MK3 VR6 - Few questions

[The_0ne 0]

HI guys/gals

Going to look at a Mark 3 VR6 this mornin and had a few questions.

What sort of mileage are these good for on average especially when they have FSH.

Is it correct you should never need to change the cam chain?

Is there anything i should look out for mechanically wise that are common faults on the VR6?

Cheers for any early replies

BTW The car im looking at has Full VWSH and has done 91k on a 1996 P Plate

[Jk* 0]

Hi, if you check the FAQ section @ the top of the forum page there is a very very helpful GUIDE TO BUYING A VR6. Should do the trick nicely

Its not the silver one off ebay is it?

[matth76 1]

Hi mate

First all price you should be looking at should be around £3k for the car above. Full service history is a must...as with any performance car. Servicing should be every 10k miles or every 12 months which ever is sooner. When you go to look at it make sure it is totally cold by putting your hand on the engine or pipes under the bonnet. Don't accept any excuse if it has been driven before you see it...walk away. Generally they are robust engines. 91k miles is good...bearing in mind average mileage a year is 12k so 120k miles is average for a ten year old car. VR6's are good for up to an amazing 300k miles if looked after maybe more. One thing to look out for is background timing chain raspy noises ...you will hear tappety noise ...this is normal. But if you hear anything else such as a background raspy sounding noise that means chains/tensioners are in need of doing... which is a big job (not the parts but the labour because the gear box has to come out - cost of the job is around £500-600). On average timing chains DO need doing...normally around the 100k mark. It is true they may never need doing but that is rare.

One very good thing to do is to ring up the garage that has serviced the car over the last few years and get their opinion on what may need doing in the near future.

By the way when you do get a VR get it serviced by either The Phirm or Stealth Racing, who are VR6 specialists and the best in the country. They are far far more experienced than VW main dealers and far cheaper. I got VW to service mine when I first bought mine and they neglected to tighten up every single one of my 6 spark plugs causing misfiring... and I have heard other similar stories of inexperienced main dealers.

Generally though very little goes wrong with a VR... galvanised so rust should not be a problem... unless it has had an accident. Don't be put off by resprays on the bonnet or front of the car as stone chips are common.

To find out how well it has been looked after ask the owner of a car for sale how long do they let the car warm up for and what revs do they take it over while they let it warm up. If they look at you blankly walk away! Any sports car needs warming up before revving it hard. A VR should warm up for at least 10 mins until the OIL temp (which can be seen on the trip computer) has reached 90deg C. And during the warm up period the car's revs should be kept under 3k revs. The latter should be done on every sports/performance car.

Another question to ask is what fuel they put in the car.. anything less than 97ron (super unleaded) should not be put in a car... if they look after it. Lower rated ron fuel leaves the car vulnerable to pinking which is damaging long term to the engine.

Also when you speak to the garage who serviced the car find out if it is OBD2 or OBD1. You will get about 10bhp more on a standard OBD2 car than OBD1...around 185bhp standard... OBD2 came out in 1996 so the car above maybe one or the other.

Bit of a lengthy post here...however most of the last half is to determine what time of driver has owned the car and therefore how well it has been looked after.

Good luck in your search mate.

[The_0ne 0]

Many thanks for your help, i went to look at the car this morning.

Was very clean, back arches were solid and the car was in general very good condition. Had full stmaped history, last 2 services being done at a VW specialist (Midlands VW or something it was called)

The guy who owns the car has always had Scoobys so he's used to waiting for the car to warm up properly before giving it some and said he's done the same with the VR6.

I ended up buyng the car for £2950.

Only mods are 17" BBS Rims and Koni Coilovers.

Only fault was passenger side window wasnt rolling up the full length. Presume its the window regulator so will pick up a new one of them.

[Jk* 0]

Congratulations, good luck with it mate, hopefully i will find the one for me soon.

[badboyV6 4]

Please check the FAQ section for advice on buying....