advice on a FTO?? help!

MaXXeH

MaXXeH

MaXXeH

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hi all i currently have a vw golf VR6 witch is great to drive but i want to get my self an FTO it will cost me 970 to get insured on it, i am 21 with 2 years no clams. are there any coman problems with them? also what is the MPG like on them. was thinking about spending 3k on one. will that get me a semi good one?

thanks
 
get yourself on FTOOC.org. best place for info.

I get abou 25 mpg. parts can be expensive and insurance is always a nightmare for them. £3k should get you a sound one :)
 
i have driven both (ex brother-in-law has a VR6) and to be honest i didn't think there was much difference power wise. But i much prefer the look and handling of the FTO and especially the MIVEC of the GPX :)
 
I'd be prepared for a long search - I looked at about 8 or 9 total sheds before finding a really nice one for my GF. £3k is plenty to get a '95 M reg one (which 95% of FTOs are), but you'll have to be patient to find one - especially if you want a manual.

I don't think there anything mega that commonly goes wrong, the one my GF got has been totally faultless over the last 7-8 months, and 10,000 miles.

Their fuel consumption is very good - about 30-35mpg driven normally, but obviously being a V6, it will be thirsty if you drive around at 7500rpm everywhere!
 
My brother had the ~170bhp GR (non Mivec). Go for the Mivec ;)

check for "tappety" engines - common problem apparantly.

Personally I would go for a GTO instead ;)
 
gambitt said:
My brother had the ~170bhp GR (non Mivec). Go for the Mivec ;)

check for "tappety" engines - common problem apparantly.
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The GR has hydraulic tappets whereas the ones on the MIVEC engine are adjustable so it's a good idea to avoid a nasty sounding GR unless you want to foot the bill for replacing them. The GPX is definitely the most sought after of the two but can suffer bottom end failure unless you keep a close eye on the oil level!

Your best bet for getting a good example is get an owners club car.
 
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By all accounts, a manual GR/GX is pretty much on a par with a tiptronic GPX - the autobox takes some of the punch out of the car.
 
ElRazur said:
Hey, check the owner forum and if imust use this opportunity to pimp my ride, i have my fto for sale.....have a look here :)
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O/T - I thought only the GPX's have nearly 200bhp? Not GR's? (And even then I believe that the quoted figure off 197bhp by Mitsu was hardly ever hit :p)

Anywho, decent cars, I looked into then extensively but the insurance on them is a joke compared to other cars with similar performance (And better for that matter) :eek: So passed on one. :)

There are LOADS of sheds out there too so don't rush into buying one.
 
All FTO models pretty much failed to meet the bhp quoted.

A good friend is an FTO specialist and confirmed that most are about 20bhp down on quoted bhp.

They are nice cars though. I wouldnt say they were expensive for parts, and they are cheap to buy these days.

the tappety noise is common on many Mitsu's but generally this can be solved (if you want) by fitting new lash adjusters for about £200.
 
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