R-reg VR6 - opinions please....

[SW VR6]

Hello all,

I'm not a big poster on the forum, but I do regularly log on as a guest user to keep up with all the latest. So, here goes with my second ever post:

I am in the market for a late VR6 and have just been to see an R-reg dusky mauve example with 84k on the clock. It's completely standard and for sale at ?3995. The bloke I went to see is a trader and he purchased the car (which was a trade-in) from the local VW main dealer.

I was a little suspicious at first, as I felt the price was a bit low, however the car is in excellent condition inside (only very small rip on passenger seat) and the outside (only a couple of minor scratches).  In addition, the service book shows a full set of VW main dealer stamps with the all-important oil change every 6000 miles. It also comes with ALL the bills from new, so I can see that it has been well looked after.

Here are the few minor things that are making me dither:

1. The car's first owner was a lease company. It did 60k with this owner.  Not sure whether this is a big no-no when buying a car - never had to consider it before.  

2. I thought the gear shift felt a little loose, although no notchy or stiff / awkward changes.  Having said this, I am only comparing it with my mint P-reg 1997 8v GTi, which has 70k on the clock and a particularly tight gear shift operation (feels like new).

3. On depressing the clutch pedal I can hear a clicking noise - almost like the sound a ratchet would make.  Apart from this, the clutch operation felt fine.

Can anyone make my mind up for me?!  I'm tending towards going for it at the moment - hoping to get a local VW specialist to look over it tomorrow.

Any advice / thoughts greatly appreciated.

[golfvr6]

It sounds good to me, although i can't actually say for sure without seeing the car.

1. Not necessarily a problem if the car has been serviced/ looked after.
2. If gears engage smoothly and without noise then i can't see a problem.
3. That is probably the clutch slave cylinder, they are spring loaded, if worn not expensive to replace.

In general if the car is tidy, drives well and has all the service bills and stamps then go for it. 4k isn't particurlarly low considering the car is now 6 years old.
If you can post some pics of the car before you buy it, then i will be able to give you a more informed opinion  
Good luck  

[golfvr6]

Oh yeah and look at the buying advice at the top of this forum section  

[SW VR6]

Thanks for the advice.  You will be pleased to know that I went see the car armed with a printout of the buying advice at the top of this forum section!

I will try and post some pics after I've been back for the second viewing.  

I have just remembered one other thing - the car has not been used for a month and I could see a little bit of the dreaded 'creamy stuff' on the lid of the oil filler cap (but nothing on the dipstick).  I am always mindful that this is not good news (head gaskets?), but I seem to remember reading somewhere on this forum that this can sometimes be due to condensation if the car has been unused for a while.

Once again, any advice greatly appreciated.

[golfvr6]

The chances are it is condensation.
Give a decent test drive, then look at the cap again.

[Burnsy]

And when you do test drive it you WILL want it
Ive never looked back after selling my previous car.
T reg mk 4 1.8 T and brought my current L reg VR6

[jte]

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.  If the service history is all there and you don't notice anything bad on the test drive, i say go for it.

Maybe get an AA or RAC inspection done.  If the seller refuses this is a sign of slight dodginess.

I wouldn't worry about a lease company owning the car, although it may not have been treated too well by company car owners it will always have been serviced bang on time and will never have been scrimped on in terms of repairs, parts etc.  And probably will have done lots of motorway trips rather than loads of short journeys.

I think ?4k is a good price for a late VR6 if it's in mint condition.

[N-Wales_vr6]

  Sounds cool to me!!! Local trader by me has a red R plate with cloth and 69k on clock up for 5995!!!! Do the usual checks go for a spin and ENJOY!!!!!
  Post some pics too!!!!

[Onge]

Does sound like a good car,
Still get an AA or RAC inspection done on the car though.
I bought my previous GTi without the inspection, it turned out to be a dog. Going through the courts and bayliffs, pain in the ass. could have been avoided if i had an inspection done.
Got a nice Gti - RAC checked now

[SW VR6]

Well, the deed is done.  Spurred on by a rather worrying bout of paranoia, I got the car checked out at TWO different independant VW specialists. Both charged ?40 for the full 1 hour inspection (including road test), which I thought was very reasonable. No problems reported by either garage ("great car" and "a fine example" were just two of the comments!) so I took the plunge....

Here she is:







I'm just off to change my username.........