Corsa Advice

Matt-Page · 7 Sep 2009 at 11:14

My younger brother has passed his test and is looking for his first car.

Bless him he wants a Corsa and has his heart set on them. He's been loooking for a while and has found one he likes. Now personally, I'm not a bg fan of them, but for a first car, they aren't the worse, and it's something he wants so it's a bonus.

Just need a couple of points on what to look out for other than the normal?

The one he is looking at is a 1.4 SRi (apparantly he has quoted and can afford the insurance) What are the common faults on these? The one he has seen is a Y reg (2001) and has done 72,000 miles so pretty average really.

Thanks in advance

[TW]Fox · 7 Sep 2009 at 11:16

Matt-Page said:
they aren't the worse

Yes, they are.

shifty_uk · 7 Sep 2009 at 11:17

Oh noes, this probably isn't the best place to ask about a Corsa.

*Grabs popcorn*

Saytan · 7 Sep 2009 at 11:18

if you have non-girl sized feet you WILL catch your foot on the dash as you come off the clutch

ChrizZ · 7 Sep 2009 at 11:19

I was looking at a Corsa earlier for my first car. I really don't know what is best for a first car though :|

Matt-Page · 7 Sep 2009 at 11:23

[TW]Fox;14831071 said:
Yes, they are.

Thanks, that's an excellent post.

shifty_uk said:
Oh noes, this probably isn't the best place to ask about a Corsa.

*Grabs popcorn*

Oh and another one, thanks.

Saytan said:
if you have non-girl sized feet you WILL catch your foot on the dash as you come off the clutch

Ah I'll look out for that when I look around it. Anything else? Ideally I'm looking for common faults/problems as I've never worked on one and hardly driven them.

iaind · 7 Sep 2009 at 11:24

They're terrible cars, what do you expect?

Is it going to be barried?

Matt-Page · 7 Sep 2009 at 11:29

iaind said:
They're terrible cars, what do you expect?

Is it going to be barried?

Mind telling me why rather than getting on the internet throne? I've simply asked for common faults or problems with them to look for, I don't expect a Parkers review.

No, luckily my brother luckily does not crave neons, spoilers and 'zorst' so it will be kept standard. It will be use to commute around town and the odd weekend trip with his friends away somewhere.

fish · 7 Sep 2009 at 11:40

Has he considered a 1.5td cheap tax and insurance if he gets a 200 x plate model i used one of these to comute in 500 miles a week for 2 years and it was a fantastic little car. Better IMO than the equivalent fiesta and very easy to work on if he fancied getting his hands dirty.

The 1.5 td engine also has a little go about it and felt quicker than the 1.4 sri new shape corsa i was given as a courtesy car when a bloke in an a3 shortend my car slightly.

Was looking at something like this

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...icleYearOfManufacture=2000&vehicleRegLetter=V

[TW]Fox · 7 Sep 2009 at 11:43

fish said:
Has he considered a 1.5td cheap tax and insurance if he gets a 200 x plate model i used one of these to comute in 500 miles a week for 2 years and it was a fantastic little car.

He's looking at a Corsa C, these are simply 'bad' whereas the B is 'absolutely terrible'. I honestly dont know what would make you describe a Corsa B diesel as 'fantastic' - was it your first car and you were still at the stage of being absolutely amazed that it moved and kept you dry or something?

iaind · 7 Sep 2009 at 11:45

Matt-Page said:
Mind telling me why rather than getting on the internet throne? I've simply asked for common faults or problems with them to look for, I don't expect a Parkers review.

Its not an internet throne, they are simply bad cars. Uncomfortable, unpleasant to drive - generally not a nice place to be.

They all suffer from this, so I suppose you could call it a common fault. A decent Fiesta will be a much better car

fish · 7 Sep 2009 at 11:51

No it was my 12th car and I was amazed at how good a car was. It was a car to fit a budget and do a job for me. It is a great car for someone who is learning to drive as parts are cheap and the car does not have overly complicated electronics which are prone to failure. Given that it's going to be the guys first car I would suggest getting something that does the job for him rather than something more expensive that he will still get bored of very quickly. We are not talking about the upper echelons of driving here where you buy a car and keep it for 10 years plus. Oh and yes it had a roof, an AM/FM stereo, moved under engine power, and returned 60mpg when driven hard.

Richard_16v · 7 Sep 2009 at 11:58

Not as bad as what people say on here, I bet half the people that are slating them haven't even driven one.

My wife has one that I have to drive from time to time and it isn't THAT bad.

