Potential VR4 owner advice please

[cbcen]

Hi everyone this is my first post so be gentle, I am after a little advice on a car I might be viewing tomorrow please.

It's a 98 VR4 manual and details can be found here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifie...dified/2850538

I am very tempted by the car but I am not sure the price is right, it looks good and I have additional pics of the interior/engine bay which are both clean, it was taken in part exchange and doesn't have any service history. The brake discs/pads and tyres were all replaced not long before the previous owner parted with the car so it suggests that it may be well maintained, the garage have just replaced the engine oil so I won't be able to check the condition.

There is no cam belt history either and I know that a full service with cam belt will cost around 1k before they find any extras, it would be best to budget for this if buying the car I think and whilst looking around have seen lower mileage cars sell for as much as a grand less, these have been tiptronic though for the most part.

I would please also like to hear peoples opinions on whether VR4's will remain desirable and hold their money in the coming years the same way that some other high performance jap cars from this era have.

Cheers,

Chris

[Dimes]

I haven't looked on Pistonheads for a VR4 in ages. Looks bloomin nice, condition is key and I've seen prices high and low this year for manuals. It looks like it's got most of the things one might want to do already so apart from maybe a cambelt and underseal you probably won't spend much more on it all going well.

As to whether or not they hold value in the future all depends, IMO the ones kept on the road are likely to be very well maintained by the likes of the few members I know who lavish a no expense spared kind of attitude. The cars run on a budget are likely to be picked at the bones to keep ours in a few parts worth salvaging.

If I was you and in the market for a VR4 manual, I'd use my senses when viewing and test driving then haggle hard and snap it up in a shot. I'm no expert but that's what I'd do.

Enjoy it if you buy it
Regards Dimes

[Nick Mann Services]

It looks to have been cared for. The seats have been added afterwards and are a VERY rare option. The front fog lights aren't right - VR4s should have a twin light in there, that has got UK single lights. No big issue, maybe one got damaged or fogged up.

Check thoroughly for rust - strut tops and rear arches are good places to look. Get your camera in with the flash on if you can't see well.

Price is very difficult. If that is a good example with minimal corrosion then it could be a fair price.

[cbcen]

Thank you for the replies,

I will give it a good look over for rust, apparently it looks to have been undersealed but I will see. Well spotted on the fog lights, it's another bargaining point I guess however small.
Here are a few extra photos to show condition:
VR4 007.JPG
VR4 006.JPG

Chris

[adaxo]

I'm not sure but bonnet looks like pfl one to me.

[cbcen]

Sorry, PFL?

Edit: pre face lift I get it, perhaps that coupled with the fog lights mean the car might have had a knock. What is telling about the bonnet?

[SEAN-NZ]

The facelifts have a slightly bigger bulge, although it's hard to tell from the pics while using my phone

[giblet]

I like the look of the car, it's sitting just right with those wheels and the ride height. As folks have said the bonnet looks like a PFL one but it could have always been changed for cosmetic reasons rather than a shunt. Like Nick says those sears are pretty damn rare and probably very comfortable! What time are you viewing the car and where are you travelling from? I'm in Leeds so not a million miles away from Wakey, could possibly meet you there to give you my non expert opinion and compare it against my fl auto.

[adaxo]

Also lack of plastic on wings suggest it's type v so no ayc and no hi-vis dash? About bonnet, if it's pfl one then i would think it's pfl car with fl bumper (hence one lens fogs) rear fl lamps and VERY NICE interior swap.

[giblet]

Yup dash looks white so def not high vis. Guessing production date on V5 and checking the VIN in asa will be able to confirm if it is a pfl?

[chris g]

Desirable - yes

Hold value - probably not

A bigger price tag for me must include a full service history and no neglected service intervals/omitted belt changes

Extra spec may boost price and manual box may add to value and more desirable to some prospective buyers...

[cbcen]

Thank you for all the friendly advice, I went to see the car today and ended up negotiating the price and putting a deposit down.

I suspect it is a pre facelift which has been given a makeover but the car looks straight and is in nice condition. The rear arches have been repaired in the past by the looks of it but the car has been undersealed well and the strut tops are solid, I took a look at the rear diff and could only see one drain plug so do not think it has AYC which may be a bonus for reliability.

The seats are very comfy and the interior is good apart from some bubbling to the dashboard which I'm going to presume is a common problem. It appears to have some BOSE component speakers fitted with separate tweeters on the dash which is a bonus.

