A different perspective on Corrado values

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I paid £5K for mine 8.5 years ago with 73K on the clock and mint ones still fetch that now, maybe a touch more. So I'd say they've held their values quite well really?

[daleyboy 0]

They are "holding" their value as you say, bearing in mind the economic climate i would say thats pretty good, if we have a recovery in the next few years then i can see them creeping up a bit, but i dont think anyone really knows what they are going to be worth in five years time, do i care ? not really.

[ChrisL 17]

I paid just over 7k for mine last year, so I guess they are worth what someone is willing to pay. It seemed worth it to me because it had been so well looked after, 64k miles and it had the wheels.

[Overmind 10]

I don't know if they will ever truly hit classic status, because I don't believe enough people have heard of them for that to happen. I often get asked what car I have and when I say a Corrado the response is generally "a what?"

 

That said, good ones will always demand higher prices for someone who is looking for an exceptional example. Cars, like anything are only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. When I decided to buy a new car before I bought my corrado, one of my criteria was I don't want to waste money on a car that will depreciate in value year after year. I don't think I'd lose out if I sold it on in years to come, it might not rocket up in price every year, but I can't see it falling either.

[VR6 0]

I don't know if they will ever truly hit classic status, because I don't believe enough people have heard of them for that to happen. I often get asked what car I have and when I say a Corrado the response is generally "a what?"

 

You say that but if you say 'Lancia Delta Integrale' or 'Audi Quattro' to most people they won't know what you're talking about. Rarity isn't just about awareness.

 

Look at half the crap on E38 - I wouldn't be able to accurately predict the prices of most of it.

 

In my opinion the superb Corrados, even over the next 20 years, will not swap hands for more than £10k on average. The general market price will creep up but not significantly. That's down to simple supply and demand and the sheer amount of money owners will have spent to maintain them as more and more parts become obsolete.

[iR6 0]

Its a shame the Corrado has next to no motorsport heritage, as thats a sure way to classic status.

[joby 0]

it has,

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CFcQtwIwAg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJH7mSLu6Mbw&ei=OwoVUKXiL9GN0wW1m4GICw&usg=AFQjCNFmLKEx6VqOMDeN50hJe5jaxXH2wg&sig2=6nJOk47C8KvsKpf7a-JjJA

[iR6 0]

it has,

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CFcQtwIwAg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJH7mSLu6Mbw&ei=OwoVUKXiL9GN0wW1m4GICw&usg=AFQjCNFmLKEx6VqOMDeN50hJe5jaxXH2wg&sig2=6nJOk47C8KvsKpf7a-JjJA

 

Yes theres been the odd sprint car, though was thinking more along the lines of a successful works rally / touring or single make race series (Corrado cup :) )

 

Though am fully aware that vw would never have backed this, just that it would have really given the corrado the classic status we are talking about. For me seeing the Quattros and Stratos today evokes strong memories of youth and classic motorsport. The Corrado I can only really remember reading about as a Top gear review.

 

And nostalgia = classic car status.

[DriverVR6 11]

iR6, you are spot on. There are certain things that can help to make a car a classic, and a motorsport heritage/success is one of them.

 

If VW had made a few "special" Corrados and entered them into some category of Motorsport, then they would have become valuable today. And that is regardless if they were any good as competition cars. Think of the RS200 which was designed for Group B, which was banned. Look at how much RS200's are fetching. In fact all the RS Fords are fetching more than even a mint concours Corrado.

[Portent 0]

And if they had been worth a lot more then I probably wouldn't have been able to buy one last year. So maybe it's a good thing they are so cheap.

[daleyboy 0]

You get the best car you can afford to buy and run, these cars seem to be relatively cheap to buy, but aren't as cheap to run as their second-hand price would indicate.

 

I ummed and arrred for a while before i settled for the C, i have never regretted it for a second, so it must have been the right choice.

 

Maybe more people have heard of all the Ford RS'S, you have to be in "the know" to take a punt on a near 20 year old VW coupe. The grass will always be greener though, whatever car you buy.

[joby 0]

One thing the corrado has going for it in my view is its build quality compared to any RS cars on the road, anyone who has owned the likes of a cosworth sierra or RS Turbo escort/Fiesta would i would think vouch for that, There is no comparison! The corrado is without a doubt a well put together package and even though early ones are suffering with rust problems now just go and have a look at the so called competition of the time,Old cavalier SRi`s and astra Gte`s, RS escorts and Renault5 turbos, and even fiat uno turbos are worth more money, Because there are hardly any left as they have fallen to bits..

[Kevin Bacon 5]

If VW had made the VR6 engine unique to the Corrado, it would certainly have added some bonus extra points to it's Classic worthiness chart. Mainly because it's the engine that has a strong influence on the car's classicness and also what people remember the most.

 

RS Fords would have been nothing without Cosworth et al 3rd party's influence. The R32 would have been nothing without Cosworth et al 3rd party's influence. It's all about the engine. Power in the Ford's case. Noise in the R32's case. So if anything, the I'd put money on the Golf R32 becoming a classic before the Corrado does. Say Golf R32 to most people and they'll nod with approval. Say Corrado to most people and they'll frown...."say what?".

 

But I intend to run mine into the ground and then scrap it. They were good in the 90s, but not anymore. They're pretty average now in all respects tbh.

[Portent 0]

If VW had put the VSR on it as originally planned then it may have helped too.