In the 3 years she has had it a camshaft sensor has gone and a relay that controls the indicators.

I do find Vauxhall dealers to be rather poor if anything goes wrong so I always take her car to another place.

[TW]Fox · 7 Sep 2009 at 12:00

Richard_16v said:
I bet half the people that are slating them haven't even driven one.

My girlfriend has one. Her parents have the equivilent Fiesta. The Fiesta is immeasurably better.

iaind · 7 Sep 2009 at 12:00

Richard_16v said:
Not as bad as what people say on here, I bet half the people that are slating them haven't even driven one.

I've driven a couple..

I just cant see any reason to own one over a Fiesta

ajstan · 7 Sep 2009 at 12:03

Oh no, he isnt going to 'chav it up' is he ?

Matt-Page · 7 Sep 2009 at 12:04

fish said:
Has he considered a 1.5td cheap tax and insurance if he gets a 200 x plate model i used one of these to comute in 500 miles a week for 2 years and it was a fantastic little car. Better IMO than the equivalent fiesta and very easy to work on if he fancied getting his hands dirty.

The 1.5 td engine also has a little go about it and felt quicker than the 1.4 sri new shape corsa i was given as a courtesy car when a bloke in an a3 shortend my car slightly.

Was looking at something like this

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...icleYearOfManufacture=2000&vehicleRegLetter=V

I'll ask him about the diesel alternatives. I did mention/reccommend a Fiesta or a Saxo instead as I am not a big fan on Corsa's, but he is a young lad with a dream/want for a Corsa, he likes how it looks at that's what he wants. Personally I think he's lucky enough to have that sort of money for a first car, to me a first car is a Metro/Fiesta/Clio but very old and tatty.

[TW]Fox;14831240 said:
He's looking at a Corsa C, these are simply 'bad' whereas the B is 'absolutely terrible'. I honestly dont know what would make you describe a Corsa B diesel as 'fantastic' - was it your first car and you were still at the stage of being absolutely amazed that it moved and kept you dry or something?

Right, again, I see you had one as a hire car after doing a search, can you give a bit more detail on why it is so bad?

iaind said:
Its not an internet throne, they are simply bad cars. Uncomfortable, unpleasant to drive - generally not a nice place to be.

They all suffer from this, so I suppose you could call it a common fault. A decent Fiesta will be a much better car

Yes you are sweet heart, you're looking extremely cool too. Uncomfortable? Unpleasant? Why? Are the seats flat like benchines with little/no support? Is the suspension bouncy or rock hard? Not a nice place to be?

As stated I'm not looking for a Clarkson review, just common faults to look for. I appreciate these aren't the best cars for the money/range but it's what he wants and I want to give the car a good looking over before he parts with any money. I'm guessing for this age you are looking at about 2.5-2.6k bracket if it is in decent condition from a dealer.

K1LLSW1TCH · 7 Sep 2009 at 12:05

I hope your brother finds what he wants mate.

Here's a link to a list of faults and fixes. This was a very quick Google so I'm sure if you did the same and had more time than I do at the moment then you'd find loads more information.

fish · 7 Sep 2009 at 12:11

My Wife had a MK3, MK4, and a Mk6 Fiesta. I had a Mk2 and a Mk3. IMO the build quailty was better on the corsa than all those cars. The corsa i had felt more solidly put together and the seats were far more comfortable. We drove from Plymouth to Aberdeen in My corsa and did not suffer cronic fatigue or back pain like in some of the more expensive cars i have owned. Don't get me wrong if it was a new car he was getting the new fiesta is a better propositioin than the new corsa, but as a said above how long realistically is he going to keep the car?

iaind · 7 Sep 2009 at 12:11

Matt-Page said:
Yes you are sweet heart, you're looking extremely cool too. Uncomfortable? Unpleasant? Why? Are the seats flat like benchines with little/no support? Is the suspension bouncy or rock hard? Not a nice place to be?

As stated I'm not looking for a Clarkson review, just common faults to look for. I appreciate these aren't the best cars for the money/range but it's what he wants and I want to give the car a good looking over before he parts with any money. I'm guessing for this age you are looking at about 2.5-2.6k bracket if it is in decent condition from a dealer.

I see no point trying to help if you're going to be like that.

It was not a "Clarkson Review" - you've had several people who have experienced these cars personally, explaining to you why they are to be avoided. If you choose not to take the advice then it's up to you, but I think you want to reconsider the attitude when people are trying to give you proper advice