6 troublesome but fun years

[dracmarcz]

Hi All,

Looking to move on after six years of fun owning a VR6.

I bought it after having a 92 Corolla for 4 dull years - the highlight being when some neighborhood kids wrote F.U.K. on my bonnet.

I wasn't sorry to see it go, and I was super keen on the VR6. Small, decent power, very nice accessories - VW quality! I paid ~$20K for a 96 model in 2002. It belonged to a Pilot in Mosman. His new car was a $130K BMW. That was nice too.

I had some initial problems - the roof had leaked from around the aerial, necessitating a new ceiling. When it was all fixed and going, my partner and I had great fun. We took it on camping trips, and even a touring holiday to Tasmania, proving itself to be a great cruiser.

However I soon learned that parts and servicing, especially from VW dealers was going to be a problem.

After a while I found a garage who seemed interested in helping, and they finally located the source of a stalling problem when the engine was cold. As the years rolled on, the replacement parts list grew longer.

Eventually I had to be practical. I had a mortgage and kids. >$2K for ABS couldn't be justified. Then the heater core blew this winter. Finally it started running on 4 cylinders. By then we'd moved, public transport was a viable option by from a time and money point of view. Why was I keeping this car?

So, I've decided to sell it, warts and all. I hope someone will make good use of "Fluffy".

[phaeton]

Welcome to VWwA dracmarcz

Have you sold the VR6 yet ?

Are you planning to buy a more family orientated car or just stick to Public Transport ?

[bahjah]

Reading this makes me hesitant about buying a vr6... especially on a student's budget.

[phaeton]

Reading this makes me hesitant about buying a vr6... especially on a student's budget.

Thats why thorough research is important on every purchase.

1) Get to know the models service history and common problems & faults (searching this forum is the right step)

2) Find out what a common service, problems & faults would cost just by ringing a couple of VW Service Workshops.

3) Budget try not to break it unless you want to

[dracmarcz]

I haven't sold it. I'm away from home at the moment which makes it a little more difficult.

I don't intend to replace it with another car at this stage. We have another, slightly larger, car which is big enough for our family at the moment.

Does anyone have any useful suggestions on how to sell it?

It's true I did next to no service research on the car. I did get a vehicle check before I bought it, which didn't find some of the problems that were there when I bought it (like the leaking aerial, busted oil pump, busted ABS sensors). So I believe I was foolish, but also a little unlucky.

At it's core, it's still a great car, but with those on a budget, it may only suit those with time to tinker with it themselves and source 2nd hand parts etc.