The "Dreaded" Corrado.

[Danaldson]

Okay, so ever since i have seen a corrado, i have always dreamed of owning one. Vr6 in particular. there is just something about that car that i cannot put a finger on, but i just know i will own one at some point in my life. I know i am still new to the volkswagen game and i know extremely little about the Corrado.

From what people have been telling me... i hear they are not reliable and are a "money pit'. but when i ask why? some people can never really give me concrete examples of why they are. they always say, oh the Corrado is just a car put together from the parts bin at Vw. that being said, i dont understand why buying a "good condition" Corrado with lowish kilometres would be a money pit. sure... things break on a 20ish year old car, but no it would not be my daily driver, i would keep my perfectly reliable 2.0 as my daily.


so for those who have had first hand experience with the Corrado, i want to know your story with your corrado, or your experiences with them.

thanks!

[kujiwara]

Re: The "Dreaded" Corrado.

I test drove a fully stock Corrado VR6 SLC before owning my Jetta. The car feels pretty responsive( steering and power), it sounds great, the light beige interior is pretty nice, rear seats are tiny but looks awesome, steering wheel is hideous, brakes are typical VW( spot on basically but not super strong). The best feature of the exterior is the automatic spoiler, not a fan of a design, looks like a santana's front end got stuck onto a stretched and chopped golf MK2 with jetta MK3 tails.

Can't tell you anything about the reliability because i only drove the car for 20min, but I would think the issue is the 12V( plastic pipes and timing chain tensioner).

[Kor]

Re: The "Dreaded" Corrado.

1. You will never find one in great shape. E.g. good body no rust, no bondo, good engine, no leaks, good frame, nice interior, no cracked dashes, good seats, etc.

2. The G-ladder engine is responsible for most of the bad reputation, basically every single one of them is a grenade waiting to explode.

3. Repairs cost a lot of money, many parts are hard to find, body parts are expensive as well

[VanDamage]

Re: The "Dreaded" Corrado.

The way I hear it, it was only the G60 Corrado's that were terrible. A buddy of mine had a 16v Rado for a number of years and it gave him no problems.

[DriverFound.]

Re: The "Dreaded" Corrado.

A friend just bought a G60 rado and it's pretty nice I have to say. I had the privilege to drive it and it was decent. Body/interior/exterior was all really well taken care of but don't get me wrong it was no gem. Danny, I have to agree though the body lines and the look of that car are just beautiful. Best of luck.

[Fizzo20]

Re: The "Dreaded" Corrado.

The Corrado has also been one of my favourite cars ever, and I too, will own one someday. A VR6 that is. As stated I think it's the G60 motor that seemed to give so many problems but the VR on the other hand, is shared with Passats, MK3s, MK4s. But the G60 was kinda exclusively a Corrado engine (other than the european G40 Polos but that's not really relative..) That being said, the VR6 is a much more common and understood motor, and parts across the Passats, MK3s are more or less identical, therefore making them cheaper/easier to come by. A handful of MK4 VR6 parts are also interchangeable. Body parts and interior parts however are exclusive to the Rado and therefore make them expensive. The front subframe is shared with Passats, and the rear subframe is shared with MK3s. It's pretty much a hybrid made up of a MK2, MK3 and a Passat.

Given your knowledge and the resources around you, I think you'll be fine with a Corrado VR. I say bite the bullet and buy a clean one if you have the chance.

[P Arkus]

Re: The "Dreaded" Corrado.

The way I hear it, it was only the G60 Corrado's that were terrible. A buddy of mine had a 16v Rado for a number of years and it gave him no problems.

Was your friends car a swapped 16v? I thought Corrado's were only made in G60 and VR6 and Scirocco's were made 16v or 8v? Sorry not trying to be a smart ass here, but honestly dont know.

Either way, the engine is only half the problem from what I hear. Yes the G in G60 stands for Grenade because thats what they all do eventually. The VR6 is a better motor and parts are interchangable with passats and other mk3's. However you need to remember that because of its more unique platform, anything thats non-engine related is not as easily interchangable. This is where I heard numerous stories about how hard it is to find parts because everything needs to be bought brand new or customized. Unfortunately I dont know which parts specifically, but as most VW enthusiasts, I had quite a hard on for Corrado's back in my day. I still love them, however I no longer want to own one.

