Portent

Green Corrado... Valver I think from the wheels? Hard to see. Parked off Portsmouth road at 2:15pm today near Kingston. Looked like the owner was chatting to someone standing next to the car.

Coilovers are easy to spot. Uprated headlight looms are easy to spot. :(

[video=youtube_share;yF-GvT8Clnk]

Some people may be ok with paying for the inspection but don't they cost something like £300 to £400 a time? Why should we have to pay that extra "tax" on motoring? I appreciate this may not be as bad as it sounds and it's not likely to affect me. But I'm not standing for it and if there is a demonstration (unlikely of course) then I would definitely be there. EDIT: Actually... will any of us with coilovers need to get an inspection? That's Corrado owners stuffed then as I doubt we can find original parts.

Well it would boost the new car industry. It would cause thousands of cars to be scrapped and people would need to buy something to replace it. However I don't think this will happen overnight. Assuming there is some accuracy to the story then I think that there will be no major change at first. But over time it would allow regulations to be tightened one year at a time until we're all stuffed.

That's decided it for me. Voting UKIP next time. Had enough.

Quite a big chat on pistons too.

I'm up for a demonstration.

I drive mine and don't worry too much. Make sure it is maintained properly and enjoy it regardless of the condition. There's no point owning it if you don't enjoy it.

Yay, floppyman is back :cheers:

14 bids? How is that possible???

I had a spare hour after I'd finished work so I went and had a very brief look. They were just closing so I didn't get more than a cursory look and certainly not a drive. But it does seem an interesting prospect. Negative Points It doesn't seem to have many options; no sat nav and it's manual rather than DSG. No sunroof (if it had a sunroof then I would have bitten their arms off). It seems in overall better condition than the Pirelli I saw. As expected it does have a few marks on the body but most look superficial. There is a scuff mark on the drivers side front bumper which would need addressing with paint and is obviously a parking scrape. This isn't surprising because the low mileage is due to the car being based in London so I assume street parking. There is slight wear to the drivers seat bolster. I'm surprised at the wear with such low mileage but I'm sure a quick Furniture Clinic repair kit would fix it. Low mileage can be just as bad a high mileage and this was on the longlife service so probably not the best servicing in the world. Good Points It does appear to be genuine mileage based on the general condition of the car (apart from the drivers bolster). There is no significant damage anywhere. While it has two owners it was a mother and her son or daughter so it has only been in one family (I generally take this as a good sign). Good tyres (not three different makes of ditch finders!). Overall It does seem a good car (subject to a drive). I'm yet to decide on whether I'm going to change mine or not, and whether a GTI or R32 is the right one. But despite being a little dirty it looked in good condition and the mileage (and lower VED) can't be sniffed at. I'm not sure if it is particularly cheap but it's not expensive. Private sales prices are lower and this, while from a dealer, is not a VAG approved car. So it's simply a 6 month Autogard 'warranty' (which can be extended). This will take me a while... the Corrado took me a year! Question 1: Is it really enough of an upgrade from my mk4 4Motion for the extra money I'd have to put down... not rteally sure on that. Question 2: Which is likely to hold its value more in the long term? A mk5 R32 or a mk5 GTI Edition 30/Pirelli? ---------- Post added at 7:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 6:39 PM ---------- And now the pirelli dealer has phoned me offering 4 new tyres. This is getting fun :D

I'm convinced. I'm going to see if I can get a puddle and hand scoop from Halfords at the weekend. Or an extinguisher ifthey don't sell puddles.

My wife is thinking with her head and a GTI just makes sense. I loved the sporty feel of the Pirelli edition when I tested it but I also loved the more relaxed cruise back home in the 4mo. What's turning me on to the R32 is the fact that VW are unlikely ever to make a V6 Golf again in the future so I can see it becoming a classic. It has that crucial element that the Corrado never had... like the Corrado they are great cars and one-offs but unlike the Corrado people know about them and I think that may hold it in good stead in the future.

I saw that last night and was trying to resist it as we really are looking for something with a little better fuel consumption. However... Mileage - stunning if accurate (and I just called them to confirm... apparently it is). Doors - 5 so perfect Transmission - no real preference but manual is fine VED - March 10th so it's only £270 a year :) Location - 8 miles away from me :) Hmmm. It does tick all the boxes except petrol consumption :) Thanks. I might at least pop down there later as I'm working from home today.

