At $7,500, Does This 1981 VW 'Caddy' Pickup Mean it’s Rabbit Season?

Today’s Nice Price or No Dice VW Caddy is a truck built for and in the land of the pickup, the U.S.A. Let’s see if its price and condition will ensure domestic bliss.

There are 26 letters in the modern English alphabet giving automakers plenty of choice when using a single or multi-letter delineator for a special model or series. Despite that panoply of possibilities, most manufacturers make their choices from just a handful of letters. In the case of Audi, that’s “S,” and yesterday we looked at a 2014 Audi S4 Quattro, that marque’s midsized brawler. Decent specs and subtle mods added to the car’s attractions, but a $28,990 price tag apparently did not. That took the hot Audi down in a fairly decisive 74 percent No Dice loss.

The Audi marque was originally one of the four rings that made up Auto Union. Unfortunately for all concerned, the union didn’t survive WWII. By the late 1950s, Auto Union’s reminants were bought by Daimler-Benz. That company didn’t know what to do with what was then selling small two-strokes under the DKW brand so it sold the whole schnitzel to Volkswagen in the mid-1960s. VW wrapped DKW up with the also recently acquired NSU and reconstituted the Audi brand for a series of cars that would sit above those of the people’s car brand. What DKW, NSU, and Audi brought to Volkswagen was experience with water-cooled engines and FWD platforms, both technologies that would transform VW in the ‘70s into the juggernaut it is today.

One of the cornerstones of that emergence is the VW Golf, better known at the time in the U.S. as the Rabbit. Debuting in 1974, the compact Golf has been a staple of VW’s line ever since, with numerous spin-offs including the Cabriolet convertible, Jetta sedan, Scirroco, and the object of today’s interest, a 1981 VW Rabbit ‘Caddy’ pickup.

Interestingly, the Caddy wasn’t the brainchild of VW’s corporate headquarters in Germany. Instead, it was conceived by the company’s product planners at Volkswagen of America and was initially produced exclusively at the company’s then-factory in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania. It was intended to compete with other small pickups like the Ford Courier and Chevy LUV, but unlike those captive imports, the Caddy was built here in America.

From the factory, these were offered with a selection of modestly powered gas and diesel engines mated to a four-speed stick. Owing to the Golf/Rabbit’s Lego-like construction, later, more powerful and economical engines and transmissions still fit just fine.

That’s the case here, as this Caddy comes with an AAZ 1.9 Turbo-Diesel and 020 five-speed manual driving its front wheels. At 74 horses, that’s a decent upgrade and, as it’s all in the family, shouldn’t require anything special for its care and feeding. According to the seller, it “runs, drives, stops, and shifts smoothly.” This Caddy is also boasted to have “power windows and a very loud alarm system.”

Recent maintenance undertaken included new engine mounts and the replacement of the alternator and the timing belt. Further work is required, though, as the seller notes the following issues:

3/4 wheel bearings show signs of age and should be replaced eventually, DS Outer CV boot is torn, no license plate light, minor leaks on rear brake cylinders, lots of bitey clamps in the bay. As time goes by I will fix this as I have time.

There’s a small amount of rust on the body, as noted in the ad, although the seller seems to think it’s just bubbles and claims there are no structural issues with the car at all. Other than those imperfections, it all looks solid and there’s nothing really wrong in the cabin either. The odometer reads 255,000 miles, but much of the car has been refreshed over the course of those miles. Additionally, the seller notes enough spare parts to fill the cab and the bed will come with the sale. Finally, the title is clean, and, according to the seller, the $7,500 asking price is negotiable.

It’s non-negotiable here, though. That’s just how we roll. What’s your take on this VW pickup and that $7,500 asking? Does that seem fair for a Caddy in this condition? Or, does this Rabbit’s price have you hopping mad?

You decide!

Seattle, Washington, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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