Help me choose a VR6, please!

[Ch0yc3]

I've been looking at buying a Mk3 Golf VR6 for about a month or so, and in the last couple of weeks I've been to see a few, some good, some not so great. I really need to take the plunge at this point as I have no car and public transport is doing me head in somewhat. It comes down to two choices really:

[Car A] - Black, 5 door, R reg 97, c.90k, cloth interior, AC, the two most recent MOT certs, Service History book, nine months Tax left, 4 previous owners.

and

[Car B] - Black, 3 door, P reg 97, c.70k, grey leather interior, AC with climate control, lots of MOT certs, no Service History book (lost), SORN (as sitting on his drive, so needs to be Taxed), 1 previous lady owner (as the current owner has not registered himself on it).


Both are pretty much the same price (although the latter comes out as more expensive due to lack of tax), both have recently passed their MOTs. I called VW customer service, and both their last services registered by VW dealerships were in 1999, after that I guess they were done elsewhere.

What do you think? I am in a bit of a pickle, and don't want to mess either party around.
What would you consider more important - the MOTs or the Service Book. Does the latter car sound honest. I'm confused! Ask me more details if you like, but I would appreciate your amassed expert opinion.

 

[vixteris]

well id want the 3 door, and its got the leather but like u say not quite as honest is it 

very strange he hasnt registered it as its up to the previuos owner. whats his excuse??

thats the risk u take im afraid 

[Ch0yc3]

Basically he said he has a modded mk3 8v and a modded Fiesta. His dad knew the lady who owned the VR6 and got a good price for it. He was going to keep it, but decided against it as it would be faster than his modded 8v. He didn't want to register himself on it to keep it as 1 previous owner. What do you think?

To complicate matters, the other (5door r-reg) car i looked at had continuous ABS Light, which I stated would mean MOT failure. He then realised he'd forgotten to MOT it. Since then he's called me to say it did indeed fail the MOT, but that he's had it looked at, and it the rear wheel bearings (?) that were causing the problem with the ABS light - and assured me this would be sorted and MOT passed by the next time I see it (sunday).

So both have their complications!?

[vixteris]

well in my experience ive never bought a perfect 2nd hand car.  theres always a niggle somewhere and if its the car for you , you will see past those problems and rectify it yourself. 

i dont want to say buy this or buy that as its not my choice its yours. if your not completely happy with the car then dont buy it, its not the one for you and wait for the right one to turn up. 

 i think the 2nd car sounds like there trying to make a few quid on it. theyve bought it cheap, dont want to keep it so are making a quick pound and i dont really see anything wrong with that, would u agree?

[Ch0yc3]

Yeah, there's no problem with him wanting to make a bit of money on it, he more or less said that when I met him. It's not really about it being prefect, I just don't want to have to have some £700+ job to fork out within three months of buying it.
The thing is both fit my criteria, just trying to gauge which is the safest option to go for. Do they both sound honest?
One thing about the P-reg 3 door is that it didn't have much coolant, was at the minimum - there were no leaks on the drive or any spots in the engine - could this just be due to the car having not being driven regularly for the last few months?

[Hurdy]

I'd be cheeky and find out the "1 previous lady owner's" address off the V5 document and contact her to see if it's firstly legitimate and secondly to ask her what she sold it for,so that you know what you can haggle him down to without him losing on the deal

[Ch0yc3]

That's certainly a good idea, but would certainly be cheeky to write down the address in front of him! But from the point of view of legitimating it that's a good idea. Does the HPI check tell exactly which/how many owners there are, and from what exact dates?

[Hurdy]

OOOOOOH!..Now that is a totally different kettle of fish

As far as HPI checks go, they are a good outline guide as to how honest a car is.........as long as the car isn't a total stitch up

ie. a car can be cloned to give it the representation of an honest car and if the scammers know what they are doing they can find a way around it...no matter what it is. you have to remember that they will have access to HPI checks as well

It may sound daft but the obvious ones are the VIN plates, chassis No's that match the V5 doc and that the V5 doc isn't a forgery. At the end of the day you have to use your best judgement on both the car and the person selling it.

[Ch0yc3]

Do you know where on the Mk3 VR6 the VIN plates are located? That was something me and my brother were trying to work out, as I haven't checked that on either car. Also, are there any tell-tale signs of tampering, or can it be forged pretty easily?

[robiwill]

the vin plate on late cars is not on the slam panel its a sticker that is on the passenger side front inner wing turret.

Personally buy the 5dr one its a private sale with a new mot and comming with a new abs sensor £80 plus and bearings.

check for pannel gaps and overspray for body damage also check the sills and wheel arches as later ones from factory werent fitted with arch covers so can suffer from bubbles, tail gate should have no rust as it is galvanised after 1996, creases in the boot floor and moisture can point towards damage.

5dr's in my opion seem to be better looked after as a family car and not thrashed
also if the aircon is there easy to pick up a black leather 5 dr interior for a couple of £100.

the three door sounds like trade not declaring them selves to me.

although considered a 16V as nearly as much power no where near as thirsty and its a lighter engine so the handling is not as badly effected the vr lump makes the car front end heavy and can cath you out if your uses to say a GTi