Thanks. I'm ruling out diesels and I think the 1 series is too small in the back. I'll be getting a mk5 Golf of either the GTI variety or an unlikely outside choice will be an early R32. However I suspect it won't happen for a while now as I've booked the 4mo in for its 60k service, MOT, etc (suspect it may need rear suspension bushes doing too). So once I've unloaded my wallet on that then I won't be in a rush to change. Interesting 130 v R32 comparison here (albeit the 130i instead of the 130d): [video=youtube_share;MXyD1SGaiiE]

Didn't realise that. Will take a look, thanks. I've just spent an hour browsing R32s as they are cheaper than an ED30. Must resist lol :)

Another good shout, thanks. But my wife is set on a Golf and the 123d's are above my budget. Also I'm quite nervous of the reliability of modern high tech diesels with DPF etc. EDIT: Actually looks like they are in budget. Need a 5 door though. Unless I p/x the kids too :)

Just a thought Jim... if you sell now then you'll miss the big anniversary next year.

Yes a nice alternative but they seem slighly more expensive than the Golf.

No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.

Lovely colour.

My honest opinion is "probably, yes". I think we all feel that once we sell then we can never find another. But that's not true. You could always buy another. I've also seen that when some of the long standing members sell then others consider it too. I also expected you to sell shortly after getting the VRS because it's such an easy car to live with after the Corrado. There tends to be a pattern of "hmmm, thought about selling" then "ok tell me why I shouldnt sell", then "I've decided to keep it" and this goes back and forth a few times until the innevitible sale. But think on this... what would you do with the money that you get witht he sale of the Corrado? It's a second car so you don't have to sell it to get a nice daily. You already have that. So the running cost of the VR would be quite low with (hopefully cheap) insurance, tax, MOT and probably not a lot more if you don't drive it a lot. If it still gives you a lot of pleasure then is it worth selling it. But if you could get more pleasure from that money then selling is a good idea. I had similar thoughts recently, having "scratched my itch". Work is manic right now so I don't really have time to enjoy the car. But the car has a lot of sentimental value which gives me huge pleasure. But one thing is for sure; we're all part of a fairly exclusive club. We've owned and lived with Corrado's. Even after selling you'd still have those memories and could still say you had that experience. I genuinely get a thrill from spotting one. Yesterday three Feraris and an Aston zoomed past and I was quite excited. Then a Storm appeared and I was much more excited about that. Also going for a drive in mine just refreshed my love for it. What does worry me though is that as the "old blood" sells up a lot of knowledge goes with it. With VW all but abandoning us we need knowledge to stay in the community. So if you do sell then please keep hanging around here :)

The noises are generally trumpet sounds heard at different places across the world (hence lots of people proclaiming they are trumpets from the Book of Revelations and warning of the end of times. Personally I think there is a rational explanation. Not all planets evolved at the same time. The original stars are likely all gone now and have spawned other stars from their remnants. Our uown sun is probably several generations of star down the line. There could be planets from earlier stars still around or from stars which are from more "advanced" stars. What I mean by "advanced" is that as each star generation dies and others are formed, it results in more complex elements being formed in the atomic reactions. So the earlkiest stars were made from only hydrogen.. then came helium... etc, etc. So maybe a planet around an earlier generation star has been there long enough for more advanced civilisations to evolve, or maybe a later generation star has generated an element that we don't yet have and has resulted in significantly faster evolution in some way.

Thanks, have been keeping an eye on PH and AT. The black one is the car I saw and that I'm referring to. Although he's come down on price after initial haggling. The silver 5 door looks interesting (although my wife doesn't want silver - I think it looks great and might try to see it). Tax bands: Corrado: £215 :D Mk5 GTI: £250 4Mo: £270 Mk5 R32: £475 (ouch!) I dearly love the R32. But fuel costs and tax are just too high. I do think that R32's are destined to become true classics though. In reality I think I'm likely to keep the 4mo another year and keep an eye out for an E30.