# Need Advice on this used tuned Scirocco R



## joe23 (Mar 27, 2009)

Hi, I'm sort of new to this Scirocco club
so I don't know too much about it, but I'm thinking of possibility
buying a used Scirocco R. It's been modified quite a bit
so I just wanted to ask those of you who know about this car
if these mods are good or problematic for the car (down the road).

Year: 2013
Model: Scirocco R (TSI) 2.0 Liter
Km: 55,000 km

APR Stage 2
APR intercooler
AP suspension 
ATS Racelight wheels
Michelin PSS (summer) and Pirelli SottoZero 2 (winter)
and a few other minor mods (like digital gauge, REBS brake disc and Brembo brakes etc).

The asking price is around $28,000 
no accidents, all clean.

I'd appreciate any pointers or things to keep in mind about this car
based on this information.


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## echassin (Dec 28, 2005)

There's a forum in here dedicated to the new Scirocco, this forum is for the old ones.

But while you're here, enjoy the "real" Sciroccos


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## joe23 (Mar 27, 2009)

oh, thanks for letting me know!


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## Michael Bee (Nov 4, 2004)

Seems like all of those mods will withstand time. Lots of those engines are modified and last... 

any photos?


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## tmechanic (Nov 17, 2004)

Pics or it didn't happen.


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## onurB (Nov 4, 2010)

And where are you located for buying a modded R for 28 000 _dollars_ with 55k _kilometers_ ? (it sounds like a good deal)


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## joe23 (Mar 27, 2009)

thanks for the replies.
I'm from Korea. Here is the link:
http://www.encar.com/dc/dc_cardetai...ype=normal&carid=21550527&wtClick_forList=019


I just heard that a few days ago, VW decided to can the Scirocco so all production has ended.
Will it be difficult to find parts for the car down the road (maybe more costly)?
Or some people think that it might actually help the value of the car (now that it's limited/rare)?


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## Michael Bee (Nov 4, 2004)

All we know about in this forum is Sweet rides that are no longer produced so you’re right at home here.

Pics look great. You should be able to get parts for awhile I’d think. 

You have a ways to go in my opinion before the value on an R goes up.

Are they all DSG?


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## joe23 (Mar 27, 2009)

It's an automatic, yes. I'm actually not sure if it's DSG or not. I can't tell from the photos and I don't think it's mentioned in the description so probably no?
If it's not sold in the next few days, I'm going to see it on the weekend to take a look at it in person.


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## joe23 (Mar 27, 2009)

Oh, I forgot to add that I had read VW Golf and Scirocco share a lot of the same parts. I don't know exactly which parts are the same but it sounds like
even though the Scirocco may be out of production, as long as there are Golf parts around, most of it will fit with the Sciroccos...pls correct me if I'm wrong.


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## TBerk (Oct 9, 2000)

joe23 said:


> Oh, I forgot to add that I had read VW Golf and Scirocco share a lot of the same parts. I don't know exactly which parts are the same but it sounds like
> even though the Scirocco may be out of production, as long as there are Golf parts around, most of it will fit with the Sciroccos...pls correct me if I'm wrong.


This has been the case from the very beginning.... *BUT*; there are always the odd 'it only fits XYZ' to contend with. 

That said, don't limit your options to just VW, there are often Audi/Seat, etc type parts bins to plunder.


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## joe23 (Mar 27, 2009)

Hey guys! I visited the lot and saw the car and decided to buy it! I'm going to pick it up again tomorrow and to take it home.
I'll post some pics and vids later. I have a couple quickie questions:

1) when checking the dipstick (engine oil) it looked pretty black...i think I want to get an oil change as soon as I drive it off the lot. I read
you need to use 5w30 vw504 / 507 approved. So, will any brand pretty much be fine as long as it's vw504/507 approved? Also, the dealer
guy said that the dipstick wasn't the right or best way to check the oil but to check the filter. Is that accurate or does that sound a bit wrong?
I think the dipstick is still the proper way to check engine oil for this car right?

2) the tires are 235/35z/19 summer tires but probably have 30% treading left or something close to that....i think they need changing soon. If my wheels (ATS Racelight 19) 
are currently using these tires, do I have to buy exactly the same dimension tires? (235/35z/19)? They are pretty damn pricey ...especially
the high end brands like Michelin PSS (which is what is on there now). Can I get 235/40/19? or something close to those dimensions? Does it
have to be 235/35/19s due to the dimensions of the wheel itself? 

For winter tires, should I just swap out the tires for 19 inch winters (ie. 220/50/19) something cheaper for winters? Or is it better to just buy
steelies and just rotate the summer wheels out and put on the winters without having to have the shop remove the tires from the wheel every 
season?

