Billzeebub 1 Posted July 19, 2013 (edited) I have been largely obsessed by 80s/early 90s performance VWs for many years now. I have so far owned several Mk2 Golfs and have just bought my 7th Corrado! For the first time I will be owning 2 Rados at the same time, as I still own my 6th (a 95 classic green VR6). Anyway, I have never started an owners thread so thought now was about time! I picked up the new obsession on Sunday and after the first week, evolving an unusually high number of miles, I can report that I am very happy with my purchase. So, to the specifics of the car. I had been interested in the particular Classic Green Storm for quite some time. I had determined to primarily look for Classic Green as I already own a 95 VR in that colour ( which could donate any body panels easily to e Storm). Indeed I had previously owned a VR in Storm spec (apart from Wheels & Badges) which wasn't actually a Storm. Having also owned a Mystic Blue Storm (not to mention a nearly new Mk3 Golf Driver in the Mystic hue) I decided it must be Classic Green. The car I decided to purchase was based in Scotland near Edinburgh. The owner (Craigowl on forum) was only the second custodian of the Storm, having owned it since 2002! After much emailing and huge reams of photos sent by Craigowl (thankyou muchly for being so pleasant to deal with, nothing too much trouble) I booked a one way rail ticket from Surrey to Edinburgh..that's how confident I was with the information and communication from Craigowl. Early last Sunday morning I lugged a heavy rucksack (full of maps, satnav, clothing, IPad, chargers etc as well as my tent (more on that later) to the local mainline station. The weather was glorious, too nice for trudging into London Kings Cross with muchos kit! Anyway, being sweaty didnt bother me- I was just too excited about the new car! The journey up to Scotland was very pleasant (largely helped by taking the plunge on the Weekend First Class upgrade for £25! I made it my mission for the journey to not say no to anything offered and think I must have consumed around £50 worth of catering/coffee/fizzy drinks! The views of Scotland were also very pleasant as the train passed alongside the coast. Upon arrival Craigowl was waiting for me at the station and I could see the car in the station carpark as the train pulled in. The car really impressed me with the standard look and the overall condition. It is a real credit to its 2 former keepers. I spent a very pleasant couple of hours in the company of Mr and Mrs Craigowl as we lazily discussed the Corrado (amongst many other topics), It was too warm to do anything in a hurry! When it was time to leave and all the paperwork had been attended to I couldn't believe the car was actually mine. I drove off very tentatively for the long drive back to London. The roads from Edinburgh area to the motorway were very pleasant and I enjoyed using the acceleration of the Corrado to dispatch a few meandering Lorries. At the same time I picked the car up my brother and his Gf have been doing the Coast to Coast walk from St Bees to Robin Hoods Bay, so I had arranged to break the journey up by meeting them Sunday evening in Richmond (North Yorks). I met them in the Market Square outside the Kings Head Hotel. They both looked incredibly frazzled by the weather more than the walk! I had agreed to walk the following days stage with them from Richmond to Danby Wiske. They were at pains to point out to me that the leg I was doing happened to be the shortest and just about the flattest of the whole Walk! The walk was very enjoyable through the countryside and we camped in the Pub Garden overnight, before I grabbed a taxi the 14 miles back to Richmond to collect my car from the hotel. I must say that enjoyable as the walk was, it didnt compare to driving home to Surrey in my new Storm! I hope this lovely 107k miler will be a keeper, also determined to treat it as kindly as its previous 2 careful owners. After all we never own these cars, we are just the custodians preserving them for future generations!?!.. A few photos. More to follow over. I will endeavour to keep the thread updated regularly with changes, maintenance and road trips Thanks for reading Edited June 19, 2017 by Billzeebub Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VR-Sixy 0 Posted July 19, 2013 They're all up-side-down!! Are you sure the previous keeper was an Owl and not a Bat? :bonk: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Billzeebub 1 Posted July 19, 2013 They're all up-side-down!! Are you sure the previous keeper was an Owl and not a Bat? :bonk: Er, stand on your head then?!..not sure why they're coming out like that, they look fine when I view them!?..maybe I am upside down too?! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vornwend 0 Posted July 19, 2013 Congrats on a good purchase there - looks a good un (but we knew that!) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
