Portent

Awful news. Hope the insurance covers it and it doesn't hurt the business too much.

It's not too far from me if anyone wanted me to take a look for them.

Ha ha :)

It's not that bad really over the lifetime of the car. It will only ever need doing once. Cars with cambelts need them doing every few years. Quiet at idle but then rattle at a couple of thousand revs does sound like chains though. But it may not be so don't panic quite yet. Even if it is then it's not too bad in the overall scheme of things.

Some lovely VW's there. My history is the following although I don't have many pictures to hand: Golf mk1 1.3 Driver (black 3 door) - My first car and I loved it. Golf mk2 1.6 GL (black 5 door) - I found this a little boring but it was much better condition than the mk1. Scirocco mk2 GTX (light blue/silver) - My first proper car and I really loved it. Golf m2 GTI 16v (Atlas Grey but 5 door) - I sooooooo loved this car and probably the first one I couldn't stop looking at as I got out for petrol). Golf mk3 VR6 Highline (black) - I can still being amazed how good this sounded but sadly it was stolen. TT mk1 225 Coupe (silver, pre-facelift) - Owned for a month before rejecting it back to the dealer for a full refund for having the wrong stereo :D) TT mk1 22 Coupe (Moro blue, facelift) - My only ever new car. Owned for a year and then sold back to the dealer for almost asking price as I was hardly using it. Great car though. Golf mk4 V6 4Motion (Indigo blue, 5 door) - I owned this for over 8 years and selling it was a bit of a mistake really. It was 6 months old when I bought it and was in better condition when I sold it than the mk6 that replaced it. Golf mk6 GTI (grey, 5 door) - Wonderful to drive and a fantastic family car. Currently owned. Corrado VR6 - Love it :)

Not mine. I just noticed them on there... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lancia-Delta-Intergrale-interior-seats-black-leather/111328689161?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222006%26algo%3DSIC.FITP%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D22046%26meid%3D6402699152430502492%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D9537%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D191097693965 Bargain price and the fronts look extremely similar to Corrado leather recaros. I'm sure if someone is desperate for leather recaros then they could probably look into mounting them onto Corrado subframes.

Grey and early style so definitely less popular than some. But still cheap.

Well at least if a dealer thinks they can make a profit then It does prices may be firming.

Well I test drove another today and while it was not in as good condition as the first it is a lot cheaper and still drove very nicely indeed. It has also had a lot of engine work on it recently which is a big plus. I have some thinking to do over the weekend before making any decision. Thanks for the thoughts everyone and thanks for the comments Bullfinch. I agree it's no 911 but I really like them. I think I feel so at home with them precisely because they they are so similar in many ways to the Corrado. Trip reset button? Yes Roger i've heard that too. The 924 was a joint Porsche/Audi venture and the 944 was the successor. Porsche decided to go their own direction and evolve the 944 and VAG then had to develop their own premium coupe and the Corrado was likely that machine.

I haven't tried using the new system but I don't see what was wrong with the old. It's such a small community that bad eggs get found out anyway.

I have a Milltek exhaust on mine. It does sound lovely but being the old fart I am it's too noisy for me nowadays. So rather than an exhaust my recommendation would be to increase induction noise through a BMC or finding a drilled standard airbox (please don't drill your own as unmolested ones will be rare soon).

At the risk of derailing my own thread... the 928 has a gorgeous interior. I think it is a dead cert for being a true classic in the future. I wish I was brave enough to consider one: http://www.e-carpictures.com/1993-porsche-928-gts-pictures/ Just look at the rear seats in that!

Yes the 968 was better (it was really an S3 that Porsche re-designated when they realised they made so many changes). The clubsport actually cost a lot less than a regular 968 at the time but nowadays their price is rising fast and is very far from my budget. Yes a 911 would be nice but again it's out of my budget apart from the ropey ones.

Thanks all. Yes Jim I've provisionally agreed to view that car :) He does seem to like it and was very honest in his advert. I need to confirm today if I can make it but I think I should be ok for it and hope to confirm to him shortly. Looking at the history of the car he certainly cares about it although innevitibly there are a number of items that need some attention eventually. At that price point I suspect all cars would. The white one I viewed was more money but didn't appear to need so much work. The maintenance costs on these things seems to be higher than some 911's which is slightly off-putting and the reason they often get sold just prior to a cambelt change. 911's can be had now for £8k but they are past my "toy" budget and I'd probably only get a poor example. I don't think I'd want a Boxter but I can't quite put my finger on why. A friend had one and it was a lovely car but not one I've ever really been drawn to it. Tempest, yes thanks, TIPEC is where I spotted the grey car. Like buying a Corrado my preference is to buy from an enthusiast and certainly from a private seller rather than a dealer. It seems a fairly quiet forum compared to here though. The NA engines do seem to be bomb proof but expensive to fix if you're unlucky. I love your 928 but I'd seriously worry every time I heard an odd noise as they seem even "worse" that 944's :) Sean, yes the 2.5's are quite slow even in S guise. The general approach seems to be either buy at a low price point and budget for very very expensive work, or buy at the expensive price point and budget for only reasonably expensive work. Either way the cost seems to end up the same and it appears to be high which is a concern I agree. For me it's not the badge. If it were just the badge then I'd just buy a cheap £3k Boxter and be prepared to run it with minimum maintenance. But I genuinely love the lines of the 944, especially the nose and the sweeping rear arch. It feels solid inside like a good piece of German engineering should. I rarely drive fast so outright speed isn't that important and I adore older cars from the 80's and 90's era.

