1993 Volkswagen Corrado

1993 Volkswagen Corrado SLC Description

Hello, and thanks for viewing my auction. If you're here, that means you probably already know what a Volkswagen Corrado is. Well, the one on auction here is the result of my year-long quest to find a stock, low-mile, 1993 Corrado SLC (with the 6-cylinder engine) in great condition. They aren't easy to find, and after all that work, it's not particularly easy to sell, but I'm selling for a reason. Keep reading.

The purpose of my purchase was to buy a manual transmission car for my son, who is a new driver. When I was in high school, this car was an obsession of mine. It had an active rear spoiler (wing), it had a timeless design, it was fast, exotic and rare, it drove like a proper finely engineered German car should, and it was unobtainable (for me). As an adult, I'm now a car collector (mainly Porsches) and the "thrill of the hunt" for finding one of these for my son was irresistible. I guess that thrill overshadowed a bit of common sense, as upon arrival my wife kindly pointed out that it was very small, fast, and it didn't have an airbag. And it wasn't suitable for a 16 year old. Being that garage space is at a premium in my house and the spot occupied by this Corrado is worth more to us in utility value than the asking price of the car, I have to let it go. Soon it will be replaced by something far less entertaining, but...with an airbag. Yawn.

1993 Corrado SLC VR6

62,700 miles

Clean carfax

1 owner car (prior to me purchasing it a few months ago)

Extremely attentive prior ownership

That's right. This vehicle was originallt purchased in May of 1994, and held by the same meticulous owner (with a very German name - clearly a car lover) for over 23 YEARS. Being the type of owner that he was, he saved the service records generated during his ownership, and I have a 1 inch thick stack of paperwork that spans the life of this car. His care of this vehicle was extraordinary. In years that he drove it more, he was getting the oil/filter changed nearly every three months, at the local VW dealership. Small problems that many drivers would let slide - he had them repaired. The service records track almost exclusively to his local authorized Volkswagen dealership (in Maryland). If you've bought an old car before, you will know how extraordinarily rare it is to have a service history this complete, and showing the kind of attention that this owner paid to this car. As you would expect, the car also comes with the original owners manual, maintenance booklet, warranty book, and sound system instructions (and the coveted "lock code" for the radio). It even has its original grey Corrado floor mats, however, I replaced them with new black mats, as the original mats need a good steam cleaning. The originals are included with the sale.

I bought this car from a dealer who had some services completed on the car, and I still had to clean up some miscellaneous service items. Recent work includes:

Oil/filter service

New battery plus battery tender

New antenna

New brake rotors

Replace coolant temp sensor

Replace rear hatch struts (with genuine VW parts, not the cheap online ones - $258)

Replace engine valve cover gasket (tiny leak - I didn't want it leaking at all)

Replace wheel bearing

Replaced serpentine belt and belt tensioner

Replace sunroof seals

In all, I spent $2100 on service to get this car to my level of satisfaction. Which is fairly demanding. With that said, this is a 25 year old car, and everyone has a different barometer for how they define subjective quality. One person's "perfect" is another's "mediocre”, and vice versa. Perfect to me is a Pebble Beach concours-winning Condition 1 car (as new or better). Don't expect that here. This is a Corrado, not a Ferrari, this car has 62k miles on it, and this car costs less than $20k. However, for a car of this age, mileage, and price, this is an EXTREMELY nice example. Definitely nicer than ones I've seen listed at higher prices. Beyond that, it is original, unmolested, unmodified, and had a particularly clean ownership history. Given that everyone's level of scrutiny varies, I am going to avoid trying to enumerate every tiny paint mark or imperfection one could find. The paint is NOT perfect - only a repaint would make it perfect, and then it would no longer be original. The interior is NOT perfect, but its about as perfect as an original 25 year old car can be. There are no funny odors, the ashtray appears as new/unused, and the cigarette lighter has clearly never been used. The seats are firm, supportive, and free of stains. The A/C blows cold, the radio works very well (there is no CD changer, though it appears this deck is capable of controlling one), the car shifts smoothly with no slippage, and the windows and sunroof work perfectly. The car is exceptionally responsive, fun to drive, fast, and quiet - no particular rattles or squeaks that I've heard (the replacement of one wheel bearing solved the one undesirable sound I was hearing when I bought it).

I am selling this car for less than I have invested into it, and therefore, my loss is your gain. Particularly because these cars seem to be going up in value constantly, and if you put a value on your own time, you will save a lot of money buying my car instead of spending the time I did locating, inspecting, purchasing, and servicing one yourself.

Full disclosure:

1) Like most Corrado owners, the automatic-seatbelt system was turned off because those brilliant DOT-mandated (for a couple years) automatic seatbelts are annoying and prone to fairl, and everyone hates them, and so you operate the seatbelts like you would in any other car, but you pull them from the center console and plug them into the door-side of the car.

2) The coolant temp gauge is not functioning, but I replaced the coolant temp sensor, and therefore the same information is available in the digital display on the dash. Replacing the gauge itself seemed pointless. All other gauges function perfectly, including the cool battery and oil pressure gauges in the center console.

3) I only received one original key with the vehicle, so I purchased an OEM second key, but you will need to take it to your locksmith to have it cut, if you want a spare key for this vehicle.

4) The right-front turn signal lens, and the left-front fog light lens have hairline cracks in the lens itself. This is highly common in these cars, and does nothing to impair their functionality. You can go searching for replacements - they are out there. I decided not to, as they don't bother me.

5) There are likely very small/minor imperfections that some would notice, others wouldn't, that I'm not mentioning here. If you are looking for a brand new car, don't buy this car. If you are looking for an extremely clean, well-preserved original Corrado SLC, this is your car.

For the tire-kickers, low-ballers, time-wasters of the Ebay world - don't bother bidding or contacting me. I'm not letting this car go for cheap no matter how much you want me to. Too much time and energy went into finding this car and getting it right, and I'd rather just store it in a warehouse as it rises in value than give it away for a low price.

For the serious buyers - $500 deposit due within 24 hours of winning the auction or me accepting your best offer.Balance of payment in full due 7 calendar days thereafter via WIRE TRANSFER ONLY (no exceptions). I am happy to assist with shipping, but that's at your cost.

Here's the photos. Enjoy, and good luck: