Danny Ess 0 Posted March 20, 2011 I've been after a corrado for the past couple of years. However i bought a MK1, ABF'd it and i sold it yesterday. Been looking at corrados but everyone is telling me to steer clear because they break alot. I hardly ever hear about peoples corrados that are reliable and that rarely need bits buying for them. Was at a meet on thursday and a mate told me that i shouldnt worry about a corrado breaking because i had a mk1 which are even worse for breaking but mine, i 18 months must have broke about 2 times, if that, mainly cause it was a good example of one. So now i'm carless with abit of money im deciding which car to get. It's between a corrado and a special mk2. Just theres never (m)any stories of peoples corrados lasting for long and not breaking and it doesnt give me much confidence in buying one :( and with nearly every single corrado at the other ends of the country from where i am its abit hard to go and just look at one in london (for example) and find out its crap as it could start costing me loads that way. I know they are getting on for 20 years old now but the mk1 was 28 and was fine :D So put some confidence in me please before i buy a mk2 :D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C5 OEM 0 Posted March 20, 2011 owned them all and they all have there moments, just buy a good one to start with and you wont go wrong... look at mine i`m local to you Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jon_vr6 1 Posted March 20, 2011 Yeah they do have there problems but no more than any other car. Touch wood ive had my VR 4 years and its never left me stranded. Get one with a good solid engine and your sorted Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Danny Ess 0 Posted March 20, 2011 owned them all and they all have there moments, just buy a good one to start with and you wont go wrong... look at mine i`m local to you why where abouts are you? :D SIlly thing is ive never actually been in a corrado just like the look of them. And im realistically after a g60 or a VR6. There are a few nice 16vs knocking about but i just think they're going to be really slow, but i think im going to be comparing it to my ABF mk1 which was pretty fast. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robbo101 0 Posted March 20, 2011 As stated all cars have problems and I don't think the corrado is worse than any other car prob better than alot. People only write up problems mainly not the good times lol. I have had mine 7 years and have had to call out the AA twice in that time. Mine is a average car with 180K on the clock it is in no way a mint example as its used every day and my only car. It has had other troubles that have needed sorting out over the years like all the cooling plastics needing replacing I would change one bit and the leak would move to a new place annoying and I should have changed the lot in one go but its all been done now. :) I would be happy to buy another if I ever got rid of mine as for driving they are a great car so I would say go for it and get one Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Danny Ess 0 Posted March 20, 2011 yeah that's what i mean. just like everything in life everyone tells people the bad stuff so thats what everyone listens too i guess. I think now is the time for me to get a corrado and get it out of my system. Had a mk2 before so thats going down the easy route. Just got to find a nice corrado i think Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Diesel Junior 0 Posted March 20, 2011 Tough question! At the end of the day these cars are the thick end of 20 years old and in (esp) VR6 guise they are quite complex as well and not the easiest to work either. Mine has broken down once (water pump) in three years which i dont consider that bad but ANY car can or will break whether it be a G60 or a Mk 2, it all depends on how it has been looked after during its years. I went from an S2000 to a VR6 and hand on heart it was the best move i ever made, i cant imagine a more complete car but dont get me wrong a Mk 2 is pretty special as well. Its up to you mate, remember that these are not new cars with a 7 year Kia warranty but trawl thru this website and there are a LOT of satisfied Corrado owners out there! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MonkeyVR6 0 Posted March 20, 2011 does anyone have a corrado that doesnt break? Yes. Me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yandards 0 Posted March 20, 2011 Humn, after owning 4 over a period of 6 years (still got 3) of various states of model, condition and age I would say they are pretty reliable in terms of stuff that will actually stop you driving them. However, as with any car with a large quantity of electrical bits - coupled with age and wear, things have stopped working on all the cars I own. The 16v electrical recarro heigh adjust switch on the drivers side was dodgy - that just needed the contacts cleaning up. My first VR6 had dodgy central locking which turned out to be a broken wiring loom in the passenger door. My nugget had a bust heater control valve and leaking O/S/F rear damper that meant I drove it home 350 miles with no heating overnight in late October. The current VR6 has a bust spoiler (won't auto raise or lower), poor idle with cutting out, bad paint, stiff heater controls (late control problem only) and more. So are they reliable, yes mostly, ironically it was my Mk 2 'rocco that actually broke down properly (dripping water from scuttle onto fuse box) and my nugget died on the way to BVF a couple of years ago (shorting lambda probe blowing fuse for fuel pump) but I think the question you need to ask is how many folks are still using them as daily drivers and what other cars of that age are also being used in that way? Not many I can thing off, most Mk 3s are very cruddy by now and when was the last time you saw a Calibra or a Probe? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C5 OEM 0 Posted March 20, 2011 why where abouts are you? :D SIlly thing is ive never actually been in a corrado just like the look of them. And im realistically after a g60 or a VR6. There are a few nice 16vs knocking about but i just think they're going to be really slow, but i think im going to be comparing it to my ABF mk1 which was pretty fast. based in hyde Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
holeinmk1 0 Posted March 20, 2011 I've only had mine a year, and i was worried about the same thing(reliability) when i bought mine as the car it was replacing was much newer(although that had broken down twice already!). It has admittedly let me down once, my heater matrix failed, hot coolant everywhere, not very nice, but its been otherwise very reliable, i was using mine everyday until a recent attempted break in, and even in the snow it was excellent. Honestly can't think of another car i'd rather have now(well, maybe another mk1 one day....). But seriously this ones a keeper. I love the fact that the chances of seeing another knocking about are pretty slim(in fact, excluding meets/shows i've seen 4 others out and about since i bought mine!), whereas i see mk2's alot, and even the odd mk1. I'm in Bury, so not a million miles from you if you want to take a look. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
