Used Car of the Day: 1996 Volkswagen Derby

by Tim Healey

Published: April 18th, 2024

used car of the day 1996 volkswagen derby

Today we bring you a car that wasn't, to my knowledge, sold new in the United States. It's a Mexican-spec Volkswagen Derby. Which was basically a rebadged SEAT Cordoba.

Basically, the car was built in Mexico using parts from Spain.

This particular example has about 82,000 miles on it and a five-speed manual. It apparently has just 90 horsepower from the 1.8-liter engine (some Googling shows that there are different versions of that engine, and indeed one version does make 90 hp).

There are no airbags, due to the different European safety standards of the time.

A tuneup has been done recently, the battery is new, and so are the tires. The clutch is new, too.

This car is based in Mexico, and it appears that the seller may be a dealer. So keep that in mind. Nothing against dealers, of course, but the buying experience, especially with a car based over the border, may be different than with a private seller. Importing vehicles can be tricky, too, but this car is more than 25 years old. That should make things easier.

If you want to check it out, the price is $5,200 and you can see more by clicking here.

[Images: Seller]

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#Volkswagen #SEAT #SEATCordoba #VolkswagenDerby #Mexico #VW #1996VolkswagenDerby #UsedCars #UCOTD #UsedCaroftheDay

Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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4 of 7 comments

MaintenanceCosts on Apr 18, 2024

So this is really just a restyled VW Fox. Craptacular tin can but fun to drive in a "makes ordinary traffic seem like a NASCAR race" kind of way.

1 Reply
- Ajla on Apr 18, 2024
  
  "but fun to drive in a "makes ordinary traffic seem like a NASCAR race" kind of way."
  That's how I felt when I drove my Diplomat in heavier Interstate traffic. I wasn't a fan personally.
  Driving something from pre1970 is actually nicer because you'll usually get a little "classic car courtesy".
  
  1
- MaintenanceCosts on Apr 19, 2024
  
  I think a car has to be somewhat agile to make that sort of thing fun. One of my families growing up had a 1.0L Subaru Justy (1900 lbs with me sitting in it) hanging around, and I honestly had a blast just keeping up with traffic in it. I don't think an equally slow two-ton sedan would have been nearly as fun.
  
  Like
FreedMike on Apr 18, 2024

Apparently this car, which doesn't comply to U.S. regs, is in Nogales, Mexico. What could possibly go wrong with this transaction?

2 Reply
- See 1 previous
- Theflyersfan on Apr 19, 2024
  
  Day 1: Arrived at the border after a wonderful drive through Mexico. My friend who came along for the trip has never been through Arizona and Mexico so this will be a fun trip for the both of us. I can't wait to see this car!
  Day 2: Stayed at a nice hotel in town. Called the seller. He is sending a couple of his friends to pick us up as he said that finding his ranch well outside of town is difficult and our phones might not get a signal. That works. I know enough Spanish to kind of talk with them. Here they are now. That's a nice van the have!
  Day 3: Something has gone horribly wrong. We were jumped in the lot of the hotel. I swear I saw the hotel manager look the other way before a bag was put over my face. I heard my friend hit the ground hard after being slammed from behind. The bag smelled funny and I think I fell asleep as when I came to, we were done moving. I don't know where we are.
  Day 4: I know what they want. They think we are rich Americans and are trying to shake me and my family down for cash. I told them that we have just graduated from school and we don't have a lot of money. I was called a liar and I think punched hard as when I came to, I could taste blood in my mouth. This is getting serious. My friend, I have no idea where they took him.
  Day 10: I am starting to think that I am not going to leave this dungeon. They took the money I was going to use to buy this car. They have probably spent what they could on my credit and debit card. They have told me that I am never going to leave until I can give them more money. I don't have it.
  Day 30: Something about kidneys and the end. All of this over a VW. F*** VW...
  
  6
- SCE to AUX on Apr 19, 2024
  
  Yeah, I'm trying to figure out just who would cross the border to buy a 28-year-old VW.
  
  Like