Thanks. Without knowing yours, but from the "mint" description it would probably be worth around £5.5k to £6k now. Which demonstrates that prices have gone up. But yes the maintenance costs would have more than eaten that profit. The Corrado is definitely the better buy due to all round usability and relatively cheap running costs. But in good condition I think they look fantastic and certainly retro. It's just occurred to me that I really don't think I've seen one on the road for years.

Welcome. It's lovely to see our US friends popping in. Good luck with the car :)

I recently asked opinions on BMW E46's and mk1 TT's as another fun weekend car but neither of them really felt "right" or special enough so I'm still looking around. I'm not quite sure what I'm looking for in a car but I seem to keep coming back to 2+2 coupe's and feeling an urge to try something new. Recently I've been looking at 944 S2's and wondered if anyone here had experience of them. I've looked into them quite a lot so am aware of their weak points (sill rust, lower front wing rust, fuel line corrosion, cambelts every 4 years, cam chains, etc). They seem very similar in character to the Corrado but just a touch more special due to their heritage. I did look at them 3 years ago but decided against it due to the maintenance cost and bought the Corrado instead. But their value seems to be creeping up now and the maintenance would (possibly) be offset a little by appreciation (never going to rise dramatically like some 911 but appear to have some modest increases in those 3 years). I test drove a white one this week and while it was a little overpriced for the fairly high mileage, it was a very nice example with a good history. Not perfect, but certainly very nice. I normally wouldn't have looked at it because of the price and the colour (it's white - I normally don't like white cars) but honestly it looked fantastic in the flesh and was literally 4 miles from my house. It was very striking (pic below that the owner emailed me from a trip he took). I also have another test drive of a grey one provisionally lined up (owned by someone's work colleague on here it seems). And the insurance (classic policy, 5k miles) is a paltry £213 which genuinely surprised me. Are they financial suicide? They seem to be a little more expensive to maintain than a 911 but don't have the cult following of that car. Is maintenance really out-of-control expensive? I assume DIY servicing is not feasible or certainly not desirable for resale. Is there likely to be potential for further price rises as the 968 Clubsport may drag prices of 968's and by association the 944's upwards? Or will they forever be in the shadow of the 911's? I suspect that may be the case apart from the Turbo's (which are even more expensive to maintain). What are they like to live with as a weekend and occasional track car? I gather they really come alive on the track. There's not much room in the back but the front is a nice place to be (in a German 90's sombre way). The standard suspension seemed very good indeed. Will the lift-off roof or strange right-handed handbrake drive me nuts after a few days? Are there any colours to avoid (ie how is white viewed)? Considering a 911 can be had for £8.5k then is a £5k 944 a poor decision? I'd probably have to SORN the Corrado for a while if I did get one. I must admit that the Corrado really didn't feel much worse after driving the 944. I'd say the VR6 is the better engine than the 3.0 4 cylinder in the S2. The Corrado felt more spacious as well as nimble and easier to drive and the recaros felt more supportive than the standard 944 leather seats. It's a credit to the Corrado that I really enjoyed the drive home. So ladies and gentlemen, does anyone have any real world experience of them? [ATTACH=CONFIG]78317[/ATTACH]

They may sell them at the dealers? These sorts of aerials were used on a wide variety of VAG cars at the time so they may well still be available. I remember when VW launched the Golf GTI 16v and within a few years everyone else seemed to be copying the beesting aerial. It was that popular.

It's a little tatty looking but this might clean up. Aletrnatively spray it with vinyl paint (do them all to match) to restore all of them back to deep black: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-CORRADO-LATE-TYPE-RIGHT-DRIVER-SIDE-FRONT-DOOR-MOLDING-TRIM-STRIP-/251156728049?_trksid=p2054897.l5659

I always thought those Navarro's looked shifty. Never trusted 'em. Glad it's not too bad though and good luck with the search. I guess keep an eye in the breaking section.

There are several greens... Pearl Green, Dragon Green and Classic Green (possibly more?). That is indeed Dragon Green which is certainly very nice although colour is of course subjective for each person. While such low mileage is am amazing find it would mean that a lot of plastic and rubber parts will have deteriorated. So being low mileage doesn't mean that it will not need work.

Hopefully it's true but it wouldn't surprise me if that's the story they tell all enthusiasts eager for their car to be on the programme.

Yes the radiator fan can stay on for a short while although several minutes does dsound a little in the long side. The stalling issue sounds like a sensor of sone kind but the first thing to get done would be to get the VAGCOM codes read as it may show up an error code. You could pay a garage to do this or perhaps buy a cheap reader from ebay. I'm sure someone else will be along shortly with more knowledge than me, so coming to the forum is certainly a good thing :) Edit: Idle stability valve, coolant sensor or crank position sensor?

And a comparison with the Calibra and 200SX: [video=youtube_share;t3hz34yXWaI]

An early comparison of the Honda CRX, Corrado G60 and Porsche 944. You need to speak German (unfortunately I don't) but you can guess some of it. [video=youtube_share;9q7VEdHio3w]