16VG60 1 Posted March 20, 2011 Yes, I have a Corrado that doesn't break. It's a blue VR6 limited edition that has not wanted for anything since the day I bought her,other than cleaning regularly and an admiring glance at a quiet moment. It is a Revell model that sits in my office at work! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Butterfly 0 Posted March 20, 2011 As most of the above. They are fine, just remember it's a 16+ year old car so things will need replacing and it's better sooner than wait until it breaks or fails on MOT. And at the risk of upsetting some people on here who like to tweek things I would say look for a standard car thats not had bits bolted on and off over the years and look for one that has been maintained by knowledgeable people (not necessarily VW and theres nothing wrong with owner servicing / maintenance if it's the right owner.. hence I say knowledgeable). I'll set off on a 200 mile works trip without a second thought as to whether my 8v will get me there as will many other people. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carrots 1 Posted March 20, 2011 mine breaks at least once a month.heater matrix and rear caliper on the same day,head last month Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Swompy 0 Posted March 20, 2011 I'm on my second Rado now and both have been very good. Only had to call the AA once and that was because I didn't have any tools to take the lower trim off to re attach the throttle cable. It was my fault got my foot caught under the pedal ( I was parked at the time ) and disconnecting the it. My current Rado has a F.U.B.A.R engine ( low compression in 3 cylinders) but still drives like any other VR6. Got standard BHP on a rolling road the other day, doesn't burn oil or water and I got 35mpg out of it today. Once you have driven one to its full potential you will soon stop worrying about it breaking ;) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Danny Ess 0 Posted March 20, 2011 yeah i know about the age thing but everyones just seems to break. my mk1 never broke and that was 28 years old. Just seems that corrado owners seem to make more of a deal of it as you hear about them breaking more :D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wullie 1 Posted March 20, 2011 I've had mine for 12 years now and it has never left me stranded, never had to call out the AA. In fact I don't even have AA cover anymore, all part of the general cost cutting. I don't think twice about jumping into it and driving a few hundred miles. Recent trips included London and Birminghm. Next weekend its off to Perth. Tomorrow, 3 miles into work. It's a daily driver with 192,000 miles on the clock. Most of the work that is done on it is preventative maintenance and repairing the usual bits that wear out. It's 20 years old now and I fully expect to celebrate it's 21st at the beginning of next year. They are as has been mentioned, old cars age wise, and any old car will have it's problems. Any newer car will also have problems if ignored. One thing everyone here will agree with is that they are timeless cars and the drive is unmatchable. (Unless your other cars a Lambo or Ferrari) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Adam 0 Posted March 20, 2011 you may have seen my 16v about, dark grey G reg thats anything but a bit slow! had a few things go wrong but there probably my fault anyway but i wouldnt say it was unreliable! feel free to come have a ganda/ride, wigan aint that big so cant be far away. not the best example but it works for me :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jonrb 0 Posted March 20, 2011 I owned a 1996 VR6 for 14 years (just sold it last month) and it was only in the final few years that things went wrong, mainly due to them wearing out (like the Heater Matrix and the like). Bear in mind that even the newest cars are almost 15 years old now though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jamiehamy 0 Posted March 20, 2011 Mine is very reliable and I do a large amount of miles in it (20k+ in the last year). As I've said on other reliability posts, I'm getting savvy about what will need replaced simply due to age, so upgrade/replace parts on a rolling basis, which helps reliability. Like Wullie, I wouldn't think twice about jumping in it and doing 300+miles. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wendy 0 Posted March 20, 2011 Mine is good - I have owned it for 8 years now, 181k on the clock. Called RAC twice both minor faults once a water hose then an alternator - pretty normal stuff in cars of these ages. If you buy a good one and look after it - then I think you should have a fairly reliable car - as everyone has stated before - considering age etc. Get one - you will love it. I can't wait for more of this dry weather and some events - which seem all a little slow in coming forward so far !! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pat_McCrotch 0 Posted March 20, 2011 It's all about preventative maintenance. Show it a little love and it will reward you. Drive it and wait for things to break and it'll cost you allot more and hit you all at once financially. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Danny Ess 0 Posted March 21, 2011 dont want to start a mass debate but would it be worth to just get a nice and clean 16v rather than hoping to get a vr6 due to insurance reasons? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mimjed 0 Posted March 21, 2011 dont want to start a mass debate but would it be worth to just get a nice and clean 16v rather than hoping to get a vr6 due to insurance reasons? confused.com? see what the difference is. corrado's have never been cheap on insurance compared to the majority of motors. but yes, late valvers are pretty good cars and there not slow. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pumbaa 0 Posted March 21, 2011 Depends on the individual, the cost of insuring a VR against a 16v for me was about £50 p.a. I went for a valver as i know the engine very well from my Mk2 days, know how to squeeze more power out of it, enjoy the nimble cornering it offers over the VR and love ringing its neck. The VR will also cost more in tax and petrol, even with my tuned and mapped valver i can get 38mpg on a motorway.The VR will always have more torque unfortunately but i haven't had any get away from me just yet. I stayed away from the G60 as i didn't want the hassle of re-building the charger, but they are certainly not one to rule out. With a few tweeks they can produce some serious power. In saying that, i've finished most of the engine work and i now am starting to think about a turbo...... but i guess i'd do that with whichever flavour i started with! Methinks that whatever you buy however will feel slower than an ABF'd Mk1! - That must have been lightning - corners and straights! Oh and the valver has NEVER EVER left me stranded. Period. And i often clock up some serious miles. I drive to Norwich and back every weekend and she's never missed a beat i wouldn't even hesitate about doing a non-stop round trip from London to Scotland. I do look after her but nothing special, just the usual. One thing i will say is that there are more plastic parts that are prone to perishing in the VR............. time for a VR owner to chime in Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites