To Get A Corrado VR6 Or Not?

[gjb_leics 0]

Hello all - new member here.

 

I'm thinking about buying myself a VR6 and could do with some advice from you guys more in the know about them. Currently I am car-less having put my Mk3 Golf GTi 16V up the @rse of a Civic Type R on a wet dual carriage way this week to complete a nice Golf/Civic/Golf sandwich :brickwall:. This has now forced the issue of me buying myself something new, which I was thinking of doing anyway (so no tears have been cried over the Golf) and the car that is calling me most is a Corrado VR6.

What concerns me most about potential VR ownerships tho is that many on the market seem to have had engine rebuilds, even some at lower mileages. What's the reason for this and what do I look for when viewing a VR to stop myself buying something that's going to let go soon?

Also I do about 150 miles a week (mainly country roads/A roads and Mway with a little bit of urban crawl). With petrol at £1/per L what's this going to cost me per week?

Rust - are Corrados prone to this and if so whereabouts does it come through?

 

Waying up my options I'm fairly sure my next car will be either a Mk2 Golf GTi (16V if possible!) or a Corrado VR6. I just can't decide yet....

[mic_VR 3]

Just go for the VR6!

 

You're only doing 8000ish miles a year so the difference in fuel costs/mpg between a mk2 and corrado will be about £50 in the year. The VR6 will last forever if looked after properly, mine has done 126k now and still runs like a dream. You'll have to do the same level of maintenance as you would with a m2k golf but believe me they are a couple of leagues above once you actually drive it. Rust doesn't tend to be an issue but check the usual places ie. arches, fuel filler, door edges etc etc

 

I've had loads of mk2s and i'd never go back. The VR6 is an awesome machine.

 

 

Oh and welcome BTW! :lol:

[Alexander 0]

Hello mate, welcome to the forum!

 

Not an expert by any means, but if you buy a VR that's already had it's engine rebuilt, they're not a lot more expensive than non-rebuilt cars and you won't have to worry about it. Similarly, make sure the cam chains have been done already - they can go on forever but having them already done is one less thing to worry about within your ownership at least! From all the VRs I've seen they don't seem to suffer badly from rust at all, I think inner wings is a spot prone to a bit of rot but easy to check.

 

Petrol wise, I think you'll be averaging just under 30mpg so work that out - could be worse.

 

Generally it seems the VRs that are left have been largely enthusiast-owned and respected, having always been under the boy-racer radar and hence not ragged too much. Seems like a good time to buy as prices are very low as well!

 

That said, if you want a peachy Mk2 Golf GTI 16v, buy mine! :D

[Sonicriot13 0]

Hello mate,

 

Welcome to the forum. With regards rust in my experience Corrados appear to be a lot better than mk2 golfs at least.

 

I know how you feel, I planted my mk3 square in the rear of a Ford Galaxy. Not funny!

 

I'd go for a VR6. I've owned loads of Golfs and always thought that was the car for me until I drove my G60.... :D

[gjb_leics 0]

Thanks for the responses. I've just been browsing through the Member Gallery section and the Corrado is now winning the battle between heart & head. 1 pro to getting a VR is that I've already got a set of 16" BBS RX2s laying around which I never got round to putting on the Mk3 8) .

[toon vw 0]

To be honest, you ain't gonna get many people on this 'corrado' forum voting for a mk2 although they are mighty fine beasts in their own right ( i've had 2)i own a vr now & as someone else said they are a good couple of leagues ahead imo. & in terms of maintenence they would be very similar aswell.

 

No contest really :lol:

 

Andy

[sprinterVR6 0]

Welcome to the forum mate. For a start, it's a great headache to have eh?! Their both classics. Put it this way, I still, everyday, wonder to myself, why doesn't everyone have one of these! To get that kind of power, classic image and reliability at their current price is quite something.

 

As my man Starsky would say........''Do it''.

[ReekieVR 0]

Hi and welcome. I dont think its that common for vr engines to get rebuilt due to massive failure. I guess that what happens is that enthusiasts ( with money burning holes in their pockets ) want either the chains / tensioners or the clutch done - even though they 'should' last for 120k . As the head and g-box have to come off for these jobs, its often a good time to recondition the head. There is your 'rebuild'.

 

I havnt heard of many too needing a full bottom end rebuild. I'd suspect ragging from cold / poor servicing etc, rather than a flaw in the engine design itself. ( there is the hot 6th cyclinder issue which i think can be made worse by using poor coolant protection. Someone else here will be able to describe the problem better than me )

 

Go for the VR man. A LOT more exclusive than the goof. When you start getting nods of automotive respect by strangers, you will know you made the correct decision.

[Mystic Rado 0]

Have to agree with most of the above. I have both a 'rado VR6 and a tweaked Mk2 8-valve GTi and while the GiT's a hoot to drive and practical with it, the Corrado's faster, nicer and just getting into it puts a smile on my face - and the noise from the VR6 :D

 

Corrado's also seem a lot more corrosion resistant than Mk 2s. If you do a search on here, there's a whole thread about how they used galvanised body panels on the 'rado, hence it's pretty tough unless it's been badly repaired in the past and while my Storm seems - touch wood - to be overall sound, my admittedly older Mk 2 is getting quite raggety around the edges and I reckon next year I'll be looking for a new chassis to put the motor in.

 

I do think Corrado's are potentially pricer to run. There are loads of cheapo Mk 2 bits about, but you have to bear in mind that the Corrado has a lot of one-off body panels and components, so while the chassis and motor aren't significantly more expensive than a Golf, it's possible to blow a load of dosh on more specialised bits. Best solution to that is to buy second had - great classifieds section on here or on eBay - and buy the soundest 'rado you can afford to begin with.

 

For perspective, I bought my VR6 about a year ago and since then I've had to: replace the serpentine belt tensioner (knackered pulley), headlights (lenses / reflectors shagged - they're expensive btw, think 120 quid or so - the front ARB drop-links and the front discs / pads. I also sorted the non-functioning sun-roof which was time consuming. The rest of the stuff I've done to the car is mostly mods to improve it rather than needs, but Cs are a bit like that... Of those things, the only bits which would have cost more than on an equivalent Golf are the headlights (unique to the 'rado) and the sun roof, which I suppose I could have left.

 

Day to day, the VR6 actually uses less petrol on motorways etc than my Golf - it's tuned though - and is no worse about town, tyres are slightly pricer for the 'rado, but not by much if you use mytyres.com or similar and service parts are about the same.

 

As someone said, this is a Corrado forum, so most people here are going to be less than totally impartial, but if I had to choose between the Golf and the Corrado, the GiT would be in the classifieds tomorrow. The C's a special car, especially in VR6 form - ducks behind handy wall - still looks amazing for a 90s car, in fact still just looks amazing full stop, and has the bonus of a sort of stealth X-factor in that a lot of people don't even know what they are, which I kind of like :)

[__Andy__ 0]

vr6,do it

[Kevin Bacon 5]

If you buy one with 100K on it and there's no evidence of engine work, be prepared for big bills.

 

You may be lucky if you immediately put it on a regime of regular changes of the good stuff (Silkolene Pro S 10W/50), but certainly budget for chain gear replacement at minimum....and they need visual inspection. "They sound OK to me mate" just won't do.

 

A lot of VR6s start using oil at around this mileage too due to valve guide and seal wear at best, bore wear at worst. My rose tinteds are defintely not on and I can tell you for a fact that bore wear is an issue with the VR6, which you should be aware of, although it's mainly the used and abused beaters that have been allowed to over heat frequently that suffer the most.

 

Well looked after VRs are great..... so buy the dearest one you can afford because price reflects condition in this market.

 

There's a lot of sweating about VR6 chains in various magazines and forums etc, but it's no more common than M3s and M5s needing chains, and Audis etc etc..... they're just not as publicised as much, and try £2K for a chain job on an M3 and the VR6's cost for the same work seems very cheap by comparison!!