[Kane]

Re: The "Dreaded" Corrado.

I know corrado's in europe came in 16v.

My friend has a supercharged corrado and it is a beast and very fun to drive. Only one i'd really be interested in is a full load vr rado, Super comfy recaro seats and a interior very pleasing to the eye. Only thing i really dislike about corrado's is the mirrors, they just don't fit the car...IMO.

Parts and body panels are tough to find from what i have heard.

[100%VAGitarian]

Re: The "Dreaded" Corrado.

any car is a grenade if left poorly maintained. the g60 is a good engine and the charger is good, provided it has been maintained. every single person who bad mouths the g60 and calls it that has either, a)never owned one, b)read the internet or, c)never maintained their car. that being said, vr6 body panels are vr6 only so buying a rust free g60 car to use body parts isn't going to work. the auto spoilers are notorious for failing. sunroofs act up too. basically, the vr6 motor doesn't have a lot of room to breathe under the hood as it's really squeezed in there so be prepared for expensive cooling system parts failing. g60's were also found in canadian passat synchro's. you use of the car has to be questioned as well. a daily will take a beating but a garage queen also dries up and gives you the same issues. get settled into a mortgage first, then blow your money away.

[P Arkus]

Re: The "Dreaded" Corrado.

^^^I'll agree with this to some extent. I fall into catagory A and B. The problem is finding a corrado with a G60 that was properly maintained. I fully agree that if you find one with full maintenance records or know first hand that it was well taken care of, and you plan to continue that care, it will be a great engine. Problem is these cars are nearly 20 years old and have probably shifted owners numerous times.

A G60 can be a hell of an engine. Danny you should have seen the small MK2 GTI that Dan built with a G60. That thing hauled ass! Still miss seeing that car

[PRY4SNO]

Re: The "Dreaded" Corrado.

IMO the Coupe quattro is a much easier to find and maintain, similar yet better looking step up the corporate ladder.

But I'm biased

[Kane]

Re: The "Dreaded" Corrado.

A G60 can be a hell of an engine. Danny you should have seen the small MK2 GTI that Dan built with a G60. That thing hauled ass! Still miss seeing that car

It's for sale. 1500 bones

[stuvy]

Re: The "Dreaded" Corrado.

I've owned 4. Both vr6 and g60. They are all money pits.

1. Corrado specific parts are expensive.
2. Things like to break, sunroofs leak, spoiler fails, power window module fails,door handles break etc...
3. Vr6 has most overly complex coolant system ever for no reason. Most leak and/or have been overheated.
4. Grenade 60
5. Most were bagged and not maintained
6. With age comes wear. That let's more stuff fail.
7. Heater cores fail, often.
8. Corrado specific pieces many times are dealer only.

That being said I love them, I'll have another some day but until I can afford the constant expense they bring ill stick to the b5 S4. Yep they are way more reliable and cheaper to fix.

[100%VAGitarian]

Re: The "Dreaded" Corrado.

^^^I'll agree with this to some extent. I fall into catagory A and B. The problem is finding a corrado with a G60 that was properly maintained. I fully agree that if you find one with full maintenance records or know first hand that it was well taken care of, and you plan to continue that care, it will be a great engine. Problem is these cars are nearly 20 years old and have probably shifted owners numerous times.

A G60 can be a hell of an engine. Danny you should have seen the small MK2 GTI that Dan built with a G60. That thing hauled ass! Still miss seeing that car

i build shitty cars, lol. your best bet for a g60 is a non modded, stock car. you'll probably find a less stressed charger on a passat but what really causes it to grenade, is the lack of belt changing. it's a simple little timing belt that no one ever does. a less stressed charger will likely have no internal issues. problem is you look at the car, it pulls, you smile, buy it, drive it and bang. charger grenades. by this logic, every one of our engines are grenades and no one ever bashes a 1.8t and everyone always pushes for the belt change. thus, my categorizing still stands

i would buy a g60 rado and turn it into a turbo 16v. it's gonna cost you that in repairs anyway to maintain a vr.

[VanDamage]

Re: The "Dreaded" Corrado.

Was your friends car a swapped 16v? I thought Corrado's were only made in G60 and VR6 and Scirocco's were made 16v or 8v? Sorry not trying to be a smart ass here, but honestly dont know.

His used to be a G60, the previous owner did the swap.