Newbie seeks advice

[Corrado-VR6 0]

Hi! I'm hoping some of you may be able to help me. I'm seriously thinking of getting a Corrado, I'm currently driving a BMW 318is but seek more power and wouldn't mind getting a slightly cheaper car so that I can put some money aside. My problem is mainly the fact that I don't know what I should be getting for my money e.g age,miles,spec ect.. I've got around £4k to spend and really want a VR6.

Also, are there any common problems that I should look for in these cars.

Thanks in advance,

Dan.

[vr6storm 0]

cast yer eyes in this direction as we have a nice "wee" buying guide for C's :)

http://the-corrado.net/.archive/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5124

as for yer budget £4k should buy you a decent C VR6 but it will no doubt be over 100k miles and need wee jobs done on it......as more than likely you'll be looking at 10year old examples at that price range

[Phil K 0]

A VR won't be cheeper to run than your BMW - unless you meant that you'd get more than £4K for the BM and so would be spending less buying the Corrado? You'll still end up spending what cash you have left on it :lol:

 

Anyways, good luck with your hunt for the C (you're doing the right thing) and welcome to the forum...

[Corrado-VR6 0]

the BM has cost me around £2-2.5k in 12 months just on servicing, tyres and fixing various things that have gone wrong, do you really think the C will cost much more? A friend of mine has a VR6 and is a mechanic so I'll get him to service it and do any other things that need doing for a damn site less than I'm currently paying them monkeys at BMW, last service on the BM cost £700, surely running costs of a C can't amount to that much, can they?

[vr6storm 0]

the BM has cost me around £2-2.5k in 12 months just on servicing, tyres and fixing various things that have gone wrong, do you really think the C will cost much more? A friend of mine has a VR6 and is a mechanic so I'll get him to service it and do any other things that need doing for a damn site less than I'm currently paying them monkeys at BMW, last service on the BM cost £700, surely running costs of a C can't amount to that much, can they?

 

well as your "buying" a higher-performance car and bear in mind that your £4k budget is "limiting" you to higher mileage VR's these will all be in need of some sort of remedial work......hell i bought mine from a lexus garage nearly 3years ago for just over £10k and it still needed some bits sorted in my first few months of ownership(h/light switch,aux.coolant pump,cam.pos.sensor,thermostat and a couple of other wee repairs)if your thinking going from a BMW 318is into a cheaper C VR is going to save you money then i'm afraid be prepared to be disapointed......i used to own a 318ti(so basically the same engine as yer coupe)and although i kept it dealer maintained it was a fair bit cheaper to service than my C VR

[Jim 1]

the BM has cost me around £2-2.5k in 12 months just on servicing, tyres and fixing various things that have gone wrong, do you really think the C will cost much more? A friend of mine has a VR6 and is a mechanic so I'll get him to service it and do any other things that need doing for a damn site less than I'm currently paying them monkeys at BMW, last service on the BM cost £700, surely running costs of a C can't amount to that much, can they?

 

Um yep - a Corrado can plough through that kind of money quite comfortably. My last Corrado (a lowly 16v) managed it!

 

Speak to some of the guys who have had persistant running problems with their VR6's and have replaced just about every sensor, probe, and valve in their engine to get it to run right - you'll be looking at about the same kind of figure.

 

Though having a VR6 capable mechanic for a friend would be a huuuuge bonus :)

[dr_mat 0]

My spreadsheet of costs of VR ownership overflowed a 32-bit integer, so I had to divide it all by £10,000 to get it to fit on the page...

Look at it this way - if you catch an original VR at the end of many of it's part's lifetimes and you're looking at:

 

timing chains: £600+

exhaust: £300+

aux belt tensioner: £140+

steering rack: £250+

pair of tyres (once every 8000 miles): £140+

rear brake calipers: £150+

rear axle bearings: £150+

full set of shocks: £250+

.. plus the inevitable failures: a couple of door handles, headlight switch, sunroof repairs ...

.. and then there's the low 20s MPG, and the group 18 insurance costs ...

