Harrier

Ok, i'm starting a build / gallery thread for this, my 3rd Corrado in 16 years. My last one, a Brilliant Black Vr , I sold on last summer as I thought (wrongly) that I was done with Corrado's but I soon realised I wanted another. Maybe I should seek medical help over this obsession ?! So I spotted this as a private sale just before Christmas. 69k miles, one owner from new,always garaged, serviced annually (every 4k approx), black leather and completely standard & original except for the windscreen which was replaced with a top tinted one, with original Sony radio cassette & cassette holder and dealer window sticker & number plate plinth. First reaction when I viewed the car wasn't great because although the interior is excellent, the bodywork has received a fair few car park dints & the rear bumper creased, but after some thought I decided it was overall worth having and after some haggling got the price down a fair bit and did the deal. The 1.5 hour drive home was really enjoyable and really good on the standard suspension & wheels, with hardly any rattles or creaks from the interior. So today I ran it down to the body shop to get a quote and a date for putting the paintwork right ( end of Feb ) and then got it back to my workshop to have a good look over it. I removed the wheels & gave the underside and wheel arches a really good jetwash to remove 20 years worth of mud & grime ! Pleased to say that with the dirt gone it's all great, the only slight corrosion is on the rear beam but otherwise very good, original exhaust system in good shape, front crossmembers etc excellent and pleased to see it still has the horizontal splash guards fitted behind the front bumper corners. I have never seen these fitted before ! I have already started a shopping list and made a list of jobs to do in order of priority. I will probably be keeping the car standard as I think it deserves it. First job is to start stripping for the bodyshop visit, sort out the sunroof ( which was working fine when I first viewed the car) but frustratingly broke yesterday !! :censored: and in time, discs and pads all round, sort a couple of minor oil leaks ( cam cover & oil cooler seals ) and a slight coolant leak ( thermostat area ) That lot should keep me busy, I hope to get to a show or two by May ish anyway it's good to be back ! Thanks for reading Daren.

Hi Rog, A few reasons really: they are great cars (noise,handling,performance) but the manual gearbox isn't great, clunky & agricultural, the engine is pretty noisy & whiney also. Nice looking features with the big arches, bonnet bulge & quad exhausts but not that different from a normal coupe really so loads about. My daily is an e46 330i touring and there isn't enough difference between the two. I actually think I prefer driving the touring as it's auto & quiet & refined by comparison . The main reason though I paid a lot for the M3 as it's a low miler and low owner and for a weekend summer car it just seems silly having it sat in the garage getting so little use while it's value is going to depreciate quite a lot before it levels out.I have only done 1000 miles in it ! This is why I chose another Corrado ! Its value should remain steady or maybe even increase! I have owned them for so long now that it just feels weird not having one My young sons missed it and I think even my wife did ! This Forum although a little quiet these days is still way better than the M3 one I was using !! And of course I have made friends & memories through owning a Corrado so why not have another ? That's about it :)

Sorry to jump in on this thread but do you Lilfuzzer or Sean have this shiney chrome part available for sale ? It's on the passenger side.thanks

Or mental :) Thanks Chris

Thanks all,:) It's nice to be back. Looking forward to a few shows this year

Ok, waiting for the 'they all come back' reply's ! so here I am again, 6 months after selling my old Corrado .I soon realised after my Corrado had gone that I wasn't 'done' with them as I had thought, even though I have owned one for around 15 years now !! and so kept an eye on the classifieds for another.I haven't enjoyed the M3 especially and it will be up for sale very soon. So I spotted this car for sale privately, just before Christmas on a lesser known classic car web site , Diamond Black metallic,black leather,one owner from new,now retired,completely original with dealer number plate plinth & rear window sticker, 69kmiles, always garaged & lots of history. The ad looked great so made an appointment to look at the car,not too far from me. My initial reaction wasn't that great because although the interior looked almost as new, the underside very clean & free from corrosion,engine sounding sweet, the body panels however had received a fair few car park dints and the rear bumper creased. After going away and thinking about it though I thought if I could get it for a good deal less than the asking price it could be a great car ,after a visit to the body shop.So I made an offer and after a bit of haggling got the car for I think a fair price. So caught the train up to Pinner, West London today and bought it home ! It drives really well, on the standard suspension & 15in Speedlines,no rattles or creaks from the interior and the engine pulls very well too so pretty happy with it at the mo. Will have a better look over it tomorrow at the workshop Will start up a gallery build thread soon. Will be getting it ready for the bodyshop visit & hopefully get to a show or two by May ish. My only dilemma at the moment with this car is whether to lightly modify it with wheels and suspension etc or keep it completely standard and just get in the best shape possible ? I think it maybe deserves the latter and I have grown to appreciate a standard Corrado. Thoughts welcome on that please ! thanks for reading Daren. couple of quick picks :

He says it's the best car he has ever owned! Praise indeed :)

Looks great Sean ,amazing results for all your efforts The splitters are a pain for getting scuffed, really hard to avoid it though.

I have been using a 'Wurth' impact wrench for a while now in my workshop and it's been very good , & not way expensive like 'snap on', iv'e heard the Machine Mart ones aren't bad for the money, depends how much use it is going to get.

Spotted that one when advertised Sean ,in Waterlooville?.

Mine -Mystic Blue manual

Nice! They look good in silver grey. I too sold my Vr in the summer for a 46m, like it, but still can see myself getting another Corrado sometime :)

I remember a g60 khaki, advertised for sale a couple of years ago,they are few and far between.

Looking good from that angle James !

Thanks James, though it looked good in a photo it really needed a full re-spray & new glass,bumpers & plastics to have been really nice.:)

Sold my Helios Blue 8v a couple of years ago :( Great cars, a mate had an oak green 16v, i'm sure in 10 years + we will both still be reminiscing about them ! Watch out for sagging roof lining on later cars !

Might be worth popping the steering wheel back off & checking the contacts are ok behind there.If ok, then disconnect horn & try another fuse & see what happens.

Hi mate, i have some G60 digital clocks from a '91' car. Not sure about the mileage on them but i think they are somewhere near 120k. Condition wise, a couple of scratches on the front but not too bad.£30 posted, let me know if interested. Daren

I think John Mitchell's (16vg60) is inca blue ,very rare I would say

Just browsing through the forums this eve & spotted this nice looking C in this thread, strange it's in the same pics as a couple of V8's though ?!http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=112195

It's actually the boot floor, that the sub frame mounts to that can tear.Usually at the nsf mounting point.There are weld in repair/reinforcement plates available which aren't expensive, its just more about the labour to remove the sub frame etc . Quite a few have already had the boot floor replaced by BMW under warranty or been reinforced so i wouldn't worry too much ! ATB

Having sold my C recently to get a 46m I would say they are great cars & you wouldn't regret it,though keep your Corrado if you can , I certainly miss mine. Unfortunately I couldn't really have both ! Regardless of what you spend on the m3 it's worth having a couple of grand on standby for unexpected repairs,people often sell because of known expensive faults,mine had a Vanos fault soon after purchase which thankfully was covered by a warranty, there are a few other common issues with them too. Most people would say avoid the Smg's however they are fun. The manuals are more reliable but tend to be a bit heavy & clunky ,best to have a good try of both & see which you prefer. As regards the e90's the main reason that put me off one was the £500 annual road tax ! & they are of course still a bit pricey. Good luck anyways Daren.

Pretty sure not

Car is looking fantastic Sean, sounds like you're going to miss Ccgb national day, I can take it there for you if you like? !!!!!!! To show it off ;)

Are they not doing vee power Sunday in November? A good opportunity for the vr6's too get out again