'96 Corsa GSi

Le_Petit_Lapin · 3 May 2007 at 23:36

Right, ok, so its a chav-mobile...I know....however I've been offered one for dirt cheap, its in decent running order (so I'm told, the guy offering it to me is a mechanic), and my AX is pretty much near dead anyway.

Basically, what do they drive like? Well enough for daily A to B about town stuff? Whats the MPG on it? Other opinions on it?

Thats all really, might go and pick it up tomorow for all the money he is asking for it. Just wanted to know if theres anything I should worry about with it.

Phil W · 3 May 2007 at 23:40

They sound lovely with an air filter on.

IIRC you should find a good one with as much SH as possible, the engines that aren't looked after are prone to going pete tong.

Cracking on the b-pillar is a common problem, and check for rot on the sills.

Aside from the advice above which you dont need because your mate is a mechanic, they handle better when treated to some shocks and springs, a few on CorsaSport like the ARB's now too.`

JRS · 4 May 2007 at 00:15

Phil W said:
They sound lovely with an air filter on.

No, they don't. They sound like a car with a small engine that's trying desperately to sound big and is failing in that attempt.

Phil W said:
IIRC you should find a good one with as much SH as possible, the engines that aren't looked after are prone to going pete tong.

Indeed they are. Having said that, I know of at least one that has never seen the inside of a Vauxhall or independent garage in it's life, has done well over 100k and is still going strong. The owner is pretty religious about oil changes and belts though, doing the work himself.

Phil W said:
Aside from the advice above which you dont need because your mate is a mechanic, they handle better when treated to some shocks and springs, a few on CorsaSport like the ARB's now too.`

Yes. The handling goes from 'comedic' to merely 'poor'

Actually, they do grip pretty well with the right tyres on. Steering feel is a bit....American though. Very remote. Not what I'd call fun, but I suppose most stuff would be an improvement over a half-shot AX.

Liverpool-Lad · 4 May 2007 at 02:36

Le_Petit_Lapin said:
Right, ok, so its a chav-mobile...I know....however I've been offered one for dirt cheap, its in decent running order (so I'm told, the guy offering it to me is a mechanic), and my AX is pretty much near dead anyway.

Basically, what do they drive like? Well enough for daily A to B about town stuff? Whats the MPG on it? Other opinions on it?

Thats all really, might go and pick it up tomorow for all the money he is asking for it. Just wanted to know if theres anything I should worry about with it.

Check underneath for rot with a good torch, specificially the front chassis legs which are prone to going. Also check the B pillars for cracks as in certain garages these can fail MOTs. Other than that they are pretty reliable cars.

Le_Petit_Lapin · 4 May 2007 at 16:58

Went to see it, turns out its a 95 not a 96, but no real problem. there is a small ammount of rust on the passenger side B pillar, but really a very small ammount, could fix it up no probs.

The wheel arches were fine, not rusting, and the chassis legs looked well...working anyway, bit dirty to tell really. Interior was a rather nice dark colour, not some utter pile of mid-ninties gashness.

Think I'll take it, it looks alright to me.

Its MOT'ed up to early Decenber at any rate, so don't have to worry about that for a bit.

Le_Petit_Lapin · 4 May 2007 at 16:58

Went to see it, turns out its a 95 not a 96, but no real problem. there is a small ammount of rust on the passenger side B pillar, but really a very small ammount, could fix it up no probs.

The wheel arches were fine, not rusting, and the chassis legs looked well...working anyway, bit dirty to tell really. Interior was a rather nice dark colour, not some utter pile of mid-ninties gashness.

Think I'll take it, it looks alright to me.

Its MOT'ed up to early Decenber at any rate, so don't have to worry about that for a bit.

mrk · 4 May 2007 at 20:57

My old man had one of those, he got it brand new in 95 too, it smelt like a new car so at the time it was all awesome and problem free

I guess it will do what you want as an A-B runner. Just don't chav it up

Zip · 5 May 2007 at 06:54

They have a weird Clutch, I almost put my foot through the floor when i drove one

They feel like they are going to fall over around round abouts and the steering is very very strange

Horrible little things IMO

Le_Petit_Lapin · 5 May 2007 at 09:10

Zip said:
Horrible little things IMO

You ever driven an AX?

JRS · 5 May 2007 at 09:24

Le_Petit_Lapin said:
You ever driven an AX?

The AX is endearingly crap. The Corsa is just crap

Le_Petit_Lapin · 9 May 2007 at 16:51

Picked it up today...and...well technically everything is going. Ok, so the fool had forgot to re-fill the radiator after poking about under the bonet, and I was met with a charming engine warning light about 1/2 a mile down the road.

Couple of things that need fixing:

1) Driverside headlight, its bracket has snapped (plastic), I was wondering where the "ku-donk" noise was coming from on speedbumps.
2) Speedo is broke!
3) Passenger side rear-view mirror adjustment stalk isnt working.

Would I be able to pick up the required bits to fix these from the local scrappy? Will the speedo be hard to fix?

Other than that...the PAS will take getting used to (I'm used to hefting the steering wheel about), the brakes feel wildly different from what I'm used to and the gearstick is some mad short shift thing, and needs almost no travel to whack into another gear. So yes, I stalled a fair bit on the way home.

Phil W · 9 May 2007 at 17:30

If you take the mirror glass out, you will probably find that the metal arm has come away from the backing, probably just needs popping back in.

Speedo will be one of 2 things...

1) Nackered Cable
2) Nackered Cable head (where it goes into clocks)

So, get the clock out (4 or 5 screws total) and unplug the speedo cable and have a look at the head, you can get replacement heads (the teeth bits) from a scrappy.

Headlight can be found at a scrap yard for about a tenner, or on an auction site for around £15 posted.

Hope this helps

[TW]Fox · 9 May 2007 at 17:36

Le_Petit_Lapin said:
Picked it up today...and...well technically everything is going. Ok, so the fool had forgot to re-fill the radiator after poking about under the bonet, and I was met with a charming engine warning light about 1/2 a mile down the road.

Erm, Radiators don't simply 'need filling' unless there is a problem. If there was so little water in it it triggered a warning light - presumably the engine overheat light as a 96 Corsa isn't going to have a Coolant Level Low light - then there may well be some sort of problem with the cooling system.

I wonder if this is why it's dirt cheap.

Phil W · 9 May 2007 at 17:38

It could be any number of reasons, Fox.

He could have changed the coolant, topped up the expansion tank and then when the thermostat opened it would have gone down, if he'd have forgotten about it, he would have been none the wiser.

Top it up and see if it goes down again, thats all you can do. Check the dipstick and oil filler cap for Mayo though

Did you not see the temp gauge rising?

Le_Petit_Lapin · 10 May 2007 at 11:38

Phil W said:
He could have changed the coolant, topped up the expansion tank and then when the thermostat opened it would have gone down, if he'd have forgotten about it, he would have been none the wiser.

Bingo!

The Rad itself had some in it, but the tank had none in it. Quite obvious he'd just filled the tank once then forgot.

Phil W said:
Top it up and see if it goes down again, thats all you can do. Check the dipstick and oil filler cap for Mayo though

Topped it up, took a fair bit, but theres no leaks and its not going down. no mayo.

Needs some more oil in it, its bodering on minimum. Does anyone know what type of Oil I would put in it? ??/40?

Phil W said:
Did you not see the temp gauge rising?

Was rather more engrossed with trying to find gears tbh. Shifts completely differently to what I'm used to. I mean, how high up the Rev counter can you go before shifting....coming from a Diesel, anything over 4000 worries me.

But yeah, noticed the temp was rising eventually, stopped and whacked a bit of water in, finished off the drive home, and got it filled up.....then found the wonky headlight.

The Running Man · 10 May 2007 at 12:38

hmm hate to say it but this mechanic doesnt sound all that hot...im glad he's never looked after my car.

Phil W · 10 May 2007 at 14:00

Lpl, should be fine once topped up. Put 15w/40 in to top it up, or 10w/40. (I put 15w/40 in the XE).

It would perform between if you took it upto 5.5-6k

Lashout_UK · 10 May 2007 at 14:02

If the oil's low, that won't aid the temperature situation either

Get it topped up as soon as ya can.

Dogbreath · 10 May 2007 at 14:02

Le_Petit_Lapin said:
I mean, how high up the Rev counter can you go before shifting....coming from a Diesel, anything over 4000 worries me.

The red bit on the tachometer is the danger zone, make sure you get the needle past it as quickly as possible.

Le_Petit_Lapin · 10 May 2007 at 14:39

Nickg said:
hmm hate to say it but this mechanic doesnt sound all that hot...im glad he's never looked after my car.

I use the term loosely. He fiddles with cars at the weekends. Still, cheap and generally gets the job done.

Phil W said:
Lpl, should be fine once topped up. Put 15w/40 in to top it up, or 10w/40. (I put 15w/40 in the XE).

It would perform between if you took it upto 5.5-6k

Cheers. I thought I used 10w/40 in the AX. Dont diesel and petrol cars use different types? Happy enough to whack it in regardless, pleanty sitting there already.