Hello All,
I am (still) on the look out for a cheap 2nd car for short range commuting. A Corsa 1.2 "Trip" has appeared on the bulletin board at work (see below).
For sale - Corsa 1.2 Trip - £850
98 R Reg, 3 Door, dark blue, MOT Dec 07, Tax Oct 07, 66k miles. Cheap tax and insurance. Good condition and really reliable. New car means this one goes.
On the face of it this car meets all my criteria perfectly and the price seems reasonable. I also vaguely know the seller so reasonably sure it won't have been thrashed every day.
Before I proceed further though, are there any known probs with the 1.2 engine. I think this is the old 8V engine carried over from the Nova era I guess? HJ's cbcb doesn't mention this engine, only the later 1.2 16v. I was hoping that this sort of car might go on for a fair few years..
Thanks as ever people
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Like most of the Vauxhall 8v engines - a good reliable engine that even gave you 50:50 when the cambelt went, unlike 16v versions of the same engines.
The 1.2 8v we had in our Nova ran 127k without trouble, until bodyshell tin worm took over. The single point injection + catalytic converter versions are down on power compared to Nova carb'ed versions so you need to make your own call whether it's been driven hard.
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It's fairly basic spec and not the best colour, but then it's not a lot of money. These Corsas are reasonably well built, tend not to rust and the 8v 1.2 engine is very reliable, if a little underpowered at 45 bhp. Performance is better than you'd expect though. It's a small version of the early Cavalier engine, which was always excellent. Provided it's been serviced properly it should be ok for a good while yet. Should have had a cambelt changes at 40k/4 year intervals. I bought a '96 1.2 from the local paper and ran it for a for a couple of years when my daughter was learning to drive and had few problems. Cheap to service and repair, and the best thing is it'll disappear like magic from the classifieds when you want to sell.
JS
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Thanks very much chaps. Really good.
Realise that 45BHP isn't great but it's adequate for purpose and the low spec (nothing to go wrong) actually appeals! The cheap to service, repair and tax bit is also appealing. I'll query the last cambelt change. How much is a cambelt change on one of these?
It is apparently fully serviced and the owner has had it for 4 or 5 yrs, which for some reason I find encouraging although there's no real logic behind this feeling!
Updates to follow..
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never known a belt go on these
water pumps yes
you will be pushed to find a better type of car for this type of banger money,if you can get in and out of it and the steering wheel is connected up then buy it
archiles heels? handbrake cables seize on if not maintained,yours is, so happy sailing
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Thanks Bell Boy + others.
Good news - timing belt was done at last service (Christmas '06). I am viewing car next week when lady brings it in. If it's a goer I will try and get it for £800.
How funny - I am feeling excited by a 9yr old 1.2 45BHP Corsa!
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Can't really understand why you'd want a car like this. One of the poorest cars of its type, poor quality interior, bodywork that fades and dates horribly, pitches and rolls in even the tamest of bends, underpowered hairdryer of an engine and a chronic image problem due to the fact 75% of surviving Mk1 Corsas now have enormous exhuast pipes and 17" wheels.
Why not go for a Nissan Micra or a Ford Fiesta instead? All the cheapness of a Corsa with the added bonus that it's not absolutely awful.
Even better move up and get a nice Cavalier, Mondeo or suchlike. At less than 10k a year fuel costs are not the big expenise and this sort of car is not really any more expensive to keep on the road but will be of far higher quality as all the demand at the sub £1k end of the market is for junk like Corsas.
And Corsas *are* junk - the only people who disagree are those unfortunate enough to have ended up with one and thus trying to convince themselves it isnt all bad...
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Not a fan then MichaelR! Thanks for the post though.
Fully appreciate that dynamically it's not great, but then it is cheap to insure, tax, run, service and they are the key factors in this purchase. I also understand the 1.2i 8v, whilst pathetic, is at least robust and reliable and can be maintained by Mr Backstreet garage. A Cavalier or Mondeo immediately costs me more in tax and insurance for example, both are probably more complex with more things to go wrong and the very last Cavalier will be 3yrs older and probably rusting on the rear arches!
I thought at this end of the market you press collect when you find a decent example, perhaps I am falling for the old fave of going for a "known" car? I was thinking that if this is a good 'un, it could easily last me 5 yrs and at £800 seems a decent price for it's age/mileage.
Perhaps I am being blind?
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If you just want hassle free, cheap to run, A to B motoring then I fail to see how you can better a K11 Nissan Micra. It'll just work, all the time.
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But Jase isn't debating Corsas in general, he is talking about a specific Corsa available to him cheaply & in good condition it would appear. Presumably there aren't any cheap Micras on the bulletin board at the moment.
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Buy it, cheap as chips to run, reliable fixable engine, plenty of bits around, invisible in the street. Lucky you haven't been offered the ususal walk/rollerskate/bicycle/steam roller/shopping trolly suggestions when you clearly want a car ! (see I left motobikes out in case I was classified as a hypovritical)
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But Jase isn't debating Corsas in general he is talking about a specific Corsa available to him cheaply & in good condition it would appear. Presumably there aren't any cheap Micras on the bulletin board at the moment.
Notice board or no notice board it's hardly deal of the decade, is it? It's not as if he'll weep for ever more if he misses the Corsa. There may be no Micras on his notice board at work but there will be a plethora of them on Autotrader within 40 miles of his address.
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There may be no Micras on his notice board at work but there will be a plethora of them on Autotrader within 40 miles of his address.
That's as maybe, but he doesn't know the seller, but he does with the Corsa.
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Ive never seen a corsa rotten on a r reg
Ive seen plenty of rotten micra"s on the r
and i mean proper rotten, not stonechips ,some micras ive been ashamed to sell when ive had a proper look underneath,but they were sold to me and needs must as they say.
OP says well serviced, good condition ,good mileage, long tax and test from a known source,why would he want to troll the autotrader for pages of cars unknown in quality and only sellers descriptions to go on.
Its like being given the name of the winning horse at ascot but backing an unknown loser just for the heck of it
The corsa price is very fair by the way but obviously try to negotiate downwards OP if youy can
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Hello Again,
Thanks for all the posts people.
An Update..
Inspected and test drove the mighty 1.2i "Trip" Corsa today. Engine was sweet as a nut. Car drove very well (from cold). Have seen V5, a stack full of MOTs, service booked stamped for every year, bills for everything including full new exhaust last year, timing belt done Christmas '06. Feebly haggled £50 of the lady's price but she wouldn't budge below £800, so I bought it at that price.
I hope it will give me another 66k miles service and last me a good few years.
An incredibly basic reliable car I hope. Exactly what I wanted.
Thanks all.
p.s I will post a review after a few 000's miles ownership! (only joking)
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If you get any minor problems, come back and we'll help out.
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