delfinis38 1 Posted July 19, 2013 Hmmm nice.... re photos I have the same problem when taking pictures with my ipad and up loading them from my desktop.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan_Storm 0 Posted July 19, 2013 Looks ace. 7th Corrado! You must like the stress and punishment! I work in Surrey so I'll keep an eye out for you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robrado974 1 Posted July 19, 2013 Lovely purchase , looks fantastic ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harrier 1 Posted July 19, 2013 Looks like a goodun, look forward to seeing it tommorow Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted July 19, 2013 Looks excellent! Look forward to comparing it to a not so good one tomorrow, and hopefully getting some inspiration! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bristolbaron 10 Posted July 19, 2013 Very nice car, from a great, long standing contributor to the forum. I've always enjoyed Iains ramblings and random memories and could've been tempted to view the car just to meet him in real life :lol: I know this has been a decision made over a number of years, so must have been hard to finally let it go. Glad it's found a good home. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
craigowl 0 Posted July 20, 2013 Thanks so much for kind words, Ben & bristolbaron. So many gents (and great ladies) on this forum - but we know that! Looks like I will be small fry if I go for a mere 2nd Corrado in this company! (Won't happen, but never say never about something else some day like a second Mk 2 GTi.) PS - My wife is getting twitchy - I "mention the Corrado" from time to time and I am not getting away with it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scarlet_vr6 0 Posted July 23, 2013 Car looked lovely at Castle Combe and I'm glad it's found a good home too. I expect you're very happy with this purchase and how nice to have 2 Corrados at the same time! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zeb911 10 Posted July 23, 2013 Great story....I may have to do one of these myself.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Billzeebub 1 Posted October 6, 2013 Haven't updated the thread since purchase. Very lazy of me. This engine bay shot was taken shortly after purchase at the 2013 25th Anniversary National Day, looking pretty clean-although I can't really take much of the credit for this!.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Billzeebub 1 Posted October 6, 2013 (edited) In the first 3 months of ownership the car has been as reliable as a wood burning stove. I have greatly enjoyed every single drive, no matter how short. Since the drive back from Edinburgh the greatest distance I have been is only a couple of trips down to my brothers place on the Kent coast. However, around the Surrey back roads it has been truly fabulous. Now on just over 110k miles. I haven't really changed much since purchase. It was pretty standard when I bought it in July, with only a Jetex Exhaust visibly changed from OEM. The car also had some engine ancillary improvements when I took ownership. Since then it has had the following: -BMC Induction Kit (cannot recommend it enough, combined with the Jetex Stainless Exhaust the car sounds epic..tunnels, driving through forests etc amplification spine tingling) -Alpine Single CD Bluetooth HiFi (OEM style green illumination) replaced the classic JVC with bulky boot mounted 12disc changer. -Corrado dealer scripted Carpet Mats. -set of spare BBS Solitudes to fit a set of Winter Tyres. -Humped Boot Carpet for full-size spare (some Euro trips planned for next year). -Euro style (GB) Dealer fit plates (same reason as above). -Cup Holder in lieu of rear ashtray (one of the cheapest and best mods I have ever made). -new OEM gear-knob (didn't realise just how shiny/worn original was till replaced it!). -new wing mirror glass (blue tint anti dazzle, very expensive but very nice!). Next on the list will be a remote Cat1 Alarm (currently has a cat2 Immobiliser and Vehicle Tracker System). Kind of sick of fiddling with the key in the lock, especially in the dark. Also need to refurbish the spare set of Solitudes and get some winter tyres fitted. Have trips to Scotland, Cumbria, North-East and Cornwall planned over the winter months so need the peace of mind the Winter tyres will provide. After this it will be time for another full service. I have decided to leave the 4x4 ride height alone for the foreseeable future. The state of our roads etc.. Looking forward to a few road trips in the coming months, will endeavour to get more photos up Photo below of XSX amongst some other Corrados at the recent Surrey meet Edited October 7, 2013 by Billzeebub Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Billzeebub 1 Posted May 10, 2014 (edited) Well, since I sold the Storm I have pretty much regretted it every day. Circumstances conspired against me and work dictated that it was probably best to sell. I had been browsing the various classifieds pretty much daily, till funds/time and available car all fell into place at the same time. Approx 2 weeks ago I made the short journey to Woking to collect my eighth Corrado (seventh VR6) since 2003!. It is Aqua Blue Pearl with Beige Leather interior. It was for sale on the CCGB site exclusively. The history is very good and it has had 14 VW Main Dealer Service stamps, every receipt and MOT/Tax Disc from new. The original purchase receipt from AFN Isleworth ( this was down the road from my Brunel Uni campus and I was always browsing around the Corrado's in stock), it was then sold to the 2nd owner by HWM Walton on Thames in 2000 with 16k on the clock. The 2nd owner had owned it ever since, always getting servicing/MOT/prescribed maintenance work done at Colbornes VW Dealer in Guildford. It