me they could sell me reman A3 knuckles (reman means new bearings, I guess) for $130 a side. But they wouldn't be able to take them back if they didn't fit, since I was arguing with Jason about the fitment.
This is from a place that deals only in VWs? A place ran by people who own, and even, gasp!, mod their VWs? I can't believe it.
Needless to say, I won't be buying any parts form them, they can keep their $1300 used engines! Hahahahaha!
Locally, the doors I figure will be $400, the engine is going to be $325, I'm hoping for $200-$250 for a complete rear beam with discs, and $150 for both sides on the knuckles.
Anyway, sorry for running on, I just couldn't get over the way I was treated by Jason on the phone (too busy to listen?), and over the incredible prices they want for used VW parts.
Broke