Post by vwdude on May 20, 2007 9:45:41 GMT -5
Too make a short story long. Last year I bought 66 Riviera outside of Alberta that I thought it was in pretty good shape. I took it in for the out of province vehicle inspection and it failed due to the cross members being too rusty. No big deal I'll get them replaced because it's in way better shape than any other VW I've driven I sent it off to place recommend by a couple people to get the cross members fixed. After waiting for a few months I got it back in the fall and decided to wait to spring before I took it in for the second inspection.
It failed for a second time on Friday. They said the frame was bent and rusted. I was in shock. I already spent nearly 4000 dollars to get the cross members fixed and a dent taken out of the rear corner. The shop said the cross members were welded on over a rusty frame and it was bent. The previous inspection didn't tag the bent or rusty frame nor did the shop that did the bodywork. The latest shop that did the inspection said it was an amateur welding. The latest shop also failed it on few new things that last shop passed. On the plus side of things I did adjust the front doors so that they close properly and passed this time. I'm very despondent and not sure what I should do next and have been losing sleep over this one.
I was wonder if some can have a look at the photos at flickr
www.flickr.com/photos/8374113@N05/
I'm not sure how to post them here
or is there somebody in the Calgary area that might have a look at in person?
-What I'm wondering is how many thousands of dollars away am I from getting this fixed the right way?
-Is it worth fixing?
-Should I find something that has better "bones" that is missing a lot of parts and use this one as a parts bus
-Should I give up and see what I can get for. I'm not sure what is worth now that it hasn't pass the inspection. Comparing it to the samba stuff it would be between 5000 and 8000 dollars. I think those buses would fail the inspection in Alberta as well.
-Should I think about moving from Alberta?
-Is it time to find a new hobby. I enjoy doing the mechanical stuff and have rebuilt motors in the past etc. I have no abilities in regards to doing body work and not sure if this the one to learn on or if I want to spend that much time. Thankfully I have a great wife that has supported me on this and said we should find a house with a bigger garage.
sorry about the long post
thanks for any suggestion/advice
It failed for a second time on Friday. They said the frame was bent and rusted. I was in shock. I already spent nearly 4000 dollars to get the cross members fixed and a dent taken out of the rear corner. The shop said the cross members were welded on over a rusty frame and it was bent. The previous inspection didn't tag the bent or rusty frame nor did the shop that did the bodywork. The latest shop that did the inspection said it was an amateur welding. The latest shop also failed it on few new things that last shop passed. On the plus side of things I did adjust the front doors so that they close properly and passed this time. I'm very despondent and not sure what I should do next and have been losing sleep over this one.
I was wonder if some can have a look at the photos at flickr
www.flickr.com/photos/8374113@N05/
I'm not sure how to post them here
or is there somebody in the Calgary area that might have a look at in person?
-What I'm wondering is how many thousands of dollars away am I from getting this fixed the right way?
-Is it worth fixing?
-Should I find something that has better "bones" that is missing a lot of parts and use this one as a parts bus
-Should I give up and see what I can get for. I'm not sure what is worth now that it hasn't pass the inspection. Comparing it to the samba stuff it would be between 5000 and 8000 dollars. I think those buses would fail the inspection in Alberta as well.
-Should I think about moving from Alberta?
-Is it time to find a new hobby. I enjoy doing the mechanical stuff and have rebuilt motors in the past etc. I have no abilities in regards to doing body work and not sure if this the one to learn on or if I want to spend that much time. Thankfully I have a great wife that has supported me on this and said we should find a house with a bigger garage.
sorry about the long post
thanks for any suggestion/advice