VR6 - Reliable daily? (First car)

[mewns]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to get my first car, and the VR6 is top of the list at the moment. My only question is, assuming regular maintenance and servicing, is it a reliable car?

I've read about various gremlins (window units, heater core) and expensive wear n tear (timing chains), these don't concern me. I can live with having the window up and putting a jumper on.

I simply want to know is the car going to be able to get me where I need to go, when I need to be there.

The car I'm most interested in atm has 263k km, so the engines ability to last and still be reliable is what I'm most curious about.

Thanks for the help!

(Sorry if this has been covered a billion times.. I tried searching but didn't get much of anything back.)

[Defaultuser0520]

I just borrowed my partners dads VR6 about 3 weeks ago, with the view to purchase. It has been great to drive, it has 280xxx kms on it as well, and hasnt faulted.

[badgerboards]

so far out of the 3 mk3s ive had. only one was a lemon. i think its more like a lucky dip. mk3s have same problems.

[mk3pete]

it will be reliable if its been looked after!
if not........... (short answer) ''it will cost you a lot of money''

[-Dell-]

so far out of the 3 mk3s ive had. only one was a lemon. i think its more like a lucky dip. mk3s have same problems.

Pretty much agree with that, it's based more on luck than anything else! When I bought mine just under two years ago it had fk-all mileage on it (95,200km) which I thought was a godsend, but it gradually turned into a bitsamissin affair and I've replaced practically all of it. I've never broken down or been left stranded for any reason other than my own stupidity though (lol @ running out of fuel. Twice.), the engine is perfect and has never given me trouble... It's only ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ELSE that cocks up.

[Ben J]

Mines been trouble free for almost a year (wow times goes fast :O)

actually thats a lie. Ive had numerous problems. All of which where my own fault though, such as fiddling with coolant hoses to try and tidy the engine bay up, destroyed oil pump and pan from being too low, ect ect. Look after it and itll be fine Parts are cheap to fix em up from the US, and even though its a bit tight in there (one of the best quotes I read, yet cant remember properly, was along the lines of: you have to pay something to fit 10pounds of crap in a bag made for 5) with a bit of research and hard work you can probably swap everything yourself as it break

I doubt theres any cars of this age which arent going to give you problems

[Jarred]

You've already mentioned the couple big things that go wrong with VR's, apart from that, they're generally trouble free.

Providing you get one that's been cared for, or get one that needs TLC (and give it the TLC, obviously) you should have a perfectly fine, trouble free car.

Mk 3's were the last of the robust golfs. Just don't get an auto,

[Ben J]

Oh yeah. its probably less painful to just set fire to your wallet then it is to own an auto.

[Glynn.]

if something does muck up theres so much info on how to fix it and any of us on here ill be happy to help as much as we can plus owning a mk3 has been a massive learning curve for me,

[gldgti]

one thing with mk3's is that they really are built well in the first place - the trouble with that is they can creep into high km's without anyone doing any proper maintenance on them, then all of a sudden BAM you are doing something every weekend on it (which, for a first car, is a good way to learn your way about the car).

i also bought my mk3 with lowish km (131k) but because I drive a lot I too have replaced almost everything that is a serviceable item, and some things that arent aswell (but i've put 146,000km on it and its only let me down once, and that was part of a gearbox saga very A-typical of mk3's).

if I were you i'd look at a 4 cylinder one though - just because when you're young, you don't really need to own a money pit like a vr6.

[mewns]

if I were you i'd look at a 4 cylinder one though - just because when you're young, you don't really need to own a money pit like a vr6.

I'm 22

Only starting my car licence now because I've been on bikes beforehand. I've driven since I was 16, just never arsed to get my P's... if I hadn't been so lazy I'd be on fulls by now

Coming from a litre bike I'm just trying to find something with some oomph so I don't take my ball and buy another motorcycle until I've figured some other stuff out.

Thanks for all the advice everyone... looks like they are as reliable as you can expect a 10+ year old car to be. Look forward to joining the club in the near future.

[gldgti]

22 is young

[MattyT]

I'm looking to get my first car, and the VR6 is top of the list at the moment. My only question is, assuming regular maintenance and servicing, is it a reliable car?

In a word, yes. In the 4 years I've owned mine I've had very little in the way of reliability issues and mine had 239,xxx on the clock when I got it. It's now up to 280-something, I believe.

I have had some expensive services though, so the reputations VR6s have as money pits is well earned

[Mk3 AAA]

If you buy an auto it will fail, and you will complain about it here later on!!!!! NO AUTOs, ban ban ban. They're slow and rubbish!


VRs alright, few mates have them and not too many big issues, bit of a prick sometimes like any ageing euro, you MUST stay on top of things, one window fails fix it, otherwise down the track two or three will need to be, and it might be two or three plus timing chain plus engine mounts plus suspension bushes plus brakes....so on.

Old Euros are solid cars, but you just have to keep them up to scratch or you'll be punished. You'll need a good mechanic and a bit of brave-stupidity yourself to work on it.

Very fun cars to drive, so much faster for their day than the fat R32 ever has been.

Mk3s dont wear external mods too well, nice wheels and a few subtle things suit well... but it's easy to ruin them and make them look old boxy and tacky.

Would I buy one?
-Hell yes, everyday of the week!

Would I tell a friend to buy on?
-How good a friend?