 

Now you're right, you might not catch all these in the next couple of years, you might be lucky. You might also stumble on a car that's had the majority of this list done before. But if the person who's gone through the pain of this lot is selling, you can bet they'll want more than £4k just to cover the repairs they've paid for...

 

Don't get me wrong - the C VR6 is a great car, but puurleeease don't expect it to be cheap to maintain. The above prices are not that much less if you can get the labour done cheap/free, by the way...

[Stovey 0]

Interesting topic :)

I'm looking for a VR at the moment too, I've got around £5k to spend and I'm faced with the choice of get one now for what money I've got, or wait a few months till I've got around £6k......... I'm driving a Civic Coupe at the moment which is obviously cheap as chips to run and insure but it's boring me to death...... I want to get that feeling back where you have the desire to get in your car just for a drive, the Civic doesn't inspire me to do that at all...... So I'm after some advice really- do I go for a VR at around £4.5K and have money left over to do some tidying or do I risk dying of boredom with the Honda while I save for a minter C....?

 

Oh, and PS. Sorry Corrado-VR6 for Hijacking :oops:

[Corrado-VR6 0]

Well the need for a corrado finally got the better of me, I'm picking the corrado up on friday :lol: I can't wait. I've managed to get a 93L VR6 with 80k fVWsh and spotless interior, the exterior needs a bit of work, 1 new indicator and fog but other than that I can't really complain. I had a mechanic look over it and drive it, he couldn't find any problems. So armed with this information, do you peeps think £4700 is a good deal?

[dinkus 10]

If the mechanic thinks it's ok now then you're probably safe from anything major going soon, the best way to find out is to drive it. If it feels right then go with it.

 

My spreadsheet of costs of VR ownership overflowed a 32-bit integer

 

I make that just shy of £4.3 billion...:lol: (unless you're using signed numbers then it's only £2.2 billion)

 

oh man I need to get out more :roll:

[kvwloon 0]

I make that just shy of £4.3 billion...:lol: (unless you're using signed numbers then it's only £2.2 billion)

 

.....so, pretty much spot on then! :lol:

[dinkus 10]

:lol:

 

I'm drawing up my budget for the joys of buying a house... I'm allowing for £2k to get thrown at the C a year, plus MOT, tax, insurance, petrol. But on the bright side if you spend that much you shouldn't have to do it again for another 10yrs or so.

[dr_mat 0]

If the mechanic thinks it's ok now then you're probably safe from anything major going soon, the best way to find out is to drive it. If it feels right then go with it.

 

My spreadsheet of costs of VR ownership overflowed a 32-bit integer

 

I make that just shy of £4.3 billion...:lol: (unless you're using signed numbers then it's only £2.2 billion)

 

oh man I need to get out more :roll:

 

Actually I was using tenths of a pence as the base unit, so it's actually a mere £2.1 million.

But it's still more than the GNP of a small south american nation, so it's a bit worrying! :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Anyone logging onto the forum looking for advice on Corrados will see 90% negativity.

 

We need to keep things in perspective really.

 

Name me a differnt make of car that doesn't have 1 or more achilles heels?

 

I've had a few BMWs, mostly E30 & E36 325is, and I think you would be in for a shock if you think Corrado ownership is expensive. Try an £190 for an electric window relay for the coupe (drops the glass a few mm when closing the door), £95 for a windscreen wiper relay (the wipers stay on permanently when it pops, very embarrasing in the summer!), £500+ inspection 2 services etc etc.... And there's the chains, it costs £1500 to do that on the M3, more than double what it costs to do the VR's.

 

So yeah, the Corrado is a little rough round the edges but it's by no means the "Fix Or Repair Daily" car that some of you make it out to be. Given the Corrado VR6's cult status and blend of looks and performance, a little quirkiness can be forgiven, otherwise we'd have jacked it in long ago and bought a Daewoo.

 

How many of you had to fork out shed loads of money for emergency repairs? Not many I'll wager. We spend our money on mods and tinkering with the engine replacing sensors here and there, mostly through a process of elimination.

 

I've done 21000 miles in mine in a year, 3000 of that over 1 week and it has never missed a beat. Run a little doggy from time to time yeah, but it hasn't broken down, yet :wink:

 

So three cheers for the Corrado.......

