After years of whining, pining and complaining I have decided to take a punt on a MK1 VRS.

They range in price and milage etc quite drastically.

Would you recommend sterring clear of higher miles? I've seen ones with about 110,000 to 130,000 miles for a lot cheaper than cars with less miles but I'm worried that its getting to the end of its life.

Are these cars worth a punt or should I spend a little bit more for less miles?

My L&K 1.8T is as sweet as a nut on 152K, oil changes every 10K have kept it that way, 1300+ miles last week no sweat

Mine had 118k on it when I bought it, looks and runs great, just have a good look through the service history and have a test drive

Just hit 136k and still going strong. Just had a wheel bearing changed, but other than that it's fine.

my vrs has done 119000 and still running fine

ex police so serviced regular

my vrs has done 119000 and still running fine

ex police so serviced regular

+1

Mine is ex police and just hit 137k

bought it with 109k

been great. These car have tough engines and plenty of life in them

service history is key on the higher mileage ones though

Service history is essential. Engine is nicely run in at about 100k as long as it's been serviced every 10k.

Just noticed you drive a GTi-6?

I'm a former bianca 6 owner...Why not spend the money on supercharging the XU104JRS?

Not had much dealings with high milege 1.8T's but there's a few knocking about on here. You could have a car done 50k but has been neglected along with a car thats done 100k and serviced when required. All depends on the cars background.

Good luck!

Edited 21 September, 201114 yr by Liam-6

161K On mine and still going strong.....

original turbo / engine and box

first clutch at 149k

does at least 2 track days @ coombe and 1 ring trip a year

milage is nothing if it's been looked after

Mileage is nothing, condition is everything.

150,000 miles passed last week on mine and it's always starts perfectly, always pulls perfectly and always sounds perfect. The engine doesn't knock, tick, click, bang, smoke or do anything that it isn't suppose to do. Not to metion it does all that while pushing out 100ft/lb more torque than it came with.

As has been said, as long as it has been looked after the engine and gearbox will be just fine. That doesn't stop bushes, bearings and ball joints wearing out. I would suggest factoring in such items with a 100,000+ miles car that hasn't had them replaced already.

There's no shortage of decent looking sub £3k cars to choose from, so be sure to drive a few.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Apart from Service history and the stuff listed in the (very good) buyers guide on here is there anything I should be especially wary of on a high mile car?

Just noticed you drive a GTi-6?

I'm a former bianca 6 owner...Why not spend the money on supercharging the XU104JRS?

I hate my GTi-6. It's noisy, old, dated both inside and out and I don't want to spend any money on it. The charger would make it quicker but no more comfortable or suitable as transport for my wife and new baby. A VRS means the baby/wife can be comfortable and when I feel like it I can have a bit of fun.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Apart from Service history and the stuff listed in the (very good) buyers guide on here is there anything I should be especially wary of on a high mile car?

I hate my GTi-6. It's noisy, old, dated both inside and out and I don't want to spend any money on it. The charger would make it quicker but no more comfortable or suitable as transport for my wife and new baby. A VRS means the baby/wife can be comfortable and when I feel like it I can have a bit of fun.

Spot on mate thats why i brought another one after selling my first vrs they make a great faimly car plenty of space and enough go when you want it! and the mpg is'nt to bad either.

Mine's on 110k with custom remap and still going strong!

148k in and still going strong. You will find if you buy a car on those miles, you will be bearing the brunt of things ending its life such as normal service bits if they haven't been done and rubber pipe work rotting away. Easy replaced.

All the main bits should still be strong.

Perished boost/vacuum pipes are common. Suspension wear is likely. Rear axle bushes are a common failure & often a pita of a job to replace. Make sure all the electrics work properly, central locking, dashboard in particular as they can be a pain to sort out too.

The other thing I would do on a 100k+ car is change the oil pick up strainer.

Edited 22 September, 201114 yr by pauldazzle

i'd very carefully check all electrics on drivers door and central locking - if the red drivers door led is on walk away - BIG repair bill for that one

i'd very carefully check all electrics on drivers door and central locking - if the red drivers door led is on walk away - BIG repair bill for that one

Why, what does that mean? I don't have it but just interested.

Something to consider...

It's quality, not quantity.

mine was on 161k when i sold it to my sister still drives like new

120k on mine, running the original engine and running well over 300bhp for over 70k now.

All about servicing and looking after it.

Mine had 140k on the clock and still looked and drove like new when I sold it.

Put 55k miles on it in the 3 years I had it including trips to the Ring and up to Scotland and back.

Why, what does that mean? I don't have it but just interested.

it means one of 3 things;

either

drivers door loom is knackered (£100)

or drivers door regulator has gone (£80)

or ccu is duff (£hundreds)

or any combination of the three!

root cause is water getting onto drivers door multiplug and corroding the connections and causing shorts - if there is a problem the drivers door light won't behave as normal

normal behaviour is always off, unless car is locked, then it will blink.

if the light is permanently on for any reason (it may be very faintly on) there is a fault in the system

I'm not sure how it happened but after looking a high milage MkI VRS' I've signed the papers on a low milage MKII ... pick it up tomorrow. Thanks for all the advice though.

turncoat lol

have fun mate, sure youll love it.

They are better made IMHO and a lot heavier feeling.

Only thing is they dont look anywhere near as good as the mk1 (again IMO)

billy

Glad to hear these cars are good for a few miles if been looked after.

I'm seriously considered a mk1 vRS again, but after currently owning a Volvo 850R (150k) and an 850 T5 (220k) previous, I was worried that they might not be built as well. The T5 I had still sailed through MOT's at 220k and still had mostly orginal parts!! I love my 850R, but it does cost quite a bit to run, and parts/tuning are a bit more costly than the VAG cars. I'll miss the power & 5 pot noise, but I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the vRS, plus if you squint it looks like a modern 850 from the front

My budget would be more like £2k or a bit less if possible, so that would put me into the realms of 100k plus 2001 cars I'd say.

Hopefully going to get a test drive this weekend to see what I think. Sorry to slightly hijack the thread!!