Advice on buying an ex modded Scirocco

[MicM88]

Hi guys,

Firstly I hope this is the right place to post this, if not apologies.

There is a Scirocco for sale I am looking at but have discovered it was modified and used at shows as a show car. It is now back to a stock 2.0TSI GT DSG with no signs of the modifciations it once had. It looks a nice motor on the surface and is very good money for the mileage.

From what I can tell the modifications included a full R Line bodykit, new dual exhausts and most importantly air ride suspension. I know a lot of people would run a mile from buying a mpcar someone has messed with but I am aware a lot of these guys with show cars treat them like babies so I am of the thinking it would have been well looked after during its ownership.

Unsure if i should let this one pass by or pursue it further because i honestly wouldnt really know what to look for to tell for signs of abnormal wear and tear from a previously fitted air ride suspension. Would you guys recomend to steer clear or be able to advise what to look out for if I were going to check it out closer?

Cheers, Mic

[greg7728]

If the mods have been removed professionally / all mot etc I'd say ur better off buying an ex show car from a proper enthusiast, speaking as one, it will have been looked after, polished, waxed and sealed and any hint of anything wrong would have been nipped in the bud. A "normal" car owner would often leave things till they go wrong and have the "it's just a car attitude" - I wouldn't hesitate to buy from a proper enthusiast the car has probably been a member of their family and had more money spent on it than family would have. I'd just check make sure have receipts and recent mot since removal of mods like air ride. Long as all checks out you'll be fine - if you go and see the car and meet the owner u will probably be able to tell how well the cars been looked after and the type of person ur buying from, they should know every inch of the car. Good luck and hopefully enjoy your rocco.


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[Phil]

People who install air ride usually have something called a chasis notch. This is basically holes cut in the chasis to make it go lower...... I would be checking for that ASAP!!!

[MicM88]

Thanks for the advice lads.

Turns out the chassis did indeed have notches cut to allow for full clearance on the air ride. Pity because it was a clean looking Rocco otherwise. The search continues...

[Phil]

Thanks for the advice lads.

Turns out the chassis did indeed have notches cut to allow for full clearance on the air ride. Pity because it was a clean looking Rocco otherwise. The search continues...

Real shame mate - the only thing I don't like about air ride. You will always get those loyal to it who will say there's nothing wrong, or it was professionally done - but I would never buy one with it and it's likely you'll not be told on purchase either.

Was a private or through a dealer?

[xjay1337]

There's no issue having a chassis notch. But can understand why you wouldn't want to buy it.

My old Mk5 GTI had a notch, and subsequently had a massive front end impact as the new owner had a head-on with another car at 50mph and there was no additional deformity and he and his kid got out fine.

Show cars / enthusiast owner cars are usually far better condition than equivalent cars driven by your average joe who doesn't even know what the dipstick looks like :-)

[Phil]

There's no issue having a chassis notch. But can understand why you wouldn't want to buy it.

My old Mk5 GTI had a notch, and subsequently had a massive front end impact as the new owner had a head-on with another car at 50mph and there was no additional deformity and he and his kid got out fine.

Show cars / enthusiast owner cars are usually far better condition than equivalent cars driven by your average joe who doesn't even know what the dipstick looks like :-)

If your gonna notch your car, it is supposed to go through through an IVA test (from memory). This is the legal way of making sure that when the car was notched (or anything along those lines) it was done properly and your not buying a dog of a car.

I agree that people who mod their cars are gonna keep much better car than the average owner, but there are a lot who will bodge a job thinking they know all and that's when you buy a shocker with a dodgy notch and a simple crash will collapse and become dangerous.

Most won't do this test as they think it's the system out to get there money, but really its just there for safety purposes.

[xjay1337]

Correct.
However rightly or wrongly every Mk5/Mk6 you see out there is notched, same for MK4s / TT / Audi A3s - None of those go for IVA tests.
I am saying it's right or wrong.

I'd rather buy a car that had a notch but mint-upkeep than a car that's been abused and doesn't.
Ideally you'd want a mint-upkeep car without a notch :-)