[dr_mat 0]

Of course, just trying to put a hint of reality into the discussion. The original question was "i wanna buy a cheap VR6 and run it for less than my 318i" - clearly not possible!

(My only "emergency" repair in 2 years has been the starter motor, the battery and an engine coolant hose - which I'll admit isn't too bad. Everything else that wasn't an emergency adds up to a lot of cash tho.. :( )

[Kevin Bacon 5]

You are definitely a future Daewoo driver :lol:

 

Well, the E36 318is will at some point suffer the issues I mentioned above with the electrics. The 1900 16V 140bhp engine is no barn stormer, but it's a reliable and punchy unit. At 120,000 miles it will have been through 3 cambelt changes, and at BMW dealer prices, which do you think is cheaper - 1 x VR chain job or 3 x BMW cambelt changes?

 

BMWs are expensive, VR6s are expensive. They're both German, enough said.

 

I'd say it's a fair match to be honest.

 

K

[dr_mat 0]

Never Daewoo.. They're ex-vauxhall cars! Yuck.

Maybe an RX8 tho.... ;)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah seen a few of those around recently, nice looking cars. But you'll be on the Mazda forum complaining that the piston seals need doing at 60K :wink:

 

Sorry, I'll stop picking on you now :mrgreen:

[dr_mat 0]

They are getting a bit too common - that puts me off...

They do look good in the metallic grey colour tho... :)

[Jim 1]

Common isn't the word. In the Earlsdon area of the city i've seen 3 RX8's parked regularly within about 1/2 a mile of each other.

 

Though that said, i've seen more Corrados in Earlsdon :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I've always favoured the 350Z personally, it's a more muscular driver's car than the dainty little 8 imo. It's got a 'real' engine aswell :wink:

 

I've only seen 2 of those and probably about half a dozen or so 8s....... in the same county!

 

K

[dr_mat 0]

I've seen about 10-20 RX8s now, just around the Reading area.

Too common for my liking.. Mind you, there's a similar number of Corrados too. (Though not that many of them are VR6s.)

[Stovey 0]

Anyone logging onto the forum looking for advice on Corrados will see 90% negativity.

 

We need to keep things in perspective really.

 

Name me a differnt make of car that doesn't have 1 or more achilles heels?

 

I've done 21000 miles in mine in a year, 3000 of that over 1 week and it has never missed a beat. Run a little doggy from time to time yeah, but it hasn't broken down, yet :wink:

 

So three cheers for the Corrado.......

 

Glad you posted that...... Was beginning to wonder whether I'd made the right choice :shock:

I think if you're buying any ''old'' car with the performance of the C VR you've got to expect some repair bills to keep it running as it should, it's just will the car justify the cost of the ownership that goes with it and I'm hoping it will :)

I used to own an old Fiesta XR2i, you'd think that with a little four-pot engine and cheap parts that it wouldn't be too expensive to maintain, but I ended up replacing a CV boot or two, a ball joint and a few relays every year, that coupled with the fact that the alternator and starter not lasting very long I got hacked off with it very quickly, especially when it left me stranded at a job interview :lol:

 

On the RX8 subject; I think they're developing a bit of a cheesy image already, I've seen a few in Southampton driven by yuppy types and that was enough to put me off!

[dinkus 10]

The Corrado is expensive to run compared to say a Vectra. But it's hardly a Vectra and if you compare it to cars of similar performance/age then it's about average, if not cheaper. Just don't expect it to run without any TLC :)

 

RX-8's look nice, but they're like a rash. You get a Corrado to be a little different. I reckon the RX-8 is gonna be like the MX-5 soon :D

 

Oh and dr_mat, who uses a base of 1/10 pence?? ;) and I thought I needed to get out more

[vr6storm 0]

I've always favoured the 350Z personally, it's a more muscular driver's car than the dainty little 8 imo. It's got a 'real' engine aswell :wink:

 

I've only seen 2 of those and probably about half a dozen or so 8s....... in the same county!

 

K

 

 

 

 

hitting the spot with me now.........prefered the crossfire til i actually saw a 350Z in the flesh.........damn sexy looking 8) datsun i must admit :lol: