Check out an elderly VW Golf worth 2 new Mercedes-Benz C-Class

A 1992 Volkswagen Golf GTI went under the hammer for U.S. $87,000 the other day, costing the winning bidder the same as a pair of mint, entry-level Mercedes-Benz C-Class saloons. Despite a good overall condition, the three-door hatchback had over 85,000 km (53,000 miles) on the odometer.

The car came equipped with a 2.0-liter engine rated at 134 hp (100 kW) and 180 Nm (132 lb-ft) of torque in tandem with a five-speed manual gearbox. It was optioned with 15-inch BBS wheels, cloth-trimmed Recaro seats, a sunroof, an AC and a Philips cassette player.

Although originally designed for the North American market, the car soon traveled overseas to Europe. It only returned to the States a year before the sale.

Volkswagen had produced the Golf GTI with this kind of engine in the USA in 1990–1992, and the model has never been of any particular interest to collectors. Rumor has it more than 600,000 second-generation hatchback like this one was made in total.

Aside from respectable mileage, this example arrived at the auction block with paint defects. By the look of it, no one seriously expected it to fetch nearly as much, and the commenters went as far as to call the winning bid ‘insane.’ Some pointed out that you could buy a used Ferrari 360 Modena or Porsche 911 for the same price at the same auction.

A look at the history of transactions reveals that the previous top price for the Golf GTI Mk2 at this particular auction, recorded almost a year ago, was $42,500.