Last question, I think this might be true for most coupes/2 doors. When I open the door, since the glass has no frame but is the frame itself,
i noticed it automatically drops half an inch right before I'm about to open the door and when I close it, it goes back up the half inch. I'm assuming it does
this because there is a rubber guard/seal and if the window doesn't move down it won't close properly and seal nicely inside the rubber guard/seal.
It just worries me cuz what if the electrical fails one day and the window doesn't move down or back up? Then I'll have this half inch of window always open
when I'm driving.


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## 53PL-50AAA-VW611BAN (Feb 10, 2015)

joe23 said:


> thanks for the replies.
> I'm from Korea. Here is the link:
> http://www.encar.com/dc/dc_cardetai...ype=normal&carid=21550527&wtClick_forList=019
> 
> ...


The pictures are gone now. They don't waste any time once it's sold.

I imagine Scirocco III-specific parts will get harder to find (and more costly) but the mechanical parts should be easy enough to find. 

"Rarity" hasn't helped the value of any VWs I own. 

It's not just a VW thing, it's a used car thing. 

If you have some money you can get a low mileage Maybach 62 for pennies on the dollar. 

Like all other cars, a VW Scirocco III should be worth a lot of money in about 50-60 years if you can keep it in good shape that long and if it's all original. 

Not to dissuade you from modifying it to make it your own, but don't expect to get your money back on expensive mods if you sell. (Unless you sell to some rich kid who can pay cash and loves your car.)

-Old Eric


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## 53PL-50AAA-VW611BAN (Feb 10, 2015)

joe23 said:


> Hey guys! I visited the lot and saw the car and decided to buy it! I'm going to pick it up again tomorrow and to take it home.
> I'll post some pics and vids later. I have a couple quickie questions:
> 
> 1) when checking the dipstick (engine oil) it looked pretty black...i think I want to get an oil change as soon as I drive it off the lot. I read
> ...



For the first question, I would take it to a dealer or VW specialist. I would not trust anything a used car dealer said. I think he was talking about checking the oil in the filter (for metal) when you were getting the oil changed, but he's really speaking gibberish. 

You check the oil with the dipstick. Didn't it come with an Owner's Manual?

For the tires, perhaps the ATS configurator can help:

http://www.atswheels.com/ats/en/konfigurator-ats/

For your last question, our North American Sciroccos have a frame around the window. 

Yours has frameless glass. The window moving down is a more recent feature on newer cars. 

My old Ford sedan has frameless glass and the seal on the driver's window is chewed up. You can stuck a finger between the window and the B pillar. I remember my Dad's '65 Impala would let winter air blow past the seals on its frameless windows (and the car was less than 10 years old at the time). 

Maybe the window moving down is to prevent the seals from tearing? Or perhaps the seals on your Scirocco have a U-shaped channel to seal better than the old school one sided useless seals on my Ford and my Dad's Impala?

That's another thing that might be in your Owner's Manual.

The Internet has all sorts of answers for all brands of cars, but they are all different opinions from random posters who aren't car company representatives.

For VW's reason, you might have to ask your closest VW dealer (Seoul?)

I think the only VWs in North America with frameless glass are the Beetle convertible and possibly the CC. 

I will be going to my VW dealer sometime next month, but it might be several weeks and I will probably forget to ask.

Good luck.

-Eric


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## joe23 (Mar 27, 2009)

Yes, I didn't mean the value of the car would go up or anything like that (of course not). I've just read that generally scirocco's hold their value well. Since I don't log a lot of miles per year (10,000 km ....like 7000 miles?), if I had to sell the car in 2-4 more years from now, I'm hoping I can still get a good chunk back (say 50% of my purchase price). I just bought it at $25,000 (due to trade in of my current car) so hopefully I could get at least 12.5K back?

Yes, I agree to check it at VW specialist (not many here). Do you know if something like oil changes can be done by any professional or does it have to be VW service center only? I know that some cars/brands have very difficult parts to open/operate so that only the actual service center of that brand can do the job.


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## 53PL-50AAA-VW611BAN (Feb 10, 2015)

joe23 said:


> Yes, I didn't mean the value of the car would go up or anything like that (of course not). I've just read that generally scirocco's hold their value well. Since I don't log a lot of miles per year (10,000 km ....like 7000 miles?), if I had to sell the car in 2-4 more years from now, I'm hoping I can still get a good chunk back (say 50% of my purchase price). I just bought it at $25,000 (due to trade in of my current car) so hopefully I could get at least 12.5K back?
> 
> Yes, I agree to check it at VW specialist (not many here). Do you know if something like oil changes can be done by any professional or does it have to be VW service center only? I know that some cars/brands have very difficult parts to open/operate so that only the actual service center of that brand can do the job.


