dr_mat

It's true - everywhere I went in france the parking was appalling. It's a scale - the US has enormous cars and even more enormous parking bays, the UK is a nice middle ground, but everywhere in France (city-wise, at least), people park SO close that you simply have no option other than to use the bumpers as a guide. Even Cannes, which you might think contains the more property conscious french person, I witnessed a woman in a nearly brand new A-class merc drive up, pull into a parking space by HITTING (not nudging mind, HITTING) the car behind, then swinging the front end in and HITTING the car in front. I was gobsmacked... The number of plainly knackered cars going around france is amazing. It even beats Ipswich! ;)

Never Daewoo.. They're ex-vauxhall cars! Yuck. Maybe an RX8 tho.... ;)

Of course, just trying to put a hint of reality into the discussion. The original question was "i wanna buy a cheap VR6 and run it for less than my 318i" - clearly not possible! (My only "emergency" repair in 2 years has been the starter motor, the battery and an engine coolant hose - which I'll admit isn't too bad. Everything else that wasn't an emergency adds up to a lot of cash tho.. :( )

I think that's a fair estimate - I can imagine the exchange now: "it's the same engine, gearbox, drive system, same power, same grip, same brakes, same performance etc etc, the only thing that's changed is the body shell says Corrado on it instead" "ah, that'll be £7000 extra then sir"

Then there's the fact that most people don't actually *realise* that swinging their car door into the side of another car might even damage it in the *first* place. I mean, they're made of metal, right???

Bl**dy hell, jim, I know Coventry is a bit rough, but I didn't know it required the special "Beirut/Gaza Strip" premium these days!

Might be less, depends on the insurer's recent history with modified corrados. (A mate was looking for quotes for an M5 recently and got told that ordinarily they'd have been able to cut about 30% off the price the computer quoted, but given that their underwriter had paid up for written-off M5s in 9 out of the last 10 cars they'd insured, they weren't prepared to discount on that make/model any more..)

I make that just shy of £4.3 billion...:lol: (unless you're using signed numbers then it's only £2.2 billion) oh man I need to get out more :roll: Actually I was using tenths of a pence as the base unit, so it's actually a mere £2.1 million. But it's still more than the GNP of a small south american nation, so it's a bit worrying! :)

A SEVEN HUNDRED WATT motor??? FIFTY-SEVEN amps??? WTF? It's like leaving the lights on all day and all night, jeez.. And all for ONE psi (supposedly). We get a full SIX psi for free with the Schrick (which is about half an atmosphere)! I can't say I'm surprised, in fact I'm surprised that we've not seen stuff like this before.

.. a few quid for the belt yeah, but ISTR that VW will only sell the whole twin-fan assembly as a single component (£100+). Find someone else who can replace the belt, or get one off a scrap yard.

Could it be a stuck injector? My instinct says that as you say it should run well enough to be basically driveable.. You can't get hold of the ECU that came with the engine I take it?

Any new diagnosis results?? You got the spark plugs on the right wires?

A lot of dealers are doing that now. Pain in the arse, huh? They claim it's because of the number of people cancelling after ordering something, or just plain not turning up, lumbering the dealer with an item they can't return.. Why they can't accept credit card though I *really* don't know. (I had this argument with one local dork myself, thanks..)

From what I've heard it's tricky and relatively expensive... Have a dig around the search for earlier threads, this has been discussed before and I think someone came up with a list of parts required...

Does the G60 have a MAF? If so, the fuelling shouldn't matter, the fuel/air ratio should remain the same. Sure the G60 chip is *designed* to put more fuel in but then, if the MAF is telling it there's hardly any air coming in, it shouldn't overfuel anyway. Particularly given that these cars have both a MAF and a lambda, IIRC. Or is all that completely arse? Just trying to apply a bit of logic... (Which could well be my first mistake!!) Of course, if the MAF is a different model/size now, that could cause problems. (Same air flow rate through a wider inlet equals ECU underestimating correct airflow, for example.)

No, the tensioner is *definitely* on the right hand side of the engine. All I was saying is they could still be dodgy, and are worth watching for at that mileage. What you're describing is probably either "normal" VR ticking (fuel rail or something), or possibly something wearing on the aux belt. Perhaps the belt itself is starting to catch somewhere? I'd inspect the belt myself, given that prompting.

When my tensioners were gone, it wasn't down on power...

The paintwork can probably be recovered with a professional machine polish (apart from the replacement bits at the front end that will need spraying, obviously). It's amazing how much difference a pro polish can make to faded paint!

.. and a lightened flywheel will make the car run less smoothly (but then it's a 6 cylinder so it should be nice and smooth anyway).. And the VR6 is known for stalling when approaching junctions ANYWAY, even with the heavier flywheel, so that's maybe not even related.

Like I say, it's ALL about condition, and what's "new" on the car. A 500,000 miler is worth as much as a 100,000 miler if it's had lots of engine work, and lots of suspension work, and the paintwork is in good shape. The mileage is *almost* irrelevant! An all-original, head-never-been-off VR6 with 100k miles on it could be a loved, well treated example that will do another 100k miles with few problems. But it's much more likely to be about to need lots of expensive remedial work..

I am led to believe that they're not "road legal" unless they were originally fitted to the vehicle by the manufacturer, and went through type approval. But like you've seen, at the moment it seems the only LED option is bulb replacement LEDs at the moment...

What's been replaced? I'd only be straying near the £7k mark if the car has had a head rebuild, and had new suspension and bushes all round.. (Not to mention the dreaded timing chains..) Otherwise it's no better than any other 107k mile car out there - i.e. it's worn out!

Only pay 2-5% more for a Storm than you would for an identical VR6. They are *really* not that distinguished, and are not appreciating any quicker than the "standard" cars.

£3.5k - £7k, depending on condition.

Hmm. Ok, they don't last longer, but still, at £45 for the set that's a bit nicer than £70 each..!! Do people find the passat *rear* handles last longer then or something? I don't want to be without locks either. I find my C with a flat battery too often to be without door locks too..