HOW TO GET ONE IN YOUR GARAGE

An owner’s view JOE AGAR

“I chose a used R36 estate two years ago over the Audi RS4 Avant because of its lower price. Its engine sounds great and is responsive, and it feels good on the road, despite its age. We use ours as a daily driver and on weekends when we go biking and we’ve not had any problems. It can be expensive to run, but I think its rarity offsets that. You can drive it for weeks and not see another R36, and people always come up to us saying that they’ve never even seen one before.”

Buyer beware… ■ TRANSMISSION

Some owners have reported issues with the R36’s mechatronic dualclutch gearbox, which it shares with the Golf R32. A replacement could be costly, so give any used examples a thorough inspection and make sure that the gears shift as normal in both manual and automatic driving modes.

BRAKES

It’s recommended that you swap the brake disks and pads every 20,000 miles; the R36 is heavy, at 1747kg, so they won’t hold up long under sustained hard use. Reconditioned and repainted brake calipers can be tracked down for about £300 per pair.

ENGINE

The timing chain is supposed to last the car’s lifetime but has been known to stretch over time, putting the camposition sensor out of calibration and potentially messing up the ignition timing. Replacing it is a gearbox-off job that could cost around £3000.

BODYWORK

The low-riding, big-rimmed R36 is prone to minor bodywork and wheel damage from stones and kerbs, but you can still find the odd one knocking around the breaker’s yard, so don’t let a little nick or scrape put you off. Rust bubbles are more serious but can be stopped in their tracks if caught early.

FUEL

Most R36 drivers claim to use premium fuels only and that you should do the same. This will be expensive, but the V6 will thank you in the long run.

Also worth knowing

Don’t expect a proper budget RS4 Avant experience. While prices for the R36 estate itself are attractive, Volkswagen says that it will average a combined fuel economy figure of just 26.9mpg. Its road tax bill is also wince-inducing, at £585 per year, due to official CO2 emissions of 249g/km. Servicing and spare parts will run up your costs yet further. It’s therefore essential that you budget appropriately.

How much to spend £7000-£7999

A small number of estates with more than 100,000 miles and some minor bodywork scuffs. Many will have been through several owners.

£8000-£9999

Models with cleaner bodywork, well-maintained engines, full service histories and mileages nearing or just over 100,000 miles.

£10,000-£11,999

Near-pristine cars maintained with no expense spared, fresh from recent services and with five-figure mileages.

£12,000 AND ABOVE

The cleanest R36 models, including a Volkswagen Approved Used saloon with 81,000 miles on the clock.

One we found VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT ESTATE R36 3.6 V6 4MOTION DSG, 2009/58-REG, £10,999

It appears that the owner of this R36 wagon is a proper enthusiast, having en joyed the car properly while ensuring that it wanted for nothing. Its Bilstein shock absorbers, rear brake calipers and handbrake motor are all new, plus it has had a common steering lock issue fixed.