Portent

I saw a blue Corrado at 2:10pm yesterday, driving out of Esher towards the Hampton Court direction. I had my windows up and couldn't see the badge but it sounded like a VR I think.

Yes that's the part. Thanks I'll try the dealer.

Yes I mean the round clips. Thanks I will look at alternate clips. The reason I am looking was because the current worm clips are cutting into it. It caused a minor leak last year and the garage cut the damage part off but advised me to get the correct clips to prevent it happening again.

The previous owner put non-standard worm clips on the fuel hoses which go into the fuel rail on the engine. I'd like to replace them with the correct original clips because the worm clips damage the line over time. Thanks.

I had the same issue and almost gave up. It simply wouldn't take my password or a new password if I reset it. I eventually got it to work by coming back a few days later and trying to login with the last temporary password I was sent after a reset. But I didn't use the link in the email. I just tried to login as normal but with that new password emailed to me days before. Then I changed it manually once logged in.

A bit late from me as I had problems recovering my account to login again. But Happy Christmas and New Year all :)

I've just realised I've had mine for over eight and a half years now. I can't believe it. In another six months it will be the car I've owned the longest, overtaking my old Golf mk4 V6 4Motion which I should never has sold all those years ago. I took a sad step a few months ago and SORN'd it. I hardly used it last year and it's been sat in the garage since April with only a few hundred miles in that time. The problem is I now have too many cars. I've gone from a dead Golf GTI in 2018 (meaning the Corrado was temporarily my daily driver), to having too many cars (a new Evoque as a family car and an old Peugeot 206 as a beater). The Corrado just doesn't have a place for me at the moment outside of it being a hobby which I just haven't had time for recently (2019 was a terrible year with three close family deaths including my mum a month ago). But I can't bring myself to sell it as it's been part of me for so long. So I took the difficult decision to SORN it and put it away in the garage.

I'll probably bring it out of hibernation in the spring.

A burgundy Corrado near Esher on Sunday afternoon.

No problem. I think I will have to work this Sat so options for me are going to be Sunday or possibly late evening tomorrow (Thurs 8pm-ish)

Another year of MOT. No advisories :dance:although it did initially fail on a leaking fuel line caused by a previous owner using the wrong type of clip on it (fixed by the garage for free and retested). They know the car well as I always use the same garage for any work and they commented on just how nice it was underneath.

I spent most of last year using it as a daily after my Golf GTI died, although I barely drive 3k a year. But for the last few months I've not driven it at all. It's been sat unused in my garage while I was using an inherited Peugeot 206 diesel. I've kind of got attached to the Peugeot as it's so cheap to run, was free, and I can park it anywhere without worrying about it. But getting back into the Corrado was like driving a precision instrument compared to it. I was genuinely surprised how much faster and well built the Corrado felt as it's now 25 years old.

I had a huuuuuge smile on my face driving it there yesterday and collecting it today. I just checked when I bought the car and I've now owned it for eight years. I was shocked to realise how long it's been.

It's about an hour each way from me so better if there is someone closer. But if no other takers then I might be able to take a look this weekend or next. I'm not a mechanic but would be able to give an opinion on whether it's worth him coming down.

Blue VR6 driving through Surbiton right now.

Thanks for the Mini feedback. Funny enough my wife suggested something like a Peugeot. I shall avoid one!

Replaced the ignition barrel. I don't want to do that again in a hurry :)

Wow I can't believe I last posted an update in 2015. Well I still have the car and it's running well. I haven't had much time to go to any meets in the last few years. Last May my Corrado unexpectedly became my daily driver after my Golf GTI had an engine failure. After several months of trying to disgnose it I sold the Golf and haven't yet decided what car to replace it with. I try to use the Corrado sparingly but it's amazing how practical the car actually is. I can fit four in the car quite comfortably.

I've had a few things fixed recently such as a stuck brake bleed nipple. The garage I use reversed it into a post after the MOT so they had the whole rear bumper repaired and painted. I also had a scare a few months ago; while driving in the rain at 60mph on a single carriageway national speed limit road the drivers side wiper arm sheared off and disappeared, leaving me with no visibility. I managed to steer to safety and wait for the rain to pass. I was a few hours from home but luckily I had a Lupo or TT wiper conversion in my box of spares. So I fitted those. I need new blades on them and I'm not sure whether they are TT or Lupo arms so I need to work that out :)

Today I did replaced the ignition lock barrel after it seized a couple of times and only worked after a about 10 mins of jiggling it. So I bit the bullet and replaced it today. That was a time consuming and fiddly job but it's done now. The article on the Corrado wiki doesn't work for the VR6 because the lock barrel isn't held in with a screw. To get it out you have to drill into the metal barrel housing and depress a small latch. Then slide it out forward.

1) Remove seat (undo 10mm nut at front and slide back).

2) Place cushions or wads of blankets over the central rail so you don't hurt your back when laying on it.

3) Remove driver side under trays (many screws).

4) Remove bottom steering column cover. (three screws).

5) Put steering wheel in lowest setting and then undo steering wheel height adjustment lever (10mm nut underneath).

6) Remove top steering wheel cover (it should now just pull out, which is why you have to undo the height adjustment lever first).

7) On a VR6, and I assume all later models, the ignition barrel is inside a metal sleeve. If you look at the new replacement barrel you will see a black latch in the middle. This pushes in and springs back again. You have to measure where this is on the new barrel and then mark its approximate location on the barrel sleeve. It will be at about 10 o'clock and approximately an inch / 2.5cm in, but measure it yourself. Drill a small hole in the barrel sleeve where the latch should be. Then push the latch down by using a small pick in the hole you just drilled. Obviously just drill a small hole. You should also protect the hazard button on the steering wheel because the drill collar may damage it when drilling.

9) With the latch depressed, put the keys in the ignition and use them to pull the barrel out. It will only come out if you have managed to push the latch down.

10) Clean out any swarf from the drill and then push in the new barrel. It was quite a tight fit so I had to push it in firmly,

I also disconnected the electrical plugs underneath as a precaution but it's probably not essential. It does take a few hours and is quite fiddly. But it's a lot cheaper than asking a garage to do it for you.

In answer to the above question I still have the GTI Engineering steering wheel in the garage.

I really must now decide what car to replace the Golf with. I very nearly bought a new S3 but at the last minute decided not to spend so much money. I recently considered a mk4 or mk5 R32 but petrol costs are quite high and I already have a V6 :dance:. I'm considering a cheap Mini because my daughter will be driving in a couple of years and can then have it. But I'm also considering a mk1 TT Quattro Sport 240. Frankly I can't decide what to buy :shrug:

I checked this the other day and wasn't surprised. It's a little worrying because I live inside the M25, albeit outside of the current zone. It will expand in the future though.

I got the car back from the garage today having had the ABS light fixed (replacement sensor), along with a brake fluid change and unseizing the rear brake bleed nipples. All good again :)

I saw two today. Firstly a red supercharged VR6 with black leather Golf Recaros parked next to mine at SE Autoworks in Guildford. Then when I was driving home on the A3 I saw a burgundy (?) Corrado a few cars ahead of me. This was at about 11:10 and it pulled off before I could catch up in traffic.

It's the first Corrado I've seen on the road in a long time.

Looking to get something similar myself so interested in comments and suggestions here too. Doesnt need to be super powerful as the missus will be driving it mainly but would be nice with a sport trim

I test drive a Skoda Kodiaq yesterday and it was better than the Q3 in most ways. I appreciate the two cars I drove were very different (Q3 was a small SUV, petrol, manual and the Kodiaq was a larger SUV, diesel, DSG) but I was genuinely impressed with the Kodiaq. Sadly my wife says the Kodiaq is too large for her to comfortably drive (she's not yet driven one though). There is a hot VRS version of the Kodiaq launching early next year so that could be a very tempting prospect. There is also a new Q3 coming early next year.

Good tip. Thanks.

I am looking for a new family car. My kids want a large 4x4 because it gives them space in the back. But my wife wants something smaller like an A3 so she feels comfortable driving it.

The compromise seems to be a Q3. I am aware the current Q3 is about to be replaced with a new model. But I've found a fairly well priced ex-demonstrator Q3 1.4 Black Edition. It seems a little slow compared to what I'm used to (I typically get a GTI or similar). But I would probably get used to that. Sorry from that issue the rest of the car seems really, really nice.

Did anyone have any opinions about the Q3, either positive or negative?

Thanks.

Until a couple of months ago mine was a very occasional car with only 1k to 2k miles per year. But owing to a major issue with my Golf it has turned into my daily recently. It's not as hard to live with as you would expect. But it's certainly not refined like a modern car. However the biggest issue is that these are old cars now and there has been a series of little things breaking and needing repair since I've been using it more (wing mirror motor, abs sensor, wiper arm).

So I would say they are a little too old to run as a daily unless you can fix them yourself and are prepared to fix little niggling things.

My Corrado has turned into my temporary daily driver after a major issue with my Golf recently. While on a trip with my kids to Norfolk today the heavens opened and the rain came down. I turned my wipers on and after a few minutes the drivers side wiper arm sheered off and flew away.

I was travelling at 60mph on a busy single carriageway with oncoming traffic at the time. I managed to pull over to a safe place. But for a few seconds I had almost zero visibility. On looking at what was left of the wiper arm it had literally snapped off as though someone had hacksawed through it. I can only assume metal fatigue after 24 years of use. It looks like I will be doing that Lupo conversion earlier than I had expected.

I've swapped over the passenger arm to the drivers side to get me home tomorrow. But that was a close shave.

Changed the oil, oil filter and air filter on the Corrado. I also repaired a wing mirror where the glass had become detached from the inside housing because of a snapped bracket on the motor. Amazingly I had exactly the right motor and bracket in my spare box of parts. So I was able to strip it down and replace it.

I need to look after her especially now. After a major issue with the family Golf, resulting in me selling it as a non-runner, the Corrado is now my daily driver for a little while.

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If available as mentioned above then I'd say replace them. I replace mine about five years ago and I remember thinking how much of an improvement new ones made.