The Corrado's Future

[Sonicriot13 0]

From a personal point of view, I'm not speaking for anyone else here, but I think the whole retro thing has had it's day. I've been thinking of what to get next ever since I sold my last Rado and I'd just rather have something a bit newer. I've been looking at mk2s, mostly all ragged to sh!t unless you want to pay silly money, I've looked at clippers, which are mostly rusty old sheds now. When I've got the spare cash/time to completely rebuild a car from the ground up I'll go for another rado. As it stands at the moment it's either gonna be wait until this time next year and get an early mk5 GTi or buy a mk4 V6 4mo now and do it up big style. Think I'm leaning towards the latter at the moment because I've seen some really inspiring mk4 stuff recently. Plus I'm bored of front wheel drive.

 

I dont believe anyone on here has thier Corrado for "Retro" reasons, rairity yes, but more to the fact that Corrado's are a fun, involving drive, and look good. I have got an 08 plate Passat at the moment and a before that I had a Mondeo ST, which was one of the last ones in which I covered 15k miles. Both nice cars, but they do nothing for me in terms of excitment. I'll be honest I wouldnt want to use my C as a daily for a few reasons but the main one is comfort - bearing in mind I do well over 35,000 miles a year for work. The thing is I'd never get up early on a sunday morning to go for a blast in my works car, or a mk4... I just prefer older cars and mostly old dubs. I will admit you need a balance though so if your C does break down alot and you have a long boring/slow drive to work then a newer motor is obviously more attractive, but if you still want to have a car you can enjoy do you really want a bland wagon?

 

If you used the money you'd spend buying a new car on a half decent C, replacing worn parts, giving it good and regular services and upgrading some weak parts then continued to look after properly, it'll serve you well. What do you get with a newer car that you actually need? Nothing, yes luxuarys are nice, but I'd rather have a car that excites me and gets me browsing a forum all about it!!

 

I dont really think prices will pick up again, cetainly not for some time now anyway. Cars are a money pit, when you buy a car you should expect to lose on it, not many cars appreciate or hold there value.

 

Much truth. The thing is I've done the whole buyin older cars and doing them up thing. To varying degrees of success. Ok, with the money I have saved up now I could get a decent VR6, but it would still need work. If not right now then in the near future. Whatever I buy I will still have nothing but love and respect for the Corrado. It's one of the best cars I've ever driven let alone owned. But I haven't bought another one. Something is stopping me. I have been trawling through the ads everywhere and although I still love the car Rado ownership just isn't grabbing me the way it used to.

 

What you get with a newer car is just that, more newness and less oldness. :lol: And that does mean a lot. I can get a newer car and not have to worry about replacing worn bits, or getting paranoid about what is going to fall off next. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that replacing the worn bits is fun in itself, but I've been there and done that about 4 times in the last 2 years.

 

I don't know. I'm really not trying to get anyone else around to my way of thinking (I wouldn't wish that on anyone :lol:). I'm just trying to describe why I personally am not looking to get another rado at the moment. I think there's just as much fun to be had in a mk4 golf as there is in a Rado with the added bonus of not having to worry so much about old car "quircks". It's just got to be the right mk4....

[CorradoVR6-Turbo 0]

I don't really care about the current prices,its is still the best looking car out there,I always get asked about it and people stare... 8) the standard form of the corrado does nothing for me,but adding one big ass turbo changes the car completely and if I was worried about would I get my money back...well in standard form yes but with a turbo I will make money! but it will never come to that,sold my last one for house deposit and im not doing it again!!!!

 

Love them for the car it is not how much its worth.

[Guest]

I am with the "old Dub Brigade" on this one, last year i moved house and made a fair few sheckles in equity :grin: and i had a massive Dilema! i had 15k in my hand to pay out right for an R32...........I even found the perfect full spec blue 5 door i wanted...........but something was holding me back from just buying it :cuckoo:

 

I already had my 1996 Highline VR6 golf, a low mileage Purple violet, fvwsh etc etc, lovely car.......but compared to my old Rallye it was a bit..................new for me!

 

And then i began to think...........why do i need a 15k car? why do i need another V6 motor thats probably in all seriousness no quicker than my VR6 i already had (proven :grin: a few times) will i be mega paranoid leaving an R32 anywhere?? (yes) and will i get bored with it if it begins to cost me serious money! yes!

