Help Your advice is needed urgently

[MyFirstVR6 0]

Some of you may have seen this car advertised in the for sale section as the 3.2 VR6 Oettinger. We went to see it on Saturday, paid a deposit and are due to go back and get it next Saturday. Well here's a couple of concerns:

 

Although we have the original paper work from Scotts, stating engine conversion to 220BHP, it does not state anywhere 3.2l. Also the log book states it is a 2.8. He had it rolling road tested recently and claims it put out 243bhp, although there is no print out of this. CDoes anyone know anything about the engine conversions done on the VR6 by Scotts?

 

I did an HPI check on it to see if this threw up anythin re the engine size, which it didn't, but more worrying it states that is was an insurance write off in August 1997. As the car now has a private plate, it said that HPI will further investigate and contact us regarding it - does anyone know how long this might take.

 

I'm mainly concerned as in 1997 the car would have been worth around 15kish, so would have had to have done a hell of a lot of damage to be a write off - wouldn't it?

 

We did ask the guy at the time if it had ever been onvolved in a crash, he said not that he was aware of. He seems a really genuine guy and I've emailed him about all of this and he's also investigating the engine thing so I don't feel that anyones deliberately pulling the wool over our eyes, however it is a lot of money to pay if the car isn't right.

 

On the plus side it looks and drives beautifully. It is an auto, but we will have it converted to a manual.

 

The bottom line is, what are your views, do you think we shoudl walk away? The chances of us ever finding another one like this are next to nothing so I'm reluctant to leave it, but don't want to lose money in the long run, or buy a nail!!

 

Cheers

[MyFirstVR6 0]

Also it's been through 9 MOTs since then, and has a current one, so surely it must be OK?

 

Someone reassure me - I know it's a case of heart or head, and we both love this car.

[vr6storm 0]

from memory i think the oettinger 3.2 conversion output was a bit more conservative..........something more like 225bhp-ish.......and as its a converted ABV thats probably why the engine size is down as 2.8-ish........2861cc IIRC............

[vr6storm 0]

.............btw 9 MOT certs means nothing...they don't really check how straight and true the chassis is..................best get an independant inspection done if you have concerns

[MyFirstVR6 0]

The paperwork says 220bhp conversion, as I say he had it tested and it gave 240bhp but there's nothing to back this up. To be honest, we'd be happy with the 220! Would it be an AA inspection that would carry out that kind of check?

[vr6storm 0]

tbh an AA or RAC one would be too critical of stupid minor things and probably miss the real problem areas..........an independant motor engineer might be a better idea