 

Completely agree they are average now but if someone buys one for performance and handling compared to a modern car then they are buying into it for the wrong reasons I think. Being average when they are 17 to 20 years after they were made shows how good they would have been back in their hey day.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Indeed! Seems very strange for VW to go to all the trouble of enlarging the 2.8 to 2.9 (there's more to it than just a 1mm over bore), just to get another 10hp, and then also shoving this engine into the MK3 Golf syncro in Europe. They missed a trick there. I also think the Corrado may have sold more if it was the only VW to sport the exalted narrow angle 6. Picture the scenario: You've just paid £22K for your VR6 in 1995 and proudly parked it on your drive. Bob next door has just paid £16K for his Golf VR6. He parks his up on the drive and shouts over to you, "Is that the one with the VR6 engine?", "Yep!", "Mine's got that too". Doh!

 

Agreed on the average thing. That's extremely true in the case of the E Type Jag :D A car that never reached it's headline 150mph claimed top speed and had pretty bad handling even in it's day! A standard E Type might be considered dangerous by today's standards to some more spirted drivers.

OK I take it back. The Corrado is certainly more talented on the B roads compared to similar age Golfs, but it still makes a right meal of some roads that modern cars barely acknowledge. Hell, even my Rover 25 daily hack drives and handles better on some roads than my Corrado does!!

[daleyboy 0]

No car is ever going to be all things to all men, before i bought mine i was looking at Escort rs2000's, Lancia Delta Integrale, Crapi 2.8i, Triumph TR6.

 

Apart from the Lancia i think i have the best handling one and the quickest, could you really live with the Lancia's fragility ?

 

Its not all about the best handling/quickest car, i want to feel special and a part of the car when i drive my C and i do, unless you have a much bigger budget then its going to be all about compromise, and i dont feel im compromising much.

 

I also hope to have my car as long as i possibly can, at least another ten years.

[fendervg 30]

I'd say when it comes down to it we own and drive a C because it is a C. That's really all there is to it - the perceived value is something intangible.

[ozowen 2]

Lets be honest; I have followed this thread and I take no prisoners,(unless you have a great argument) the Corrado is only true to those that know and have been enticed by its magic. Yes there are a lot of cars that will give you more speed, grip, pleasure and fundamentally newer than the price we pay for a Corrado, BUT once smitten/bought you cannot leave this car!!!!!!!! Every day I have the WHY question and sometimes I think WHY myself, but I then drive and see dozens of their cars on a journey but never get to flash and wave at a fellow Corrado owner. That's what it is all about; this forum; us owners; our insider knowledge, the Corrado has something others cannot and never will deliver, on a VAG meet just watch at the number of people that stop to look at the mighty C

 

 

 

 

Before you start, I am typing away having had a couple of bottles (wine) so will always say the drink got to me if you criticize

 

Cheers Easy

Edited August 1, 2012 by ozowen

[Kempy 0]

I agree thats why I still got both mine for the time I can afford to run one :) along side a daily

[joby 0]

Lets be honest; I have followed this thread and I take no prisoners,(unless you have a great argument) the Corrado is only true to those that know and have been enticed by its magic. Yes there are a lot of cars that will give you more speed, grip, pleasure and fundamentally newer than the price we pay for a Corrado, BUT once smitten/bought you cannot leave this car!!!!!!!! Every day I have the WHY question and sometimes I think WHY myself, but I then drive and see dozens of their cars on a journey but never get to flash and wave at a fellow Corrado owner. That's what it is all about; this forum; us owners; our insider knowledge, the Corrado has something others cannot and never will deliver, on a VAG meet just watch at the number of people that stop to look at the mighty C

 

 

 

 

Before you start, I am typing away having had a couple of bottles (wine) so will always say the drink got to me if you criticize

 

Cheers Easy

 

Was that you i saw last night coming through old colwyn at the marine roundabout, if so you stopped as i went across the roundabout in my pick up

[Overmind 10]

If VW had made the VR6 engine unique to the Corrado, it would certainly have added some bonus extra points to it's Classic worthiness chart. Mainly because it's the engine that has a strong influence on the car's classicness and also what people remember the most.

 

RS Fords would have been nothing without Cosworth et al 3rd party's influence. The R32 would have been nothing without Cosworth et al 3rd party's influence. It's all about the engine. Power in the Ford's case. Noise in the R32's case. So if anything, the I'd put money on the Golf R32 becoming a classic before the Corrado does. Say Golf R32 to most people and they'll nod with approval. Say Corrado to most people and they'll frown...."say what?".

 

But I intend to run mine into the ground and then scrap it. They were good in the 90s, but not anymore. They're pretty average now in all respects tbh.

 

I think Corrado's would be more valuable and sought after if they had been rear wheel drive from day one of the design stage, then they would have been truly special and set apart from the golf.

[ozowen 2]

Was that you i saw last night coming through old colwyn at the marine roundabout, if so you stopped as i went across the roundabout in my pick up

 

Weirdly no. I live in Wiltshire but know where you mean as I was from round there many moons ago, still travel that way but has not been recently.

[joby 0]

Weirdly no. I live in Wiltshire but know where you mean as I was from round there many moons ago, still travel that way but has not been recently.

 

Ahh, just thought it was you as noticed you mentioned you were going to tatton hall on sunday

[tony_ack 0]

I'd wanted a Corrado since I was 12. A couple of years ago, now that I was older and better off (sadly not wiser...) I set about to find a Corrado-like car, and the Corrado was the closest fit I could find.

 

We could speculate all day about which modern classics are better (and more expensive), who the Corrado appeals to, who would buy one and who would even know what one is, but at the end of the day, the people most likely to want one are those who have owned one before, or those who were smitten with them when they first came out.

 

People like me can't afford a supercar, or even a quick modern car so the low Corrado values were a very good thing. I'm not sure there's much else out there for the same money that I'd want to swap for.

 

The low values allowed me to get a desirable car at 10-year old Golf money. The only thing that is a little disappointing is that the Corrado appears to be in a weird little hole where the car is worth 2-3 times more in parts than as a whole car, so we're getting fewer and fewer decent cars to choose from.