 

So i decided, to buy a nice mk1 golf :grin: ended up with an absolutely lovely Sportline cabriolet in Flash red, and bought a set of 17 inch BBS RS for the VR6....................but it didnt end there, i sold the VR6 for just under 3k after spiraling fuel bills! and boredom really, the sound is nice but the mk3 is a bit bland imo i sold the RS`s too

 

And so..... I got the 64k Corrado G60, it was an easy choice really and after hankering for about a year i got another supercharged Dub :grin: having never owned a Corrado but always wanting too, the Corrado was the perfect choice for me between retro cool, style, rarity, economy and still being a pretty powerfull car that could be breathed on a bit :wink:

 

The values and prices of all older cars fluctuate depending on the current market, there arent many VW cars to compare a Corrado too, so its always been in a class of its own in the Dub world imo

 

And the way things are going at the moment and the amount that are being broken up for parts and the natural wastage of crashes etc, it will soon be very hard to find one at all! let alone haggle the prices!

 

Im just glad i didnt buy the R32, I WILL get one in the future but im happy with my little bits of Dub history from Osnabruck right now :wave: wether its worth a grand or 5 i wouldnt sell my Corrado to anyone :grin:

[jazzdevil 0]

I dont really think prices will pick up again, cetainly not for some time now anyway. Cars are a money pit, when you buy a car you should expect to lose on it, not many cars appreciate or hold there value.

 

sadly, have to agree... think the C is headed the way of the 'rocco - and just look how cheap you can pick one one of them up for!

 

on the flip side, like others have said it's only lost value if you're selling... so stick in there, there's still plenty of lovin' to be had :grin:

[skinnyman9000 0]

I dont think i'll ever sell mine.

 

I had a wobble myself a few months back, started looking at ibiza cupra's and things because i was sick of mine letting me down all the time. However, i think now that with my improved financial situation if my rado stopped being my daily it would become a project instead, not only do i not want to sell it, its getting to the point where its not worth selling it!

 

Although i think the well looked after ones will flourish. Take a look at the mk3 escort xr3i as an example, naff ones go for £300, well looked after ones go for £4k+

[Yandards 0]

I dont really think prices will pick up again, cetainly not for some time now anyway. Cars are a money pit, when you buy a car you should expect to lose on it, not many cars appreciate or hold there value.

 

sadly, have to agree... think the C is headed the way of the 'rocco - and just look how cheap you can pick one one of them up for!

 

on the flip side, like others have said it's only lost value if you're selling... so stick in there, there's still plenty of lovin' to be had :grin:

 

I dont think the C is heading the way of the rocco, there were many times more roccos made so prices tend to be lower, although saying that good mk1 roccos are fetching VR prices now.

 

As for newer cars needing less money spent on them due to worn bits it is really down to the car, even new stuff can be very unreliable and wear parts out - just the luck of the draw.

[VR6 0]

At the end of the day, it's us that sets the market price for them by the price we are willing to accept!

not exactly, if theres more supply than demand then we have to accept what we're offered and therefore that is what sends the price down, so actually the reason that prices are still dropping is.....

i know sooner or later i will end up we a mk4 golf of some sort

(nothing personal greeny!) :grin:

 

Erm ... but if there's 'more supply', who exactly is providing that supply? Us, the owners! If there's 100 C's for sale each priced at £4k (crazy world I know), and not one of the 100 owners is willing to accept a penny less than £4k, the market price is £4k. Problem comes when one or two owners think they can sell theirs for £3900 and lower the market price as a result, meaning the other owners have to consider dropping their prices to compete.

[KipVR 1]

I used to be well into air cooled dubs a good fifteen years ago, a top split bus was around the 8k mark for a samba, now your looking at 25-30k for a good one.

 

Due to the Corrado's nature, many more will be written off yet, scrapped and broken during this time of 'worthless corrado's' and then gradually they'll become more rare and good ones will be worth a lot. Just like all classic cars really!

 

Mk1's are already about there, so give it about ten years and your Corrado will too! Too young still to be a sought after classic, to old to be a 'new car'

[CrazyDave 0]

Something rather special about the Corrado, it still turns heads whilst sat in traffic or wandering through town. I've had people make a point of coming over and asking what it is and OK so some get it confused with the Rocco but its a whole lot more interesting to look at than most modern cars!

