Need Advice / Help buying my first Mk1

So i'm new here and have always loved Mk1's and have found a potential one to purchase but I don't want to buy it and it be too much of a handful to restore.
I have done some research on it and beleive it is a 1983 gli 1.8 diesel cabriolet, and I wanted to ask and find out what it actually is and what sort of price it would be worth (as i was going to offer the owner £50 to take it away)
Any advice or words are helpful,
Cheers 

Stay away from cabbies if you want your money back.. but if will to try save the old thing..there's plenty of parts around..maybe not so much diesel advice..

I did not think VW made a diesel cabriolet?
The GLi should have a fuel injection petrol engine in it.
How do you know it has a Diesel engine in it, have you lifted the bonnet?

There is a buyers guide on the home page with things to look for, I prefer the cabriolet to a tin top as VW got better at rust proofing there cars from the 80s onwards as early tin tops happy rust away after 10 years on the road.
Tin tops do fetch more money than cabriolets as there's lots of cabriolet still out there.

If you are going to pay someone to restore this car and hoping to make lots of money when you sell it just after its restored then don't as it won't happen.

Are you going to do some or all the work your self or send it away for someone else to do?

I checked the plate and both sites it said Diesel but the insurance quote said petrol so I have no idea, I am hoping it is petrol, and no, i havn't lifted the bonnet, i'm hoping to soon though

Ok thanks ill check it out, and i'm not too fussed on keeping its value, its more for pleasure

Lots of pictures of the diesel and petrol engines on the web so you should be able to tell straight away.
Old no turbo VW Diesel engine are noisey and slow but are ecomical to run and are reliable, a original fuel injection petrol engine will be a lot more fun!

I used to own a 1981 tintop 1.5 diesel when I was a student but I much prefer my 1988 Gti cabriolet and both cars are used as daily drives.

ok I'll look into them, cheers. Also, how easy is it to replace the roof and what else would need to be doing, because it was last MOTed in december 2006

New roof all fitted is about £300, doing it your self is about £150 for a new vinyl then £20 for 3 new tension cables, some good quality high heat glue and some other tools, again there is a very good guide on the home page.

If the car has not run in 10 years don't try and start it as the petrol/diesel would of gone off and maybe turned to a sludge and it will damage more parts if dragged through the injection system. Fuel tank will need checking there is an inspection hole under the back seat if you remove the cover and the fuel guage sender you can see into the fuel tank and assess if the tank needs removing and clean out /replace, new fuel tanks £100 ish.

Ohh the prices aren't as bad as I thought they would be…. I will hopefully be speaking to the owner tomorrow and hopefully can afford it…. I am hoping it is under £800… but i'm no expert so I have no idea.

2006 that's not that long ago….if you think. 2000 was when my gli last mot. And runs…on drive only..problem with it is brake pipes corroded.next to master cylinder. Also rust on inner wings. And few wiring issues. Wrong rad..and leaky hoses.but again something that can be sorted.

nice, i'm hoping this one isn't that bad, it had been sort of protected by a tree, and a lot of bird poo….

Check the rear wheel arches, feel around the edges for rust, be carful of sharp edges if they are rusty.
Fuel filler neck is a common rust issue as its metal and lives under the wheel arch, take the filler cap off and shine a torch down it. Cabriolet filler necks are different to tin top filler neck, new cabriolet filler neck silly money at £80 compared to tin tops ones at £25.
Cars also seem to rust more at the back than the front and if you can look underneath where the rear beam is fixed to the car (just in front of the rear wheels) and if it's very rusty and full of holes this can be fiddly and expensive to repair.
May be look at other peoples restoration threads to see where there cars have rusted away then it gives you an idea on where to look. Tin top and cabriolet have very simular floor pans.

Let us know how you get on.  

Ok will do, Thanks a lot, very helpfull!!  

Easy way to say Diesel, or Gasser.
Diesel engines have a Injection pump grille side and to the left of the engine with 4 injector lines straight to the grille side of the block and no Distributor.

Gassers have Braided Steel Injector lines off the right of the engine going into a black boot on the right behind battery.

all you ever wanted to know about Cabriolets www.cabby-info.com

I too didn't think any cabbies had diesels….but Euro is different and I think there may have been.

I speak Diesel.  Owned a Rabbit Diesel LS for 20yr.

I speak Cabbie's and Digifant.

 

Ahhh ok, I will make sure to check, Cheers for the help

Not heard of a diesel cabby back then but who knows, someone might have changed the lump.

But it would defeat the object of driving around little country lanes with a truck motor rattling it's head off inches from you and the top down.

One quick way to check is to take the fuel cap off and have a whiff!