I don't know about The Land of the Morning Calm, but in the U.S.A. Sciroccos did not hold their value. 

As far as finding someone to change the oil, I have no idea if the local mechanics can handle it. It looks like the TSI uses a canister instead of a spin-off filter. I have no idea if that's something they are used to. 

Your Owner's Manual should give you some idea how difficult the oil change would be. If it's in Hangul, maybe a Korean mechanic could figure it out. 

Just be sure to buy genuine VW oil filters and drain plug gaskets. 

The brand of oil filter VW uses is Mann. In the U.S.A. we have popular aftermarket oil filters but supposedly they aren't any good for VW engines. The bypass supposedly is different. (But I'm going off memory from years ago.)

Good luck.

-Eric


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## joe23 (Mar 27, 2009)

Thanks for the reply.
I guess it only makes sense to go to a VW specialist/service center.
If I give them my VIN number, can they also look in their system to see if/when other parts of my car need servicing? I don't know what the previous owner has or hasn't
done in terms of servicing in the 53,000km driven so far. I only know about the tuning stuff he added to the car.

The ATS Racelight wheels also have one lug nut which is a special gear-like looking lug nut for anti-theft. I don't have that key to remove the bolt and the wheel.
Is that something a tire shop will most likely have?


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## joe23 (Mar 27, 2009)

Only 3 days into owning this car and my poor candy white car got 3 small door dings today (well I noticed them today). 2 on the driver's side door and 1 and on the passenger side door. My spark went through an initiation when I first got that, too. Just 2 weeks into owning the spark, it had white paint thrown on it, then it had the rear window completely smashed that I had to replace. 

I know about the usual tips of parking far away from other cars, or stay away from other coupes (longer doors) or old vehicles with lots of dings themselves, or trucks, etc. Sometimes I can't control who I'm parked next to. Where I live, 90% of people here do not own their own parking spot or garages as there is no room for any. We all have to park in large lots around the town.

I had an idea....do you think I can just invest in buying a junkyard car for under $1k, no insurance, to solely use it for the purpose of parking? I'll save a corner spot everytime or use the junkyard car to simply take the parking spot next to me so that I can sort of block my car away from others.

I'm thinking about it and I don't think having no insurance will be a problem since the car will never be driven except for parking...or i can always go with the most basic insurance which comes to less than $200/yr where I live, might even be cheaper once they know the car is a junkyard car.


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## 53PL-50AAA-VW611BAN (Feb 10, 2015)

joe23 said:


> Only 3 days into owning this car and my poor candy white car got 3 small door dings today (well I noticed them today). 2 on the driver's side door and 1 and on the passenger side door. My spark went through an initiation when I first got that, too. Just 2 weeks into owning the spark, it had white paint thrown on it, then it had the rear window completely smashed that I had to replace.
> 
> I know about the usual tips of parking far away from other cars, or stay away from other coupes (longer doors) or old vehicles with lots of dings themselves, or trucks, etc. Sometimes I can't control who I'm parked next to. Where I live, 90% of people here do not own their own parking spot or garages as there is no room for any. We all have to park in large lots around the town.
> 
> ...


If you can get around without driving, I would find a great parking spot (rented if possible) and only drive when you need to. Does parking also suck at work? 

My daily driver is a '77 Ford LTD II that I bought for $600.00 in 2009 and I don't care where I park. I would still buy insurance. 

My dad used to warn against parking next to 2 door cars. I think you are more likely to be hit by kids and significant others opening doors on 4 door sedans. Coupe owners are usually people who actually like their car and didn't buy it to be practical. 

I have seen those parking lots next to the skyscraper apartment buildings in Korea. 

My house (I lived on the second floor of a house) had an area that I could barely squeeze my Sonata into but nobody could park next to me. For a while I rented a car port a block away from my house but I gave it up when I figured out how to squeeze my huge Sonata into the space in front of my door.

-Eric


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## joe23 (Mar 27, 2009)

Thanks, appreciate the response. Yes, if I could rent a good parking spot somewhere, maybe that's a better option. I live in a small town so we don't have any public parking garages or complexes. Everything is pretty much one-rooms, villas, etc where parking is all crammed on the street or at the base of the buildings. I park at a grocery store lot which has been fine for 3 years but now that I got this R, having a dozen of those dings will not look so pretty esp. on white. My spark was a dark brown so the 20-30 dings i had on it were not that noticeable but a couple were pretty noticeable dings from an angle. 