 

My plan is to keep hold of both of mine until they fall apart. My valver is a bit rough round the edges, but still drives fantastic. At some point the pair of mint wings in my shed will get painted and swapped for the rusty ones. I even have spare doors, a bonnet and front panel which should keep me going for a while! Underneath I haven't yet found any rust at all.

 

Certainly won't be breaking either of them up unless I really have too.

 

And if you get board or think that yours is a bit slow, get yourself a ride out in a VRT, cos they are :shock: Certainly ain't much you can buy for Corrado money that'll deliver quite so much performance (The Subaru STI WRX 06 I followed yesterday had a rather interesting surprise :lol: and wasn't at all happy :D ) and look so fresh at 20 years young.

[Dec 1]

sadly, have to agree... think the C is headed the way of the 'rocco - and just look how cheap you can pick one one of them up for

 

Mk2 Rocco prices have gone way up in the last year, and are continuing to rise, even over winter!! Decent'ish ones are getting 16v rado money now. Seem to have got a hell of a lot rarer in the last year too.....just look on Pistonheads classifieds etc.....8 Mk2 roccos for sale vs 103 rados, it's the same on Ebay etc!! There just seems to be so much of an oversupply of rados, that there is no way the price can really go up. :(

[junkie 0]

Just had a look on Auto Trader and there seems to be no big drop in price/values on there its all on here.

[The Hub 0]

Something rather special about the Corrado, it still turns heads whilst sat in traffic or wandering through town. I've had people make a point of coming over and asking what it is and OK so some get it confused with the Rocco but its a whole lot more interesting to look at than most modern cars!

 

I had mine out for a 15min drive on Sunday and the amount of looks i got was amazing. It only cost me a grand a year ago when prices where apparently good and supposedly it's worth less now? Thing is if I had paid 20k for a TT or similar would I have got those looks? The Corrado is becoming rarer by the day and it will, as said before only be the good condition ones that fetch a true price. Whats knocking the prices down are petrolheads trying out the Raddo, deciding it's not for them and then looking to move on quickly and looking for a quick sale, either that or as we hear so often the dreaded no room for a baby syndrome :lol: It's a rare car that not many people took to when it was launched, so why would there be a huge number of buyers now, when average Joe Bloggs doesnt even know what it is :roll: The problem comes from owners looking a quick sale and trying to out do the next sale, too many up for sale at the mo thats granted but when the become rarer and the genuine owners who value their C's come to sell, you'll see the prices rise again................. hopefully :shrug:

[Bojmobile 0]

Just had a look on Auto Trader and there seems to be no big drop in price/values on there its all on here.

yeah but look at the completed listings on ebay - they're going for peanuts.

[Walesy 0]

Erm ... but if there's 'more supply', who exactly is providing that supply? Us, the owners! If there's 100 C's for sale each priced at £4k (crazy world I know), and not one of the 100 owners is willing to accept a penny less than £4k, the market price is £4k. Problem comes when one or two owners think they can sell theirs for £3900 and lower the market price as a result, meaning the other owners have to consider dropping their prices to compete.

 

 

This is exactly right, its down to the owners that have had their cars for a few years and have spend loads of money on them and now just want rid, seeing people sticking up late valvers with MOT/TAX and 100k miles for £1500 is a shame, I know for a fact that higher prices are achievable if you're prepared to wait for the right buyer. I think it's up to the owners to be comanding a better price for their cars (unless they're complete sheds of course!) and that's the only thing that will bring the market back. Buyers aren't going to just start paying more than the asking price!

 

Mk2 owners are a perfect example of this tbh, they're asking for what seems like silly money for their cars but they must be achieving the prices, its a crazy fact that an 8v GTi is now worth more than an eqivalent rado.

[dr_mat 0]

yeah but look at the completed listings on ebay - they're going for peanuts.

 

Auctions always go cheap, whether on ebay or the big physical auction houses. You want to look at the motoring classifieds on ebay instead, prices are more similar to auto trader.

 

That said, I don't really think that the Corrado is feted to last forever. Even with the thousands of them still on the road, getting hold of parts is becoming more and more difficult (VW won't supply them any more), and that really restricts the market to enthusiasts only. Then you get onto the fuel prices and environmental issues. The VR6 is only a few CCs off being charged a stack of cash to drive in London, and even though it misses the high charge bands, doing so will set you back £70 a tank of fuel and give you only ~250 miles in london traffic. Then there's group 18 insurance.. and ALL those *repairs*.. (sob) They're just a little finanically unloved.