It has an HKS EVC 5, the boost dials have been played with since the previous owner sold the car, does anyone know if you can only adjust the boost when in a set-up mode or will turning the dials at any point adjust the boost level, I've downloaded the manual but can't work this out?
Apparently you can switch back to standard boost by switching off the EVC so i might just hit the big PWR on the display and things should be fine.

It has an Apexi SAFC as well but I'd best leave this well alone for now, I've spoken to a garage who said they would be able to stick it on a dyno and set it all up for about £250, i'm awaiting a quote on a timing belt/water pump service also.

Wish me luck, hopefully the car will be good to me and I can enjoy looking after it and making it my own.

Chris

[adaxo]

The biggest advantage of type V is the weight, and as you say less things so service or broke. Good luck with this one.
Btw never see or hear about bubbling on dash.

[cbcen]

The biggest advantage of type V is the weight, and as you say less things so service or broke. Good luck with this one.
Btw never see or hear about bubbling on dash.

Thanks, do you know what else is different about the type V other than the lack of AYC and wheel arch flairs? I had assumed as I've seen lots of R32 GTR's with the vinyl lifting from the dash, it shrinks due to age/heat.

[cbcen]

I collected the Car yesterday and got home ok, it's not terrible on fuel if you stick to around 60mph. The car seems good, there is a clicking noise coming from one of the front brakes which I need to look into.
There is also a noise coming from the engine bay which increases with revs, I think I've found the cause which is what I think is the AC belt idler pulley, it's the large silver pulley between the crank and ac compressor and has some play in it.

I've refitted the centre console as it wasn't sitting right, also noticed the safc is not powering on and I think the power is disconnected so I I'm going to leave it this way until it's on a rolling road and tuned.

I've switched off the boost controller as well but think there may be a slight boost leak, it reads just under 0.5 bar when boosting and my understanding is it should be about 0.6/0.7?

Cheers,

Chris

[adaxo]

Seems like you happy with it? sticking few photos wont hurt

[cbcen]

Seems like you happy with it? sticking few photos wont hurt

Yes I am happy with the car, just a little bit nervous with it until i've had the belts replaced and the car checked over. Here is a picture of the offending pulley, whilst looking at the photo I just spotted what looks like a possible crack in the sump as well.. there aren't any leaks so i'm going to take another look and see if it needs attention.

IMAG1971.jpg

And a few photos of the car taken from the listing:

mitsubishi-galant-v6-elegance-S1420660-1.jpgmitsubishi-galant-v6-elegance-S1420660-6.jpgmitsubishi-galant-v6-elegance-S1420660-9.jpg

Chris

[Piers1989]

I collected the Car yesterday and got home ok, it's not terrible on fuel if you stick to around 60mph. The car seems good, there is a clicking noise coming from one of the front brakes which I need to look into.
There is also a noise coming from the engine bay which increases with revs, I think I've found the cause which is what I think is the AC belt idler pulley, it's the large silver pulley between the crank and ac compressor and has some play in it.

I've refitted the centre console as it wasn't sitting right, also noticed the safc is not powering on and I think the power is disconnected so I I'm going to leave it this way until it's on a rolling road and tuned.

I've switched off the boost controller as well but think there may be a slight boost leak, it reads just under 0.5 bar when boosting and my understanding is it should be about 0.6/0.7?

Cheers,

Chris

Relating to the boost, I believe from what I read stock is 0.45 bar in a VR4, but I'm sure someone will know for sure as I just read that on a different forum when googling the other day to tweak my boost controller in my new car!

[cbcen]

Relating to the boost, I believe from what I read stock is 0.45 bar in a VR4, but I'm sure someone will know for sure as I just read that on a different forum when googling the other day to tweak my boost controller in my new car!

Thank you, if that's correct then hopefully there is no boost leak, I need to have another read of the HKS boost controller manual so I can tweek this when the time is right, i've seen 14psi is a good starting point.

[Piers1989]

Thank you, if that's correct then hopefully there is no boost leak, I need to have another read of the HKS boost controller manual so I can tweek this when the time is right, i've seen 14psi is a good starting point.

I tweaked mine last night, I have mine set at 0.69bar at the moment which is a fair bit less than 14psi. I don't have much experience with it but I didn't want to push it much higher as I'm new to boost control and don't know what the car cuts fuel at. I believe my boost controller has boost spike protection set at 1bar as when i first floor it at speed the boost does peak initially to about 1bar, the screen flashes on the boost controller and then boost is gradually applied form about 0.3bar to 0.65bar over the next half second or so.

I'll be taking my car to my local dyno when I have time and ask them how it should be set and get them to have a look at it.