I'm trying to figure out all possible options and which would be best. If I did get a cheap car and park it somewhere where there's just a tiny bit of room for only my car to park, that would be neat. Also, I could have a camera recording in that other car since the dash cam only records what's in front, it's hard to see what is around the car or who.

It leads me to another question. What would be the best way to keep a cam recording as battery can't sustain it. I drive short distances to work so I'll never have enough battery charge to record all day. I had to buy a portable battery unit called "Yeti Zero" (i think) for my spark and it worked pretty good...I was able to use MOBIUS keychain cam to record and the yeti battery would be able to go about 2-3 days between charges. It's still such a hassle to have to carry that battery inside with me and get it fully charged again every 2-3 days. I wish there was a better way to record.

I also found two tiny chips in my front windshield that I'm pretty sure was never there (because I would've noticed it). They are very close together. They are not big but looks deep and I really wish I knew who or what did that to me.


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## 53PL-50AAA-VW611BAN (Feb 10, 2015)

OK, here's another suggestion:

Buy a good quality padded outdoor car cover. I would suggest California Car Cover, but they don't make covers for cars that aren't allowed in the U.S. as far as I know. 

I have no idea where to buy one, but I would check European companies since the car is European. 

Another option might be to go to Seoul and find the authorized dealer (or whatever city has an authorized dealer). Maybe they have a cover you can buy from the parts department.

Perhaps one of the European based members can give you some tips on who makes a good cover for your Scirocco.

For the glass chips, do you have glass chip repair people? Here they do it for free and your car insurance pays (cheaper to fix chips than buy you a new windshield.)

I have no earthly idea about the camera. My modern VWs drain the batteries if you look at them cross-eyed so I don't leave anything plugged in while they are parked. 


Good luck.

-Eric


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## 53PL-50AAA-VW611BAN (Feb 10, 2015)

Also, I would try paintless dent removal if that's offered there. But find a secure parking area first.


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## joe23 (Mar 27, 2009)

thanks again for your replies.
I ended up parking along side a building wall so no cars park beside me. So far it seems to be working fine.
I'll keep parking there for now.


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## joe23 (Mar 27, 2009)

I do have another question I'm curious about.

I'm currently driving in D mode (not S). I noticed that it seems to upshift really fast to D6 even when driving at relatively slow speeds (around 60 km).
Even when I'm at 100 or 120 kmph on highways it's at D6. Why is it always at D6? Shouldn't it be only at D3 or D4? I thought D6 is the highest or last gear (which is if I was pushing it to the max)?
Correct me if I am wrong.


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## 53PL-50AAA-VW611BAN (Feb 10, 2015)

joe23 said:


> I do have another question I'm curious about.
> 
> I'm currently driving in D mode (not S). I noticed that it seems to upshift really fast to D6 even when driving at relatively slow speeds (around 60 km).
> Even when I'm at 100 or 120 kmph on highways it's at D6. Why is it always at D6? Shouldn't it be only at D3 or D4? I thought D6 is the highest or last gear (which is if I was pushing it to the max)?
> Correct me if I am wrong.


D6 is for highway cruising and saving fuel. It is the highest gear. 

It shifts to D6 to save fuel and for emissions. If you want it to stay in D4 or D3, you have to floor it. It will probably still upshift to D6 at 60 KPH unless you are pushing it. 

Above a certain speed it will upshift unless you manually keep it in a lower gear. I don't even know if that's possible.

At max speed it will be at D6 because of the RPMs not because "you are pushing it". Even if it's floored, above a certain speed it will still upshift to keep the RPMS down. 

If you have paddles, you can downshift to D4 using them if it's below a certain speed. 

You might be able to hack the transmission controller with VCDS to raise the RPM limit or change the shifting parameters. 

There might even be a "Shift Kit" for your transmission but I would think a "tuned" Scirocco S probably has had the transmission tweaked already. The ECU chip tuning probably modified your shift parameters unless that's illegal where you are.


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## joe23 (Mar 27, 2009)

thanks, I appreciate the response!
I'm really loving this car...she's a beauty! There's just a bunch of things I still need to learn/get used to.

I also noticed from the very start when I started driving this car (and I'm not sure if it's with ALL VW DSG cars) but
it feels like there is natural resistance when I let off the gas and let the car stroll/roll by it's own velocity. The car will
slow down a lot without me having to brake. In my other cars of the past that I have driven (all autos), they don't have
that feeling of resistance. The cars will normally just keep rolling for a long time even after letting my foot off the gas.

My guess is this feeling is similar to any manual car...that's why there's often this herky jerky movement of feeling going forward and backward.
I remember being a passenger in some manual cars and that's what I felt. Is that normal for all DSG vw cars?

I hope that I'm explaining it accurately.


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