has just over 58k miles on the clock when I collected it. The car was in pretty original fettle when I bought it, with only updated door speakers, very subtle tweeters set into the wing mirror internal plates, Alpine HiFi and Clifford premium Alarm having been altered over the years. The car has barely a blemish as far as I can see and has been garaged from new under a soft car cover. It doesn't look like any seat bar the drivers has ever been sat in. Everything on the car works (sunroof/seats/spoiler etc) bar the wing mirrors. This was diagnosed as an £80 switch by VW, so the previous owner just lived with it, as he stated he was the only one who ever drove it so why worry!? I will endeavour to get this fixed fairly soon. Since the previous MOT in October 2013 the car had done just 19 miles!!!, the owner said he was selling because he just doesn't drive it anymore and didn't want it to deteriorate by not being used. Wen I collected it the speedo wasn't working and it took two or three turns to start ( I assumed this was just the Well known petulant Corrado reaction to lack of use), it cleared itself up on the first day of driving and now seems faultless. The day I collected it was a Sunday, which coincided with Pistonheads Sunday Service at Mercedes-Benz (Woking) hence I thought it would be rude not to attend before heading home. So many people lingered to look at the car, mainly due to it being parked in a prime position near the Catering Van, but nevertheless some very nice comments. Porsches (even GT3s) were two a penny there so glad I hadn't turned up in the Boxster! Since driving it away I have bought a new number-plate for it which I am waiting to get the documentation sorted on it and replaced the Aerial Gasket and Gear Knob from local VW Stealer. After bonding with the car in the first few days and feeling reassured, I decided to take it on a Camping road-trip last week from Surrey to Lake District, via Vince at Stealth(for a BMC Induction Kit to be fitted & a general look over). It was my first visit to Stealth and I was very impressed with their professionalism and friendliness. I will definitely be using them again for anything that needs doing over and above routine servicing. The car behaved superbly on the trip to Lakes, returning excellent MPG, much to the chagrin of mates with much thirstiest vehicles! As ever it drew many admiring glances and comments throughout the trip, although I didn't see another Corrado in nearly 900 miles! Looking forward to doing some subtle mechanical modifications whilst keeping the standard look. It would be nice to finally keep one for the long term. Edited May 23, 2014 by Billzeebub Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Billzeebub 1 Posted May 10, 2014 (edited) The latest obsession, it has just clicked over 59000 miles Edited May 10, 2014 by Billzeebub Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diarmaid16 1 Posted May 10, 2014 Looks like a lovely example. Well wear! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted May 10, 2014 Looks a beaut there Ben, good find! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
clumpy1 11 Posted May 10, 2014 Why did you sell the storm? mileage? You certainly seem to work your way through them ;) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Billzeebub 1 Posted May 10, 2014 Why did you sell the storm? mileage? You certainly seem to work your way through them ;) Like I said I have regretted it ever since. I never wanted to sell it, but without a garage at my property and transient work schedule meant I was living out of UK for a while. I tentatively put it up for sale telling myself I would only sell it to somebody who would treat it as we'll as the previous owner. The chap who bought it was excellent and I know it is being taken care of. It definitely wasn't the mileage, although this one has done nearly half the miles I still think Craigowls old Storm is a better car and probbaly more loved. I hope this one is a good one, but regardless will always regret selling that lovely Storm. I need to stay in one place long enough and keep one eventually-regardless I find it hard to survive long without a Corrado in my life! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
n3p 3 Posted May 10, 2014 Looks like a great example and I'm envious of the mileage! Hopefully catch up with you at some point this year Nick Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Billzeebub 1 Posted April 12, 2017 (edited) I have been out of a Corrado for the longest period since I first bought a 16 valver in 2003. I sold my immaculate Aqua Blue VR in September 2015 and have regretted it ever since. I had taken another long term posting with work and wouldn't be able to drive it. However now my life has become more settled and I really want another VR, this time to definitely keep long term. If anybody is considering selling their VR in the next month or two please get in touch with me by Personal Message, rather than posting here. I am open on colour, would prefer leather and budget dependent on car. I am only looking for original factory spec cars or subtle mods. Cheers Edited April 13, 2017 by Billzeebub Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Billzeebub 1 Posted June 20, 2017 (edited) Blackberry & Blackberry Edited June 20, 2017 by Billzeebub Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
