'94 Ice Grey Violet VR6 ***SOLD***

[wy906 0]

Hello everyone!

 

I’m based in Sussex and am new to the Corrado ownership. Paid the deposit on the VR6 yesterday and am picking it up next Saturday.

 

It’s a 1994 VR6 Ice grey violet, cloth trim with only 76k miles. Standard and no modification.

 

When I first saw the ad I wasn’t too sure of the colour; I wanted something darker such as Bordeaux Pearl, blackberry, dark violet, aqua blue etc (but not black or green), but in the fresh Ice Grey Violet looks really good and I’ve been told that it’s not very common.

 

I inspected the car for over an hour; I don’t have much mechanical knowledge, so I was following the forum’s buying guide and also tips from forum member ‘dukest’. The Seller took me out for 15 minutes, and finally I test-drove it for about 20 minutes.

 

From my notes yesterday:

 

- The exterior isn’t prefect; there are tiny spots of rust at the left-side rear arch, barely noticeable though. Small cracks on both front fogs; minor scrapes at rear bumper and front left wing, and small dent at left-front arch.

 

- Passenger door was replaced due to damage in car cark. I didn’t see any chassis damage, hopefully I’m correct!

 

- Electric mirrors don’t work, but the sunroof, spoiler and heating are all fine. Interior is fine but needs a good clean. The knob that adjusts ‘tilt’ for the driver’s seat has come loose and the casing above the hand–brake is also a bit loose. Alloys in good conditions, slightly kerbed but they look fine.

 

- Radiator was changed in Nov 2003 and ECU (is that the correct term?) was replaced in Nov 2005

 

- Tyres were changed in 2004 & 2006

 

- Bonnet release cable has broken, but the Seller has already ordered the part

 

- The car is the Seller’s (and pervious owner’s) second/weekend car.

 

- Just serviced and MOT’d

 

The car has had 4 owners (I’ll be the fifth), and the Seller has had the car for the last seven years. The Seller has put the car in storage during winter and only did 20,000 miles in his ownership. The one major bad point is that the service book was lost by the previous owner. The Seller only managed to trace two service logs from VW, but have all the bills for the last seven (to nine?) years.

 

Mileage

 

1997 – 18259

1998 – 26205

Nov 04 – 59177

Nov 05 – 65451

Nov 06 – 69136

Nov 07 – 71856

Nov 08 – 75400

Mar 10 – 75905

Yesterday – 75974

 

The Seller has warned me about that the first gear is hard to engage in first attempt. When that happens one should release the pressure and then it should engage the second try. When I test-droved it the exact thing had happened, though I had no problem engaging the 1st gear once I had released pressure and tried again in the second attempt. (Sorry hope that makes sense to you!) It’s not a major problem, just have to be aware when at traffic light / junctions.

 

Otherwise the clutch and gearbox feels fine. Paddles and gearbox have long travel compare to my current car, but I believe that’s normal.

 

Engine pulls really well, and the third gear seems to be the magical gear! Sounds wonderful and so much fun! The Seller showed me the trip computer and it read 30.9 mpg, I was quite impressed. The Seller is only using 95-RON fuel though. Is this ok? Or would you recommend 97/98-RON?

 

Things on my to-do-list for the next 12-month (providing I can afford them of course)

 

- forum stickers :)

- New exhaust

- Upgrade brakes

- Upgrade suspensions

 

No plan for any engine upgrade though.

 

Overall I’m quite happy; I hope it goes ok and not to be a money-pit! Can't wait to pick it up next Saturday! :D

 

Finally thank you to everyone who has helped me with my search.

 

A few pics taken with my camera phone:

 

 

The cable to open the bonnet is broken, hence the white wire.

Front VR6 badge is missing, anybody got one for sale please? :( :( :(

 

 

You should be able to see the small dent (front wing). Got a quote and it should cost £50-75 to have it fixed (no paint damage).

 

 

Thanks for reading.

 

:D

Edited December 3, 2011 by wy906

[tandino 0]

Very nice

 

Mirrors not working is usually the switch on the door getting cruded up,

All the other bits are all minor.

They run fine on 95ron but you might get a few more ponies out of 98/99ron but the way fuel prices are atm its a luxury!!

 

Have fun and if you need any advice im only in Westfield Nr Battle

[wy906 0]

Have fun and if you need any advice im only in Westfield Nr Battle

 

Thanks mate!!!

[dukest 0]

Good stuff, I'm sure with your left over pennies then you'll be able to get it looking great very soon!

 

If the exhaust is not actually worn out then i'd leave that until the end of your jobs as its an expensive thing that doesn't make much difference unless the old one falls off! And yes, given that you're not doing many miles then i'd use proper petrol in it but only fill it up half a tank at a time as it can lose its goodness if left for a few weeks.

 

Have fun!

[Swompy 0]

excellent choice in colour I might add 8)

 

Looks great

 

And for the forum stickers I'm your man link below :D

 

http://the-corrado.net/.archive/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=88003

[Portent 0]

Excellent. It looks lovely. I do like that colour and I'm glad you found your car in the end :)

[VWVW 1]

Nice colour...Congratulations on your new purchase! Bet you cant wait to take her home :)

[BILLCOR 1]

Very nice, well done, I stuck a link up in the Ebay forum for this car, looked like a fairly well looked after example, decent mileage and the money the guy was asking was very fair, I do hope you got him down a bit though :grin:

[wy906 0]

Very nice, well done, I stuck a link up in the Ebay forum for this car, looked like a fairly well looked after example, decent mileage and the money the guy was asking was very fair, I do hope you got him down a bit though :grin:

 

I did! :)

 

The Seller was pretty fair with the pricing I must admit. I went to see another car on Monday in North London with ‘dukest’; that car was in the similar price bracket but the mileage was doubled and the conditions were no where as good.

 

The Seller of the Ice grey violet showed me the MOT report, which mentions that the brakes may need replacing before next MOT, which is 11 months away. That’s ok cos I wanted to upgrade to 288mm anyway.

 

My current plan is, assuming nothing mechanically went wrong, I’d wait until next MOT/Service (Mar 2011) before doing any upgrade/replacement. I’d take the car to DG Auto / G-werks and have everything done in one go. I can’t afford upgrading at the moment anyway! :( I’ll get the dent and bonnet cable sorted though....

 

‘Dukest’ – Thanks for the tips RE: fuel, I didn’t know that! Also I didn’t realise the exhausts are that expansive. I’ll get the brakes / suspensions done first then.

 

‘Swompy’ – I’ll get the stickers after I got the car, cheers!

[The_Dude 0]

Hello mate, looks like a nice buy!

 

The first gear problem should be sorted by changing the gearbox oil. My first gear was hard to engage before I had it changed and now it slips in like a dream!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The Seller has warned me about that the first gear is hard to engage in first attempt. When that happens one should release the pressure and then it should engage the second try. When I test-droved it the exact thing had happened, though I had no problem engaging the 1st gear once I had released pressure and tried again in the second attempt. (Sorry hope that makes sense to you!) It’s not a major problem, just have to be aware when at traffic light / junctions.

 

Things to check in order of cheapness:-

 

1) Gear cable alignment. Calibration is dead easy and DIY'able. I think there's a guide for it on here.

 

2) Worn gearbox mount. The standard VW one is hopeless. Replace it with a solid rubber one from the MK2 Golf, costs approx £15 from http://www.gsfcarparts.com

 

It will tighten up the shift quality and remove a little slop from the engine. The last thing you want when cornering enthusiastically is that great big V6 lump throwing it's weight around, unbalancing the nose. You can actually get a whole range of uprated engine mounts as it's a well known issue, but I doubt it'll be your bag as the cabin vibration can increase.

 

3) Better quality gear oil. Redline MT90 does wonders for these old boxes.

 

4) Worn clutch. As they friction plate gets to half worn and beyond, the pressure plate springs have to push harder to release drive to the gearbox, which can cause a heavy pedal and a reluctance to engage smoothly in 1st.

It's not worn to the point of slipping, it's just old and tired. A job best saved for if / when you do the chains.

 

Sounds like a good car overall, enjoy :D

[wy906 0]

The dude & Kev, thank you for the tips RE: gearbox, they’re most helpful. I’ll have an extended drive to access the situation once I got the car.

 

As much as I’d like learn the mechanical aspect of the VR6, my problems are:

 

a – Car is parked on-street, so no access to drive-way / garage to work on the car

b – I live in a small flat, therefore no space to store tools / parts

c – Did I mention that I couldn’t tell a spanner from a fork? :)

 

So if the gearbox really bothers me, I may have to pay somebody to check it out, even for simple jobs like changing the oil!

 

BTW, during my 20/25 minutes test drive, I didn’t find any slippage with the clutch, and all the other 4 gears and reverse seem to be quite precise, so I think that’s a good sign. I need to get used to the ‘long-throw’ though!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The dude & Kev, thank you for the tips RE: gearbox, they’re most helpful. I’ll have an extended drive to access the situation once I got the car.

 

As much as I’d like learn the mechanical aspect of the VR6, my problems are:

 

a – Car is parked on-street, so no access to drive-way / garage to work on the car

b – I live in a small flat, therefore no space to store tools / parts

c – Did I mention that I couldn’t tell a spanner from a fork? :)

 

So if the gearbox really bothers me, I may have to pay somebody to check it out, even for simple jobs like changing the oil!

 

BTW, during my 20/25 minutes test drive, I didn’t find any slippage with the clutch, and all the other 4 gears and reverse seem to be quite precise, so I think that’s a good sign. I need to get used to the ‘long-throw’ though!

 

I wouldn't worry about the clutch slipping, they can keep on gripping well beyond 100K. They just get a little heavy and stiff as already discussed.

 

You'll find this forum is very helpful and some members are more than willing to pay people visits to help them out.

 

I wonder how long it will be before you succumb to the modifications? We all crumble eventually :D

[wy906 0]

Sorted my insurance, £640 for 10 months, fully comp with two years no claim bonus.

 

Should have been £510 for 10 months but no thanks to the Marks & Spencer lorry driver who hit my Corsa last October while it was parked at home.

 

Not impressed.

 

I think I’m boycotting M&S. :bad-words:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Did the claim go 50/50? It sucks that other people's mistakes end up costing YOU money.

 

I couldn't boycott M&S. Their food is too tasty :D

[wy906 0]

Did the claim go 50/50? It sucks that other people's mistakes end up costing YOU money.

 

The other party admitted 100% liability!

 

M&S should send me £150 worth of gift vouchers. :D

[The_Dude 0]

Did the claim go 50/50? It sucks that other people's mistakes end up costing YOU money.

 

I couldn't boycott M&S. Their food is too tasty :D

 

You must be :cuckoo:

M&S food is like whe you were a kid and you went round to a mate's house with a foreign mum...all the food doesn't quite taste right and there's no coke in the fridge! :D

[-=Kris=- 0]

Did the claim go 50/50? It sucks that other people's mistakes end up costing YOU money.

 

I couldn't boycott M&S. Their food is too tasty :D

 

You must be :cuckoo:

M&S food is like whe you were a kid and you went round to a mate's house with a foreign mum...all the food doesn't quite taste right and there's no coke in the fridge! :D

 

:lol: oh sooooo true!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Did the claim go 50/50? It sucks that other people's mistakes end up costing YOU money.

 

I couldn't boycott M&S. Their food is too tasty :D

 

You must be :cuckoo:

M&S food is like whe you were a kid and you went round to a mate's house with a foreign mum...all the food doesn't quite taste right and there's no coke in the fridge! :D

 

No I think you've just f'cked your taste buds with too much ghanga.....

[wy906 0]

Collecting the car tomorrow…… already mapped out a route to take the long way home. :D

[tandino 0]

great stuff,

 

Im collecting my air con kit tomorrow so a great day all round 8)

[wy906 0]

I’ve had the Ice Grey for eight days, and so far I’ve done @650 miles and spent £133.95 on fuel. I don’t even use it for commuting, I walk to work! Looks like it’ll be beans on toast for me until payday while the Ice Grey gets to indulge V-Power.

 

Visited another forum member ‘tandino’ yesterday. He took my car out for a spin and confirmed to me that it’s a very good car and I didn’t buy a lemon! He also fixed the gear-alignment so now no problem with 1st gear selection. :clap:

 

I got to take his VR6 out as well... despite being lowered by quite a bit, to my surprise the ride is not harsh at all. I was expecting back-breaking ride when I first saw his car, but it’s actually got a very nice set-up. It’s also got amazing brakes and very gook looking BBS. The brief drive in his car certainly gives me some ideas on what I want to do with my car in terms of upgrade.

 

Cheers tandino, much appreciated!

 

Washed my car this morning and ten minutes after I finished it started raining. :roll:

 

Mileage on my first day of ownership:

 

 

Picking the car up at Seller's place:

 

 

Car at my office's car park while waiting for resident parking permit. No need to comment on my parking skills please. :)

 

[joeyboswell 0]

very nice. looks like mine! jealous of our low mileage though. good luck with the new beast!

[wy906 0]

Went to get quotes from a bodyshop on Saturday, been quoted £175 for the dent on front wing, £50 for parking ding at the driver’s door, £350 for the rear bumper repaint. Also £2,000 for re-spraying the whole car.

 

Nevermind. :roll:

 

On another note, car is running well! :D Loving it!

[wy906 0]

Just had the following works done, courtesy of forum member ‘tandino’, thanks mate!

 

- 288mm front brake upgrade

- New rear disc & pads

- New rear wheel bearings

- Gearbox oil change

- Bonnet cable fixed

- Boot parcel shelf strap fixed

- Driver’s seat tilt adjuster fixed

- Diagnosed / fixed the loud rattling noise coming from the driver’s side of the engine - Alternator /Ancillary drive belt, tensioner / pulley & new water pump

 

‘tandino’ even washed my car! Top geezer! :salute:

 

Also picked up a set BBS Solitude from ebay; they're in above average condition and I think I can just about get away with not refurbishing them. I plan to fit winter tyres on them so that's ok. Need a set of new centre caps though.

 

288mm Upgrade

 

 

BBS Solitude