Daily driver or weekend weapon?

[devilmatt 0]

2 or 3 years ago I used to see a different Corrado on the road almost every week, but nower days I go weeks or even months at a time between sightings. I probably saw 3 or in total last year, and maybe 2 so far this year. Are people starting to keep them stashed away and only using them now and then or are they really that much of a dying breed?

 

I have had my current G60 for 3 years now, and have used it as a daily driver from day one. The up side of this is that I know the car and its limitations very well, I notice any problems it has as soon as they develop and I know it will do thousands of miles around Europe without any problems. I try to maintain it to the highest standard my finances allow and treat it to a nice upgrade every now and then so I still benefit from an improving project. The downsides of course are that it is always dirty, (anyone who owns a white car will understand) and it is difficult to keep the bodywork and interior looking as nice as it would if it only did a few thousand miles a year.

 

So, in short, are there really that fewer Corrados on the road now compared to a few years ago or are there just fewer daily drivers?

 

---------- Post added at 10:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 AM ----------

 

Another downside with a G60 daily. 2 charger rebuilds in three years and another not too far off.

[G60radoboi 10]

Collect mine tomorrow and it will be a daily for me, I however only really drive on week-ends living in London so it is really a combination of both for me.

[Yega 10]

I must admit I haven't seen that many myself around where I live and the ones that I do see belong to our local VW club :D

 

I personally will have my Corrado as a 2nd car, take it out on weekends and to shows/meets, sometimes to work on a nice sunny day.

[Portent 0]

Occasional weekend warrior for me. I've probably done around 4k in it (maybe less) since I bought it nearly 2 years ago. I think it would drive me nuts in winter if it were a daily driver but as a weekend toy it is fantastic.

[Jim Bowen 1]

Well ever since i've been a member here, there has been a constant supply of corrados for breaking in the classified section and on ebay, so they have to be disappearing in numbers.

 

If you go and look on autotrader, pistonheads or ebay for a nice corrado VR6 these days, you really don't have much choice or selection. Its about that time in their life where unless its been garaged and dry use only you really are going to need commitment to keep it going.

[devilmatt 0]

I've probably done around 4k in it (maybe less) since I bought it nearly 2 years ago. I think it would drive me nuts in winter if it were a daily driver but as a weekend toy it is fantastic.

 

I have done 10 times that in under three years. I know that it isn't a show car and never will be. I love driving it and have tried running a second car as a daily but always end up looking at how much its costing me to be driving a car that I don't want, when the one I want is sitting in the garage. I've found it to be a brilliant daily driver too. Practical, very reliable, superb handling for when the mood takes you and good mpg when you're cruising.

 

Saying that, if I had a Storm like the one in your picture (@Portent) I doubt I would look at it the same way.

[BILLCOR 1]

I have done 10 times that in under three years. I know that it isn't a show car and never will be. I love driving it and have tried running a second car as a daily but always end up looking at how much its costing me to be driving a car that I don't want, when the one I want is sitting in the garage. I've found it to be a brilliant daily driver too. Practical, very reliable, superb handling for when the mood takes you and good mpg when you're cruising.

 

Saying that, if I had a Storm like the one in your picture (@Portent) I doubt I would look at it the same way.

 

Storm Grey :nono: :)

[devilmatt 0]

Whoops. My bad. :camp:

[DriverVR6 11]

I have two, a VR6 which is for very occasional use, and a daily which is a 2.0 16v. Living in central Birmingham means that I can't and would not use the VR6 as a daily. Too many thieves, vandals and general scum bangs around and it would not stay intact for more than 5 minutes.

 

They are getting rare, and the good standard ones are even rarer. Give it another 5 years and the good standard ones will be fetching good money again, and you'll also enjoy driving them more as they'll be a very rare sight and get plenty of admiring looks. Bit like me as I get older.....lol

[dragon green 4]

I did 14k in mine last year !

I'll try and drive slower so more can see me lol

[Portent 0]

Whoops. My bad. :camp:

 

Yup mine is Storm Grey rather than a Storm model. It's also not quite as good condition as it looks when you get closer :) In fact that's one of the nice things about it - it's tidy enough for me to be happy but as it's not immaculate I'm not distraught when I find a new mark on it :)

 

** MY Storm Grey car is 1994 and all Storm models are 95/96. So mine is the original and they are all trying to imitate mine :rofl:

[Yega 10]

** MY Storm Grey car is 1994 and all Storm models are 95/96. So mine is the original and they are all trying to imitate mine :rofl:

 

That's one way to look at it

[Jim 2]

Mine has been a weekend warrior for a while now but debating returning it to service as a semi-daily and supplementing it with a 125cc bike for tooling to work, etc. Not sure yet though!