 

I love my VR6, even though it rarely starts, and STILL costs me regular maintenance DESPITE it's lack of use. But I'm lucky enough to not have to rely on it for anything, ever. If it doesn't start, well so what, I'll walk to work..!

[Guest]

Just had a look on Auto Trader and there seems to be no big drop in price/values on there its all on here.

yeah but look at the completed listings on ebay - they're going for peanuts.

 

Well I paid £2850 for my G60 2 months ago from a private buyer, i was offered the car on the hop so to speak as they were emigrating, it was never advertised or listed for sale anywhere, i didnt think it was particularly strong money for a very original car with low mileage and history?, albeit it cost virtually what i was able to sell my 1996 VR6 golf for :roll:

 

Any true enthusiast knows what the cars are "worth" a lot of people try and make money buying cheap and selling on to make a few £ but its still cheap, basicly under selling what is still a very decent useable car, and to be fair these low price tags are just forcing people to break them up as the parts are worth so much more sold seperately

 

I have seen a few "i got it for £300" cars :eek: now thats probably an exceptional few and the cars need plenty of TLC

 

Its like any car, if its a proper car with history and in good condition then it will command much higher money, you never get something for nothing! and all these "cheap cars" some have had the last 20 years to be abused or neglected and now they need serious money throwing at them to make them right again, thats why they end up on Ebay! and the bidder sets the price he/she pays which is NOT a true reflection of the market value of what is a true classic car :wave:

[fla 9]

In pure monetary value, if you paid, say £3k for your C and after 1 year it was wortth £1500, you have lost £1500 plus lets say £500 in parts to replace. Now if you buy almost any other car you will lose a LOT more than £2k in a year, and it will not have the uniqueness of a Corrado. Dont lose heart chaps, we still have a rare and very stylish looking motor, just look at the 'favourite corrados' thread and you'll instantly feel better. Its not about how new or fast it is...

[Walesy 0]

I also think it's a reflection of the second hand car market in general, I've traded cars for a few years now and have noticed that nowadays what people expect from a £500 motor is unbelievable. A few years ago, if a car had tax and MOT then it would sell for £500 all day long, whereas nowadays people expect all sorts for their money. I had a diesel clio up for sale a few months ago with 12 months MOT and 6 months tax for £500, I couldnt believe how difficult it was to sell , people turning up and picking it to pieces "its got no PAS" "its got no electric windows" "its got no CD Player" etc etc, All I could think is that it's a diesel with tax and 12 months MOT and it's £500 :lol: - what more do you want? :eek:

 

You can go to the auctions and see people driving off in £100 cars that have tax and test.

[vornwend 0]

For some of us intending to keep the cars forever (or at least the foreseeable future) prices are a bit of an academic excercise. I do admit to a morbid fascination with prices but in my head I've written the cost off already so it makes no difference to me. In fact its kind of helpful that prices are low because that avoids me having to ask "what could Iget if I sold". Absolutely no way I could get something for that money that has much value to me as my C :D (how about that for a positive spin on crap prices :? )

 

At the end of the day Corrado ownership for me is never about pounds and pennies its heart over head. I love driving a car performs well, looks good (to my eyes anyway) and is an increasing rarity on the roads. Then there is the added bonus of an enthusiastic following which gives you the confidence to drive a 13 year old car. I think I'd hate to have a newer car which was depreciating fast and thinking its gotta be replaced before long.

 

Be nice to think it would be worth £25K when I'm ready to hand in my licence but by then my boys might be ready to take her on - heaven forbid :shock:

[was8v 0]

Mk2 owners are a perfect example of this tbh, they're asking for what seems like silly money for their cars but they must be achieving the prices, its a crazy fact that an 8v GTi is now worth more than an eqivalent rado.

 

Yep the price for a nice mk2 GTI in original condition wanting for nothing is £1200-1500. Not so long ago (3 years?) they struggled to make a £800.

 

When I was first looking for a C VR6 (3 yrs ago) I was looking at a minimum of £3k for a reasonable one and 4.5-5.5k for a minty one. Now I'd expect to pay the same, maybe 2.5k now I know what / where to look and to wait until Xmas for the bargains. There is ALLWAYS a lull in used car prices December to March and we are on the tail end of this.

 

I don't think we stand to lose any money on Corrados.

[Goldie 2]

Funny one this for me, as others have stated im not thinking about selling so it doesnt really matter what its worth but at the same time im aware i wouldnt get back what i paid for the Corrado but is that what i bought it for, no, i bought it for the car and the experience of owning one and for as long as i continue to enjoy that then it wont go up for sale. Also agree that people being a bit more patient when selling would help things, i know if mine ever goes i wont be giving it away..

 

On the Mk2 front i reckon i will make money on mine, 3 door oak green 16v, ive done nearly 10k in it since i got it so really it owes me nothing but i have been offered more than the price i paid and turned it down..

[Jim Bowen 1]

Guys,

 

Been a bit shocked by the nose dive in Corrado prices over the winter and they don't seem to be picking up. Look at the completed listings on ebay for VR6s - it makes for depressing reading if you're an owner.

 

What's happened - do you think the market will recover?

 

I've had my VR for nearly 4years now and my valver for a year before that - a neighbour came up to me today and said "isn't about time you got a newer car?" - scary thing was it got me thinking that maybe he is right. :(

 

are you a money enthusiast or a corrado one? :lol:

 

people always say to me that i'll never get the money back i've spent on corrado???? Yet they drive things like a 5dr astra 1.4 with black bumpers and seats like a cheap bus. Any car you buy you will lose money on imo.

 

but for a £4k outlay and i've spent about £3500 in 18months on the car, i feel i have a much better car than any other eqiuvlant for the the money. To have the same standard performance you'd have to buy a Civic type R (which aren't as nice as a corrado), focus st, astra vxr etc etc All alot more than £7-8k and all going to half their value in a few years

[Walesy 0]

Any car you buy you will lose money on imo

 

LOL, not if you buy and sell sensibly, i've had countless Corrados and have sold each one for more than I paid for it, due to tidying them up,spending money on making them reliable, and reversing 'mods' that drop their value. If you buy a car in mint condition that's been advertised correctly, or you blow money on moddifying then you will struggle to make your money back.

[Bojmobile 0]

 

are you a money enthusiast or a corrado one? :lol:

 

Aren't we all? :lol:

 

I've just been alarmed by the price fall over the winter - and while it happens every year then picks up in the Spring, I've never seen prices this low at this time of the year.

 

I was looking last night at newer cars and to be honest - nothing really does it for me - only ones that do are out of my price range. I'll probably keep mine till the wheels fall of it - MOT is on Friday so hopefully it'll pass ok.

[dukest 0]

Erm ... but if there's 'more supply', who exactly is providing that supply? Us, the owners! If there's 100 C's for sale each priced at £4k (crazy world I know), and not one of the 100 owners is willing to accept a penny less than £4k, the market price is £4k. Problem comes when one or two owners think they can sell theirs for £3900 and lower the market price as a result, meaning the other owners have to consider dropping their prices to compete.

This is exactly right, its down to the owners that have had their cars for a few years and have spend loads of money on them and now just want rid, seeing people sticking up late valvers with MOT/TAX and 100k miles for £1500 is a shame, I know for a fact that higher prices are achievable if you're prepared to wait for the right buyer. I think it's up to the owners to be comanding a better price for their cars (unless they're complete sheds of course!) and that's the only thing that will bring the market back. Buyers aren't going to just start paying more than the asking price!

 

Mk2 owners are a perfect example of this tbh, they're asking for what seems like silly money for their cars but they must be achieving the prices, its a crazy fact that an 8v GTi is now worth more than an eqivalent rado.

Sorry guys but its basic economic theory that where there is more supply than demand then prices will go down! :)

 

There will always be people within those that are selling that "need" to sell, so when they sell a good car for a low price, other buyers can point to that when negotiating with other sellers. If there are more sellers than buyers then the buyers can offer a lower price and walk away if its not accepted. Eventually, even the enthusiast that doesn't want to drop their price will have to in the end if they too "need" to sell (eg. for something with better mpg/space for kids).

 

Its the same as the housing market, there were more buyers than sellers because of easily available credit, therefore prices were increasing. Now there are more sellers than buyers due to massively reduced amounts of credit, therefore prices are now decreasing.

 

Walesy, I absolutely agree that its a shame when people stick up good cars for low money but as you and MatthewB1985 well know, it takes time to sell at high money, if you can at all. If it was a sellers rather than a buyers market then both your cars would have gone within a few days, but sadly they didn't. :(