CF Newbie - Viewing a Corrado tomorrow...

[revox 0]

evening guys,

 

first post here on here - was looking to pick your brains. Going to look at a Corrado tomorrow, my first actually! Its a VR6 Storm, being sold by a cousin of my bro's woman. Know him pretty well and heard that he'd like to sell it to me. Had a complete respray, 133K on the clock, new set of BBS wheels, well maintained and as far as I know, all original. Anything I should look at? I think he's looking for about £4-5K, but I reckon I can get him to below 4...see pic below of the actual car, which I took last year.

 

cheers in advance!

[scarlet_vr6 0]

Hi there,

 

I'm sure you already know about the Storm edition but I'd check the chassis number with VW just to check it's the real deal as I've heard of the odd one or two which have been described as Storm spec or just had the badges put on. I couldn't see the pic you had taken but a Storm should be either Mystic Blue with black leather or Classic Green with cream leather. There are a few differences which set the Storm aside from a normal VR for example a colour coded front grille and BBS Solitudes, although you've said that it has new wheels anyway. (I hope I've got all this right :oops: )

 

As for checking round the car, have a read of the Corrado Buying Guide.

 

Aside from all that, have a run out and enjoy the noise as much as the rest of us VR owners do! I hope you've found a good one :D

 

best of luck

 

ps. welcome to the forum

[revox 0]

Hi,

 

thanks for getting back to me - yeah its defo a Storm...its the Mystic Blue, with black interior, a new set of Solitude wheels, colour coded front grille. Seems like it'll be a good one, I just need to make sure the sills are OK and also the arches. I've been in it, about a year ago and I couldnt hear anything nasty. I know the guy, he's retired now and selling due to getting a BMW 3 series estate.....! Just thought there may be something I should check that would need possible attention. I know its had a new clutch and also timing belt done recently. Looking forward to it! Hopefully I'll be back with pics of it in my possession soon!

 

Thanks again

h

[mattnorgrove 0]

Hi mate, welcome!

 

If its had the clutch done it'll most likely have had timing chains (no belt on the VR6) and tensioners done at that time. Worth confirming that as it's considered a must on the VR (usually at about 100k but opinions vary).

 

With a full respray and new wheels you'll be getting a bargain if you can get him below 4k.

 

Get some pics up, and let's have a look! :D

[revox 0]

hi,

 

thanks for the welcome and advice! I forgot to re-upload the pics, since the first post I saved as a draft and forgot to reupload. doh!

 

Found some pics lurking in my email...taken last year, pre respray and new wheels...

 

Whaddaya think?

 

henk

[tandino 0]

Looks okay from the pics.

And what i do like to see is good premium matching tyres on a car like this, that one is on Michelin Pilots which to me means its not been scrimped on maintenance wise.

I for one hate going to see cars like this running on shit cheap tyres with a different make on each wheel.

Please beware that just because its had the clutch done doesnt neccesarily mean it will have had the chains done as only specialists will know to do them, if its been done by VW or a Non VW specialist then there is a big chance its not had the chains done - mine had a new clutch but no chains!!

[belfastfumanchu 0]

Something I've never done but I think it would be very very worthwhile is having it taken to a garage and having them check in below it to check things like brake pipes, bushings, leaks and all sorts of bits n pieces like that. It might pay for itself if theres work needing done.

[revox 0]

cheers guys,

 

I'm taking a long a mechanic mate of mine, so he'll know what areas to look at, but like you say, it wouldnt harm to take it to a garage. I've had a read of the Corrado Buying Guide which will be helpful. He only lives 5 mins down the road, so I can always nip back for a another look, spin, etc. My brother knows the car more, as he's at the owners house all the time. He did point out lastnight that its been hit twice from the side...nothing major as far as I know, so will enquire about that, what was done, etc...He thinks mechanically it should be sound as the owner has taken care of it, never really thrashed - just bodywork might need some attention here and there...!

 

h

[mattnorgrove 0]

If it's been bumped in the past, a HPI check might be a good idea too. Only £5 online from the RAC...

[revox 0]

cheers for that, will have a swatch...

 

h

[revox 0]

Went to look at the corrado tonight - looking good...no pics at the mo...

 

Car has a lot of history, a wallet about 2 inches thick of receipts. Got a respray apart from roof, new driver door and wing, good all round service history, 4 extra BBS Solitude wheels with decent tyres. Everything works - electric mirrors, sunroof, spoiler, windows. Engine sounds smooth, not misfires, hiccups, etc. One of the engine mounts needs replacing, not a big job and I think timing chain too...146,000 on the clock, needs a service (needed at 140K), MOT due in August...but VR6 sounds goooooood! Interior decent, a bit tatty here and there with some screw holes, velcro for various stuff, nothing that a bit of work will get rid of. Leather seat, drivers bolster slightly worn, but told it can get sorted. All in all, tidy and had a lot of money spent on it...he mentioned £5k, but I'll get him down esp with MOT and service and a relatively high milage (but does work out at about 10K per year) He's had it 11 years...oh and got a cat 1 alarm and immobiliser on it...cant think of anything else. Got internal phone gubbins for Nokia, Alpine headunit with 6cd changer and also GPS antenna for a PDA...Didnt get a run in it, since he's off the insurance...but going to speak to him to get it sorted, as need to drive it. Underneath may need some re-sealing and engine could do with a good steam clean, but shows he wasnt hiding anything...No rust visible apart from tank straps (?)...pointed out by Alasdair. There seemed to be a sort of steam coming from the radiator but we reckoned it was just water since it'd been sitting for a while. Seemed o go away later on...also no strange coloured smoke on startup...going to go back and have a second look and maybe talk money....after a spin!

 

h

[scarlet_vr6 0]

sounding promising :cheers: hope you get to a price you're both happy with

[revox 0]

cheers...I'll keep you posted!

 

h

[Walesy 0]

I have to be honest, just going from the description i'd be wanting to get him down a fair bit lower than £5k, nowadays you can get a minter for that price.

[revox 0]

Hi walesy,

 

Yeah I thought it was quite high...says cos of all the bodywork...but did say to another friend £4-5k.OK, taxed till end of Jan, but even so - MOT and Service are more important and its already 6k over service interval and 2 months left on MOT...plus the high milage, but not too concerned about that.there's a stainless steel exhaust on it - claims this has a lifetime guarantee...true?

 

cheers

h

[Walesy 0]

Alot of exhausts will come with a lifetime guarantee, but the guarantee only applies to the person that bought the exhaust? (some companies will let you transfer the guarantee for a small fee)

 

Just as an example to use as a comparison, here's another Mystic Blue Storm for roughly the same price, 100k and in tip top condition by the looks of it - viewtopic.php?f=12&t=69097

 

EDIT - and another one, sounds a bit more like the one you're looking at - viewtopic.php?f=12&t=68931

 

EDIT - and another - http://www.pistonheads.com/SALES/541457.htm

 

These cars have been for sale for a month with no interest as it seems.

[BILLCOR 1]

Welcome to the forum :wave:

As for the Storm, going by your description of condition etc, I wouldn't pay more than £3750 tops, prices are crap just now for VR's and may get worse with the price of fuel rising daily :bad-words: Also if the chains etc have not been done and your not up to the job yourself? your looking at a £1k plus garage bill, tread carefully and good luck :wink:

[revox 0]

Hi Bill

 

Cheers for the tip - I need to check again if the timing chains have been done. I've a good friend who's a mechanic and says he'd be happy to look at the chains - is it true the tensioners cause the difficulty?

 

cheers again

h

 

EDIT - Had an email from the guy, is going to look out the receipts - thinks they were replaced with the clutch. He thought it was a belt rather than a chain...?!

[revox 0]

Got an email back from the guy this afternoon re. chains...

 

"I called over to both service centres today and got some copy print outs of mechanical work done to car etc

[mattnorgrove 0]

The chains themselves probably don't have a service life, but in reality, worn out tensioners and guides realting to the chains would potentially lead to catastrophic problems...

 

For peace of mind I would budget for getting them changed. It's top of my "BIG JOBS" list lol

[revox 0]

Alrighty chaps,

 

Had a drive in the Storm at the weekend - all seems fine, apart from the thermostat needing replaced - motorway sat at 70 then when stationery crept back up to 90! Couldnt find anything wrong with it otherwise. Seller put it through an MOT today, since there was only 2 months left. Needed a new O/S track rod end and O/S brake pipe. Going up tomorrow to see if we can come to some sort of deal! No way is he getting the £5k he initially asked for!

 

will let you know if I become a proper member of the forum!

 

cheers for the help so far!

 

henk

[belfastfumanchu 0]

Isnt it supposed to sit at 90 when idle?? Thats a healthy temp.

[revox 0]

Yeah it is, but when your driving, it goes down to 70...I dont think thats supposed to happen...

 

anyway, not an issue as I'm not long back from seeing the seller - I didnt buy it. He wouldnt budge from his £5k asking price and I wasnt prepared to go to £5k...reckons he'll easily get £5k for it....my hunt goes on!

 

h

[BILLCOR 1]

Was it confirmed whether the chains etc have been done?

[revox 0]

Hi Bill,

 

As far as I know, chains werent done...didnt have any documentation to say they were. Only the clutch. Was more worried about the tensioners! Read a whole lot saying it was all a myth, etc etc...who knows! Something to consider when looking at a another car....

 

Seen a VR6 in East Lothian, not a Storm, on Pistonheads - chains and tensioners done, 146K..seemed a nice car at £1800! Tried calling but the number isnt associated to the ad anymore....booooo! Almosted seemed to good to be true!

 

h