Considering a fun weekend car - opinions on these two please

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Righto. I'm not normally the type of person to ask opinions on a forum. But I have around £5k to £6k to spend on a fun weekend car. I'm in no rush at all. But I do want to get something which is classic and which means something to me personally. I also want to keep the car for a long time. I'm in no rush so I may or may not buy anytime soon.

I very nearly bought a Corrado VR6 earlier in the year but for various reasons it wasn't the right time. I always wanted a Corrado when they were new but ended up buying another car instead. I'm undecided on whether they are going to be a classic and worth anything. My heart says they will but it hasn't happened yet. There are very few left on the road now (only around 9,000 sold in the UK anyway) whcih is great. But it means they can be costly to keep on the road.

The other contender is a mk1 TT 225 Coupe. I've owned two of these and loved them. There are far more of these about and having owned them I think they are really great cars (I know the forum doesn't rate them that highly but I'm not bothered about that). I suspect they may also become a classic in the future because they had such an impact when they came out.

I'm not considering other cars at this time. I have another car for most days (Golf mk4 V6 if it's relevant - pretty much mint condition and no intention of selling). I appreciate they are very different cars but they both have a place in my heart for different reasons.

Corrado VR6 - Sounds lovely, may start going up in value possibly, great drivers car, quite unusual now. But could be costly to keep on the road.

TT - Has great potential, definitely a better all round car, possible classic in the future but that will be waaaaaaay off in the future, lots about.

So dear forum... which would you get?
 
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TT or Corrado? Why have a weekend car that thousands of others have as daily drivers? Makes no sense. And I wouldn't say either of them are partculary fun.

If it was solely a weekend car I'd be looking at something like a Westfield, although you'd have to put up with a Pinto/Xflow/CVH engine for that money.

eg

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1496622.htm
 
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Well I'm massively biast having owned a Corrado g60 (supercharged G-Ladder). One of the best front wheel drive cars made the corrado. Really good chassis. The VR does sound amazing. Have you heard one with intake and exhaust mods? Better still have you heard a supercharged VR? Ridiculous. But then I always liked the unique howl of the G60.
Anyway getting ahead of myself here...the VR6 corrado is a fab, fab car. But as above, not sure it's really special or unique enough to be a weekend only car. For strictly weekend fun maybe it would be best to go radical and get some light RWD sports car. and yeah, VR running costs were bad enough back in the day, let alone with the cost of fuel and parts now.

TT''s aren't for me. < Polite response. :)
 
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TT or Corrado? Why have a weekend car that thousands of others have as daily drivers? Makes no sense. And I wouldn't say either of them are partculary fun.

If it was solely a weekend car I'd be looking at something like a Westfield, although you'd have to put up with a Pinto/Xflow/CVH engine for that money.

eg

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1496622.htm

pistonheads said:
an eyecatching 7 with power to match reported by previous owner to be around 160bhp and feels every bit true leaves a lot of 1800 zetecs standing still
:confused: Yeah, I'd kind of hope so + is that it?

They sound whack with a pinto.
 
Corrado all day long, but as you rightly say, they are not cheap to run - the ignition system tends to be quite weak due to the heat they put out. Coilpacks, leads and plugs are well over £200 from VW at trade.

It is quite common for cylinders 1 and 6 to wear and start chucking oil almost directly at the plugs, so you need to watch out for this.

Clutch hydraulics are another weak spot, both the master cylinder and the spiral hose tend to fail.

Beyond that, it's trivial electrics etc. It seems rare to find one with the sun roof still operating - it's a pain to do, so a lot of people don't bother.

Door handle mechanisms snap as well, there is someone on the owners club that sell kits with a replacement rocker - it's a fidly fix, but a lot cheaper and easier than sourching new handles. Both went on mine in the time I had it.

I would own another Corrado in a heart beat, but it'd have to be a tidy one to begin with and it'd have to end up with a 24v lump (either from the MK4 4Mo or R32).
 
is that it?


