fixiefriend 10 Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) Hey guys, First of all, sweet community you guys got here. Every useful search ends up leading to this forum, and I've learned quite a bit about the corrado just by lurking for a few days At this point I'm in love with this car - with it's design in particular. I feel as if it's one of the very last (if not THE last) sweet hatchback designs to be manufactured, with most hatches these days looking like a subaru, or a fit. I'm not really the best at figuring out the worth of a vehicle, let alone something as rare as a corrado, but I went and took a look at one recently and was hoping that with some of your help I might be able to assess if it's worth buying or not. How it was advertised $5000 1992 VR6 170k on Body, engine refreshed 1k mi ago Fresh paint job 1 month old Techtonics 264 cams both sides Techtonics Dual valvespring & retainers OEM MK4 Head Gasket Arp Head Studs "Bottom End was entirely torn down" OEM oil pump, pan, pistons and rings Exhaust: OBX Race Header (deletes cat), Lous Custom Exhaust 2 1/2 inch, Borla Muffler Other mods: ECS Low Temp thermostat Techtonics ECU chip Techtonics light weight pulley kit Walbro 255 HP fuel pump OEM belt tensioner, engine mounts + tranny,control arm bushings, sway bar links Aftermarket rear calipers First impressions Visually nice exterior Battery was dead on arrival, had to jumpstart it with another car Windows don't work, rear spoiler doesn't work (says blown fuse probably from jumpstarting), not sure if moonroof works Closer inspection: Exterior New paint (was told it was originally green) A couple cracks in the blinker lights / headlights Rust on the undercarriage frame, but nowhere else (save for this coin-sized splotch directly underneath the spoiler) I think one of the tires was different from the rest (different tread pattern, same brand) Rear license plate mount rectangle area was plastic, approximately the same color as the new paint job Interior Cream leather with some of the front plastic panels replaced with black for some reason (door frames) Pretty dirty and not well-maintained, said some homeless guy might've gotten in to look for money or something and that's why it was dirty lol Parking brake assembly looks questionable Heater panel looked like cheap aftermarket (tiny knobs in a row), didn't light up Power seatbelts work Startup Sounded normal, hood open, engine sounded normal, no rattling anywhere. Exhaust had one backfiring pop sound but that was it Engine wires looked well maintained Engine itself was shaking a little in the bay while running Test drive: Rear shocks seemed shot - loud knocking noise with every bump. Heater seemed weak Post test-drive: possible deal-breaker? We parked it at a car wash to take a look at it in the light, but it started to billow white smoke under the hood by the coolant tank excessively, but engine temp seemed to read normal. he said the t-stat might've froze shut bc it's been sitting outside in intensely cold weather for a while. Nevertheless he tried to burp the car while it was still hot, using some arbitrary coolant / tap water mix :( was a kindergarten volcano experiment. by the end of it it was kind of clear that it needed more work before he could even try to sell it to me, and said he was gonna take it back to the shop to take care of the thermostat... honestly I don't think I could get myself to pay 5000 for this thing, and it pains me to know it's not in the shape that I thought it was. I feel that I could use a lot of what I saw as leverage to lower the price and in the spirit of the community I feel like I could fix it up. FWIW this will be my first car. Any opinions are valuable! Thanks, guys. Edited January 16, 2015 by fixiefriend Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted January 16, 2015 Spec sounds nice, the coolant tank thing could be a worry. Happened on mine and was signs of the head gasket going, air was pressurizing the coolant system. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fixiefriend 10 Posted January 16, 2015 thanks for the response jim. that was my thought too - he said he'll be taking it to the shop this coming monday. if i go back to look at it for a second time, any way to diagnose this? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted January 16, 2015 They can be hard to diagnose, mine ran for quite a while and i had to keep topping the water up, the only other sign was it idled really lumpy when cold, i think a little water was sitting in a cylinder until the engine warmed up. Or it could just be the thermostat jammed as you mentioned. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fixiefriend 10 Posted January 21, 2015 Update: Talked to the guy on the phone and he said that the cooling fans aren't working and need to be replaced (apparently never been changed since original 1992), hence the overheating- he's offering to sell it to me at a lower cost (obviously), but i will need to take it to a shop to get replacement fans. Any recommendations? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Portent 0 Posted January 21, 2015 The fan wouldn't worry me but the steam and possible cause of it would, until fully diagnosed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fixiefriend 10 Posted January 21, 2015 Pardon my ignornance but I take it that broken fans =/= steam from coolant tank after a short ride (in -12 degree C weather)? That's what he made it out to sound like. Maybe this car is turning out to be a real lemon. Guess my safest bet is to get a real mechanic to take a lookover. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Portent 0 Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) I'm not a mechanic and others on this forum know the cars far better than me. But my understanding is that the car would overheat when idling if the fans are not working correctly. When moving the airflow would likely be sufficient to cool the radiator but when sitting parked with the engine on the fans are needed to blow the air over the radiator. It could be a broken raiator thermostat (quite common). But you would see the oil and water temperature rise if this was the case (the oil temp is on the MFA computer). When running normally the water should sit in the middle of the dial at about 90 deg and the oil should also be around 90 deg or up to around 110 deg on a run. If the smoke/steam is happening when the car is overheating then it might be the fan (there could be other reasons). But if it is doing it when the car is at the correct temperature then it's not being caused by the fan or fan thermostat. I believe you can get testers which look for combustion gasses in the coolant water? That may be worth checking. Other causes could be a leaky coolant expansion bottle cap (buy a new one on ebay for a few pounds and see if it still does it), leaky hoses (they are getting old now), or at the "bad" end of the list is the coolant could be pressurised which means it is being forced out - ie head gasket. A garage could tell more of course. Ultimately if you aren't sure then ask someone who knows about cars to go with you or move on to another car. Also consider parts availability. How easy to find are parts in New England? Edited January 21, 2015 by Portent Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fixiefriend 10 Posted January 21, 2015 Thanks for the insight, Portent. The smoking did only happen when idling, but when i checked the engine temp on the dash it was in the normal range :shrug:. There is a shop that specializes in Corrados nearby (and it's where the engine was refreshed and replacement parts bought/installed), it's just a matter of taking the seller's word for it, buying the car with broken fans and then bringing it to the shop to get those fixed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
g0ldf1ng3r 15 Posted January 21, 2015 Thanks for the insight, Portent. The smoking did only happen when idling, but when i checked the engine temp on the dash it was in the normal range :shrug:. There is a shop that specializes in Corrados nearby (and it's where the engine was refreshed and replacement parts bought/installed), it's just a matter of taking the seller's word for it, buying the car with broken fans and then bringing it to the shop to get those fixed. just an idea but could you not drop into that shop you mention & ask if they recall the car & what they thought of it etc? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fixiefriend 10 Posted January 21, 2015 I did just that, and they said it ran super strong when it left the shop but that was a year ago or something. They assured me it shouldn't be the head gasket going because it's brand new and they replaced it when they were in there- they seem like a reputable shop that works on high performance vehicles. It's a tough call for sure, but the seller's even offering to help me take it over there to get new fans, and then take it to my place with his dealer plate after it's been buttoned up, haha. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hairyarse 10 Posted January 21, 2015 Maybe do a deal where you pay for the fans to be sorted - if the car then runs without issue like head gasket, you buy it. If it has issues still then he covers the fan cost and you walk away Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lilfuzzer 1 Posted January 21, 2015 Maybe do a deal where you pay for the fans to be sorted - if the car then runs without issue like head gasket, you buy it. If it has issues still then he covers the fan cost and you walk away Sounds like a fair idea Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fixiefriend 10 Posted January 21, 2015 he was pretty adamant about that idea, but says he'd dock the price $200 to cover the fans (lol). I was gonna hit him with a lower offer to begin with. does 4000 sound fair? the shocks seemed like they needed some work, the interior was pretty bad, windows + spoiler don't work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hairyarse 10 Posted January 21, 2015 I think I'd walk away and find one where everything works Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted January 21, 2015 Not entirely sure on pricing your side of the pond, but 4k Dollars would get you a reasonable, although not great car in the UK. The sort of problems you are describing would lead to a car worth half that price over here. As others have said, sounds like its likely to be a complete money pit, and a bit of a dog to be honest. I'd walk away if I were you mate. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mat ed30 10 Posted January 21, 2015 Sometimes dogs are worth a look to bring them back to life and fixing the car will be enjoyable Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sean_Jaymo 0 Posted January 21, 2015 I bought a complete dog of a car, very little was right with it and spent the difference between my dog and a half decent version doing it back up. My paintwork is pretty bad but at least I know the mechanical side of things is pretty spot on. Took over a year though! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mat ed30 10 Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) With cars of the age these are at now fixing things is part of the fun of owning them and if they don't get fixed they will just rot away and be broken up for parts and that's a shame but it will only make the cars harder to get and making prices go up Edited January 21, 2015 by mat ed30 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted January 21, 2015 I agree, and I get as much enjoyment out of tinkering as I do driving. I have however spent around 4 times as much as the purchase price, making it into a good car that it is today. I could have bought one in this condition for far less than my overall expenditure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sean_Jaymo 0 Posted January 21, 2015 But it wouldn't have been yours Sean! That is very definitely your car! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mat ed30 10 Posted January 21, 2015 And yeah buying a car for more money you don't 100% know for sure its not going to have the same problems and at least you know what you have done and it's been done over time so the cost is not as bad as its over time not one big lump sum Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted January 21, 2015 Both good points, but, would I do it again............ :scratch: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
