As the title states i was thinking about buying a MK1 VRS as a sort of ""project car"" (and i use this term loosely). I was wondering if i could have some tips on what to look out for when buying!

 

It has about 150.000km, has some scratches on the rear bumper, seats are a little dirty. The car is about 600km away so it would be difficult to visit multiple times so what do you recommend me asking the owner(which is a company not private individual), like pictures of specific parts, maintenance schedule etc?  Anything i should be particulary worried about? What do you think a good price for this would be? i feel like the starting price is a little high and i would like to negotiate without unnecessary overspending.

 

The car is in Italy by the way.

 

Thanks!

I wouldn't buy an overpriced car that far away, seller has you by the balls and won't need to negotiate, you should only travel for a car that's cheap to start with.

55 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

I wouldn't buy an overpriced car that far away, seller has you by the balls and won't need to negotiate, you should only travel for a car that's cheap to start with.

I was more wondering what you guys think a good price would be, maybe i’m wrong and it is already decently priced. Who knows how long they’ve been wanting to sell as well, an offer wouldn’t hurt

No idea what a good price in Italy is, most of us are in the UK where VRS are RHD and priced in GBP.

1 hour ago, sepulchrave said:

No idea what a good price in Italy is, most of us are in the UK where VRS are RHD and priced in GBP.

Well I mean is £2.400 a lot for a Mk1 VRS with 150.000km or is that a good price etc? Is that a lot for that mileage, maybe they’re due for certain/expensive maintenance etc. stuff like that

Edited 9 January, 20206 yr by Rizzoed

43 minutes ago, Rizzoed said:

Well I mean is £2.400 a lot for a Mk1 VRS with 150.000km or is that a good price etc? Is that a lot for that mileage, maybe they’re due for certain/expensive maintenance etc. stuff like that

 

Yes it's a lot, forget the mileage, it's all about history and condition, the engine needs a service history which proves the correct oil was used and the cam belt was changed.

2 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

 

Yes it's a lot, forget the mileage, it's all about history and condition, the engine needs a service history which proves the correct oil was used and the cam belt was changed.

Thanks! That’s more or less what I was trying to figure out. So I figured I would ask them:

- the service history  

- if the cam belt was ever replaced

- if the clutch was ever replaced 

- if there’s any rust on the body or frame (will check in person if there’s ever the chance)

 

Am I missing something else that I should ask? Also, knowing this what do you think a decent offer would be?

Edited 10 January, 20206 yr by Rizzoed

just sounds like a bad idea, travelling 600km. I’d offer £800 if it has an mot and all that

Edited 10 January, 20206 yr by alff

8 hours ago, alff said:

just sounds like a bad idea, travelling 600km

There aren't any near me, that's the closest one and it's been like that for a while...

 

Would it be better to just keep waiting and hope for something within ~50km?

If there's not many around you may struggle to find second hand parts unless shipping from UK or elsewhere. The great thing about PDs in the uk is there are loads of them so spare parts are cheap.

 

new parts should be similar cost to here i would imagine

 

 

1 hour ago, corndog said:

If there's not many around you may struggle to find second hand parts unless shipping from UK or elsewhere. The great thing about PDs in the uk is there are loads of them so spare parts are cheap.

 

new parts should be similar cost to here i would imagine

 

 

 

There are a lot more PD's in Europe than here, it's just that they all have the steering wheel in the wrong place, new parts in mainland europe are so much cheaper than here that it's probably not worth being a junkyard dog.

3 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

 

There are a lot more PD's in Europe than here, it's just that they all have the steering wheel in the wrong place, new parts in mainland europe are so much cheaper than here that it's probably not worth being a junkyard dog.

I guess it depends where.

 

Kind of surprised as often see folk asking to ship stuff from uk or selling stuff at what would be way overpriced here

OOTL, what's PD?

 

9 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

you may struggle to find second hand parts

I never considered this, i mainly just looked for parts online. I could always check local scrap yards

PD is pumpe Duse

 

different from most other diesel engines as the fuel feed to the injectors is relatively low presseure and the high pressure pump is in each injector and is driven by the camshaft

 

As Sep says, you may well not have any problems with parts