There is a 1980 245 in the classifieds for $1500. Take a look at it and then think about the 242.
A rust free body is tough to find, but if you have to replace all of the mechanicals??? I think he is $1000 over what it is worth.
If you sink $1000 into it, could you sell it again?

Klaus
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1975 164 w/174,800mi (Sold) 1995 850T w/91,000mi, 1998 V70R w/129,000mi

To compare, I paid $450 for a fairly solid (by east coast standards) 84 242DL with a bunch of suspension upgrades; the head gasket was shot though the car did sort of run. The car has a very straight body, peeling repaint, and gorgeous interior. It's also the last year of the 242 and has small bumpers. It'd be a great transplant for a turbo drivetrain- it turns out the head was actually destroyed by the overheat.

I paid $500 for a 82 245GLT turbo wagon, from Texas, non intercooled, M46, straight and rust free but the paint was shot. It was driveable sort of like that one. Every bushing wasted, struts wasted, mounts wasted.

The engine harness was bad and needed to be replaced. The mixture needed to be adjusted to get it to start and run ok when cold. Probably needed a control pressure regulator but they're expensive. It had most annoyingly a broken ignition lock and a bad heater fan. I put a whole good dash in it while I had it all apart. Had to do the speedo cable too, which is not a fun job and even less so on a Turbo due to heat shields.

Both cars came with Virgos, so they were worth it in my book. You have a lot of wiggle room in that price, but a car that runs and drives and looks halfway decent for under a thousand bucks is pretty good. Inspect that thing for the condition of the wiring harness. I sold my 245 to a friend for $1000 with most of the stuff fixed, except the clutch, and then had to help put a new clutch in it. Now it's had an intercooler added to it and an "A" cam, and it's kinda scary how fast that thing can go. Still looks like crap but it's a survivor, and the blue cloth will probably outlive us all...

I'd say deduct $$ for problems you identify and see what kind of deal you can get. To me, $1500 means "I really wanted $1000, I have no idea what this car is worth, but I'll take $900 for it."
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::: Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 92 244 M47 212K ::: 90 745GL M47 275K ::: 90 745T AW71 213K ::: 90 745T Parts Car ::: 88 245DL SOLD! ::: 84 242DL Project ::: 70 VW Bus ::: 70 VW Pickup Project ::: 71 VW Notchback :::

I don't lowball, I just politely offer what I want to pay. As long as you don't insult the owner by telling him his car is a broken down parts car IMO you are not lowballing.

If it is original with no intercooler and an oil cooled turbo then it really isn't worth much at all, especially since you have no idea how many miles it really has. Here in the NW maybe $800 or so tops. With the turbo upgraded to watercooled and intercooled the value would run from maybe $1200 and up depending on overall condition.

If you're looking to make it nice it's going to cost plenty of money before you're done. You may be better off paying more for a finished, or mostly finished project that someone already sunk all the bucks into, you never get it back if you do it yourself.

Hard starting when cold could also mean an extremely tired engine.
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Lee 75 244 (80k original miles) 79 242 65 220 project