[Portent 0]

That's one way to look at it

 

Don't worry they still have the last laugh with their faster reversing gear :)

[Erallus 10]

Weekend Warrior for me. Do far too many miles to use the VR6 daily, it would bankrupt me.

 

I prefer that as well, like to keep it special, a car for the weekends, when weathers nice.

 

As many have said, the constant supply of cars for breaking you see explains the dropping numbers, its getting hard to find one in very good condition.

 

I'm want to keeping mine on the road though.

 

Only had it for a few months, and can't see myself selling it.

[rado mc 0]

As soon as mine is ready again and on the road i'll try and use it as much as i can , anything more modern bores the hell out of me.

[devilmatt 0]

anything more modern bores the hell out of me.

 

That's another thing. It is reliable because I have changed the majority of things that can go wrong on it. It has cost a fair bit of money to get to that point but I have done everything but the charger rebuilds myself. Modern day cars so reliant on electrics and sensors that I wouldn't have been able to do half the jobs myself and that would've cost a lot more. I know that if it needs a new CVJ/wheel bearing/pump or anything else, the chances are its possible to do in my garage for the cost of the parts.

[16VG60 1]

Mine is another weekend warrior, only sees the road when there is a convergence of ; available time, good weather, clear road (very early morning run), and an event to go to. Of course the other crucial part is that it is actually in road going state, and not subject to more tuning! My time in my Corrado is always highly entertaining, G60 PJM is 22 years old this year and 20 of those have been in my ownership.

The Corrado numbers are in marked decline. I rarely see another Corrado out on the roads, plenty in my workshop though. I am looking forward to the big birthday meets this year, and the gathering of large numbers of owners and their rides. This is likely, sadly, to be the last time we will see significant numbers of Corrados assembled together as one display, cameras ready!

[Harrier 1]

Mine has also been a weekend car,sorned over winter for the last 4- 5 years ,though have chosen to tax it for 12 mnths at a time from now on as fed up with locking it away for 6 mnths.Done under 20k miles in 11 years ownership !

[CazzaVR 0]

Only way I can have one is by using it as a daily. Love driving it, but would prefer to have something more frugal for work, leaving the VR for weekends.

[stuarttaylor37 13]

I bought a Vr which I wanted to restore and enjoy but it lives in my garage and only goes out in nice weather, I enjoyed the drive of a Corrado so much that I bought an 8v as a daily which is very different but i have grown to love in a different way

Edited February 15, 2013 by stuarttaylor37

[ozowen 2]

I am spoilt. I have a 94 daily VR with 180k on the clock and a 95 for the shows with 90k...................it will remain a 2nd car unless 303 dies...

[devilmatt 0]

You are spoilt. Maybe that's the way to go. 3 or 4 Corrados. Then you could drive one while cleaning the rest and keep the mileage down on each one.

[mr.ots 10]

As others have mentioned there are a lot of Corrados being broken now. Looking on http://www.howmanyleft.co.uk , in the last 5 years the number of cars has reduced from around 4800 down to 2600. I would guess this decline will continue for a while yet until only the looked after examples remain.

 

I did a lot of driving in mine for the first few years from when I bought it in 2005 but in the last couple of years I've only done a few thousand each year as it spends most of its time in the garage. I'm gradually getting all of the jobs done that I've been wanting to do on it, all front bushes, calipers refurbished, new radiator, stat and housing, just bought another set of refurbished solitudes, rear beam bushes to do (not looking forward to that one) and I'm planning to get the front end resprayed.

 

I love driving the car but not as a daily. I do around 400 miles a week and as I'm becoming an old bugger I need a little more comfort and fuel economy these days so I drive a 520d E60 as my daily. For turning heads though, the Corrado will always win hands down.

[devilmatt 0]

I would like to have another car to use as a daily but the additional cost of another set of tax, mot, insurance and maintenance all adds up. For me, at the moment at least, it is a choice between owning a Corrado as my daily diver or not owning a corrado at all.