Are you referring to the power output? 160bhp in a 7esque car is a fair whack considering it weighs probably no more than around 600kg.

That's 270bhp/ton. By contrast an E46 M3 makes 216bhp/ton and a Nissan GTR around 271bhp/ton.

Not saying it'll be as fast as a GTR - it won't, there are far more factors than power:weight to consider, but it gives you an idea :)
 
Are you referring to the power output? 160bhp in a 7esque car is a fair whack considering it weighs probably no more than around 600kg.

That's 270bhp/ton. By contrast an E46 M3 makes 216bhp/ton and a Nissan GTR around 271bhp/ton.

Not saying it'll be as fast as a GTR - it won't, there are far more factors than power:weight to consider, but it gives you an idea :)

Surely if it's making 270bhp/ton then you wouldn't be claiming to 'leave 1800 zetecs behind'? Should be 'leaves M3s behind'?


:confused:
 
*BIAS POST*

G60 is all you need, In that deep red they did as well. :cool:
 
Out of those two, definately the corrado but it wouldn't be where my 5k/6k would go.

Maybe try and go for a cheaper one and carry out a bit of work on it yourself?. I imagine most out there will be craving a suspension refresh at their age.

I think a better VW buy for the 'future' would be an unmolested 16v MK2 Golf GTI, but that's just me :).
 
Surely if it's making 270bhp/ton then you wouldn't be claiming to 'leave 1800 zetecs behind'? Should be 'leaves M3s behind'?


:confused:

Because what it does against standard road cars is irrelevant, so he's compared it to other "Caterfields".

Out of those two, definately the corrado but it wouldn't be where my 5k/6k would go.

Maybe try and go for a cheaper one and carry out a bit of work on it yourself?. I imagine most out there will be craving a suspension refresh at their age.

I think a better VW buy for the 'future' would be an unmolested 16v MK2 Golf GTI, but that's just me :).

MK2 would be fun, but it needs an ABF engine. The thing that makes the VR6 a suitable weekender is a mixture of all those t0rks, the noise (oh the noise!) and its ability to cruise around in relative comfort at the same time.
 
Neither, I'd get an actual fun weekend car.

The Corrado is a relic loved by people with rose tinted spectacles and the TT was a chic yet competent but dull everyday car.
 
[TW]Fox;19076859 said:
Neither, I'd get an actual fun weekend car.

The Corrado is a relic loved by people with rose tinted spectacles and the TT was a chic yet competent but dull everyday car.

Totally. Both wouldnt be my cup of tea, get a proper weekender.
 
My old one running about 200bhp:

IMG_4357.JPG


IMG_4353.JPG



I think if I did go back and own and old Volkswaen again (been there done MK1 GTI and Corrado) I would definitely look into buying one with 20vt conversion already done or doing it myself/getting it done. I know some people say they are boring engines with less character than the G60 and VR6 lump (which they are) but the 20vt lumps are common as muck which is a good thing, parts are easy to source and they are bullet proof on the stock internals up to a reasonable level of tune (250-300bhp ish) with a simple remap (depending on turbo used). Plus you get the better economy. The G60 and VR6 both drink, VR more so.
 
You need to drive a VR6.

Why would he? It's obviously not his cup of tea, and he probably appreciates that there are many cars out there that are better saved for a sunny sunday afternoon drive than a 90s Volkswagen hatchback.

I'm not knocking either the TT or the corrado, but both are strange 'Weekend' cars.
 
He described it as a relic loved by people with rose tinted specs, that isn't the comment for a car that isn't your cup of tea, that is a comment for a car you believe is crap.

I don't see why a weekend car needs to be extravagant (or RWD :rolleyes:). To some people, they just want something a little bit more flashy and special to make the weekends that little bit more enjoyable.

The VR6 is fast, drives great, sounds great, looks great and is a bit of a classic - fits the bill perfectly for a "poor mans" weekend car IMO.
 
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