If you were buying a VR4 again...

[Sulli]

What would you look for, what would you do differently, and which year/model would you get?
Give me the benefit of your experience :)

[enigma]

Depends on what you want really!

I wanted a dependable family car with a huge carrying capacity. Also my wife told me I had to get an estate car.

My original brief has changed somewhat with the addiction of performance adders! So if I had my time again I would probably do what Nick Mann has done and get an older cheaper car leaving plenty of scope for future changes.

BUT! I am very happy with my car and will continue to throw money at it as and when is required to keep an absolutely stunning car on the road!

£5-6K will get you a good 97-98 car, £8-12 will get you a 99-2001 car, £3-4K ill get you a 96-97 car that may need some TLC. There are huge variations in price though as not a lot of people know what they have, a lot of the new imports are 96-97 models as legislation now dictates you cant bring in newer ones.

My advice would be to set a budget and then take £1500 off that budget for running costs and servicing. So if you have £10k to spend, buy a car for around £8.5K, but get the newest and tidyest one you can.

There honestly is not a lot to choose between the models, it will really be a case of looking at each one as it becomes available and judging it in isolation. After all it is a VR4 and you wont be disappointed!

If you can wait, it is worth coming to one of our mini meets to see some examples and I am sure people will be happy to take you for a spin. If not, find a member local to you and I am sure they will arrange to meet you..........we are a friendly bunch ;)

[Sulli]

Thanks.

I have driven one - and will be keeping an eye out for good ones.

Any VR4s in Coventry??

[Spirit]

I agree with everything Dave has said, and indeed am one of the lucky one's to also be on his second VR4.

The reasons I changed were:

1: 1999 version - my old one was late 1996
2: Facelift version - although I still love the pre-facelift looks
3: Black in colour - last one was trigger mauve and always wanted black
4: KAD 6 pots already fitted by previous owner
5: Full UK history

To be honest there are times though I regret selling my old one though as I took that from being a standard one and spent thousands on it, and had it just the way we wanted it before we sold it.......don't think the wife has still totally forgiven me :lipsrseal

[RED]

I wouldn't let my heart rule my head so much next time :$ but I can say that now because I have one already but back then I had to have it NOW. I would probably look for one with a few less miles on it but I don't think that makes too much difference now with service histories etc and the fact that they have excellent build quality. The car could have been alot tidier reference inside and outside and next time I would look for something that didn't need as much work doing to it :rolleyes5 Good luck with your search and remember have patience and be prepared to travel to have a look at a few before committing :-D

[Roadrunner]

I had a twin-turbo Subaru Legacy RS-B before I bought the VR-4. I'd had my eye on a VR-4 for some time, but there weren't any (or many) on the market so, when I found one by chance on a Mitsubishi dealer's forecourt, I had a closer look. It had all the right spec for me, especially Recaro seats. I didn't know the difference between pre- and post-facelift cars at the time so that wasn't a consideration. In hindsight, I prefer the pre-facelift front, but also prefer the extended arches of the post-facelift car I bought. Can't have everything, I suppose ;)

The auto/tip box was a bonus as far as I was concerned. I've owned and driven lots of manual and auto cars in my time and, latterly, have always had a preference for auto, their being faster and easier in normal day-to-day motoring. Everyone to their own preference, of course :)

Now that I've had my car for over 2½ years, in which time I've covered over 70k miles, I have been looking for an alternative but there's not much in the marketplace that stands comparison. Any replacement would need to have near, or more than 300bhp, preferably turbo'd, with AWD and room for the golf clubs. There's very little around that meets that spec - a later-model Legacy B4RSK maybe, an Audi S4 (at a push) or RS4 more likely, maybe a Volvo although I'm not a fan.

Another VR-4 would be on the cards, although that would just be delaying the inevitable. I can't think of anything that my current VR-4 lacks, so any replacement VR-4 would be of similar spec. There's precious little else on the market that stirs my interest at present, but I still have a soft spot for a BMW M Coupe (had the use of one for a while when I was in Germany), a(nother) Merc - maybe a C32 or, if I really let me heart rule my head, a Maserati 3200GT now that they're approaching Mondeo money.

Difficult decision, but not an unpleasant one ... :-D

Brian

[venomboy]

I was sooo lucky when I picked up that 99' Indigo blue facelift for bloody nowt even with high mileage , it was perfect with all the little extras like the stainless steel tailgate guard ( which I will NEVER be able to replace) the Mitsubishi boot insert and the tonneau cover, I had really wanted the Leather/wood interior before, but when I saw the Reccaro/Momo interior I was stunned how good it looked. It was inevitable then that one month later it would be shafted up the rear by some tosser (female) in a Rover who trode on the accelarator instead of the brake, because god, who doesn't exist in my opinion, has a sense of humour, and I lost all those nice bits because they only bring it back to standard, it's still good, but I still get pissed off every now and then.
VB

[KiwiTT]

The Last Year of the VR-4 is 2002. If I had a windfall, I may upgrade to this one. I would still have too add. 17" Alloys, Lower Suspension, etc. etc.

Nah !! I think I got lucky with my one. All the Suspension mods done already.

So if you are looking again. Get a 2002 model with low mileage and a service history. (They must be serviced). I spent $2,000 within the first 3 months on mine just to ensure it was serviced fully and everything that needed changing at the "D" service was changed.

[Nick Mann]

Given unlimited funds, I would have a facelift legnum with the recaro interior.

As I haven't, I bought the cheapest one I have ever seen. This will hopefully allow me to run around in a car which is a lot of fun, if I'm lucky, with enough spare cash for a couple of go-faster modifications.

Your budget and desire to mod will have the biggest impact on what you buy, but if you want to see a pre-facelift auto legnum with leather, then give us a shout and head over to Redditch! Not too far from Coventry.

[Legnum Boy]

I would just try to get one that didn't break all the time... :dozey:
..... wait, scratch that, its not the car, its me, i'm cursed.... :D