Had a look on ebay for Vauxhall Corsa SXi's 51-52reg mainly, after looking up & down the list on the site i was horribly suprised to see a lot of them that were for sale were either CAT Ds or damaged repairable etc...
is this due to the fact they're marketed for the boy racer generation or just driven by bad drivers?
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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Bought by young 'uns on easy finance and free insurance. QED.
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Be carefull of ex B.S.M. tackle too.
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maybe they have all gone in to a coma with excitement driving the thing!
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Full size spare wheel instead of a space saver is the give away & the MK Milton Keynes registration plate.
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I don't understand. The giveaway of what?
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The main groups that buy these cars:
Young un's who have a very high proportion of accidents after passing their tests.
Young un's still learning in driving school cars.
Old un's who are starting to get progressively worse as time takes its toll, losing skill levels through lack of confidence and regular experience
Dealers who use them as courtesy cars / Hire cars - guaranteed to be thrashed from beginning to end
The proverbial house wife who does few miles, so gets little chance to improve their driving skills or maintain standards through practice
Each group are self-evidently high risk for accidents and abuse.
Always the odd exception in each group though.
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I don't understand. The giveaway of what?>>>>
That it's first owner was the B.S.M. Not forgetting it will probably have steel rims too.
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I have a 56 plate one now as a company motor and its just one of them cars that is going to get thrashed! They are used by rental companies,BSM like you guys have said, so it doesnt suprise me. The older generation who drive corsa's dont really go for the sxi spec...
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I don't understand. The giveaway of what?>>>> That it's first owner was the B.S.M. Not forgetting it will probably have steel rims too.
Interesting. I guess BSM's headquarters are in MK then? But why are they more likely to have a full size spare? Do they spec them like that to reduice the chances of having to cancel lessons? But then surely normal customers can spec full size spares for much the same reason?
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I thought all 2000 to 2006 Corsas came with a full size spare? My wife's Corsa has factory fit wider alloy wheels similar to SXi spec & a full size spare but in steel.
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It's pretty much essential for a SOM car to have a full size spare as regulations state that a test cannot be carried out on a space saver. Given the number of tests these cars go on, it's almost a certainty that if you don't have a full size spare you will end up disappointing a student on test date sooner or later!
Blue
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The main groups that buy these cars: Young un's who have a very high proportion of accidents after passing their tests.
From observation this is undoubtedly true but can someone tell me why Corsas are so attractive to youngsters.
In all respects they seem to me, having driven a few to be an an average to sub average car in their class. You can get much better for your money. Is it just a fashion thing?
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"From observation this is undoubtedly true but can someone tell me why Corsas are so attractive to youngsters."
Attractive shape.
Cheap parts.
Holds value well.
Well screwed together.
Reliable.
Large range of engine / trim.
Reasonably well specified.
Loads to choose from.
Cheap or free insurance if buying new.
Easy to bling up.
Etc, etc.
"Average or sub average" - taste is a very subjective thing - best seller in class for many years mean most people think it is good enough for its intended purpose.
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Vauxhall offer a scheme to independent garages, that would allow a Corsa be leased & used as courtesy car for £19/week IIRC!
As mentioned a favourite driving school car, too.
So always plenty around & an attractive motor to pimp up a bit, too.
Affordability = accessability to all, so plenty'l get bashed around a bit!!
VB
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Agree its a best seller in its class but the mystery to me is why. Agree taste is a subjective thing but in most reviews of cars in its class Corsa the old Corsa came well down the list, although the new model looks as though it might be an improvement especially a regards the awful driving position in the old model. Personally I would rate Fiesta, Micra, Skoda Fabia, Yaris,and Renault Clio all as being a better second hand buy. At the end of the day though I guess youngters buy Corsas because their mates do. I think its the same for most car buyers - the need to conform with our peer group and not stand out from the crowd is strong in most of us.
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Some interesting points made here, it just that im interested in looking at one like a 52/03 reg, but as a lot of you have pointed out a lot of youngsters buy them on finance & free insurance etc..
Myself im 23 years old & have passed my test 4 & a half years ago so i have relatively some experience on the road despite i don't drive to work no more now because of the heavy parking prices in town.
I was taught to drive in a BSM Corsa 1.0 5-door which IIRC had limited visability looking through your rear window but it was a good learning curve for me whilst i was learning.
I'll be looking at signs for abuse whilst choosing if i ever make my mind up!
Yes i know some other backroomers willl be thinking from previous topics of mine.... looking at Ford Focus then to MG ZR's..then to BMW 316i Compacts... but i think now i've decided to go for something in reality now lol
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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The main groups that buy these cars:
Old un's who are starting to get progressively worse as time takes its toll, losing skill levels through lack of confidence and regular experience
Or old uns on a pension who just can't afford anything more expensive. The time may come when you have to pull in your horns.
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L\'escargot.
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:) I know - I'm barely 30 and dreading it already!!!
I do acknowledge that not all seniors lose the plot though, just enough to make us all cringe when we hear of yet another older person hitting the accelerator instead of the brakes...
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it says in the service book of a corsa in my possesion that bsm headquarters are at
81/87 hartfield road
wimbledon
london
its a p reg so they may have moved since then----- oh and its in death blue :-(
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Many people when they pass their test go out and buy a similar car to the one that they learnt in;so much so that some manufacturers supply the cars to driving schools(big ones)at less than cost.
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Worryingly, a mate has just asked me to go out tomorrow am to a dealer (who only has a stock of 5 cars) to look at a 54 Sxi, 8k miles and is up for £3295 (first hit in Autotrader), and cheapest by a few hundred. It's for his 18yo who has just passed his test.
Worrying, only because my mate knows even less about cars and car buying than me - but he isn't expecting anything more than a second pair of eyes from me.
I can look around for obvious damage, I guess I should ask for an HPI report (or suggest he gets one), I'd ask for an MOT even though it's not due (Network Q happily did one on my Vectra recently)
But how can I tell a thrashed one, and given that his lad will probably thrash it anyway, how much does it really matter? Plus it has the remainder of 3 years Vauxhall warranty...
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>It's for his 18yo who has just passed his test.
Your mate has more money than sense. £750 is more than enough for an 18 y/o!
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The £3295 is for his insurance!!
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"Your mate has more money than sense. £750 is more than enough for an 18 y/o!"
My thoughts exactly. Especially given that by next week I will have shelled out more than £1400 on two separate and very minor incidents which my daughter has had in her Fiesta. And she's a reasonably careful driver (with moments of carelessness!)
Insurance looks like £1400 (TPFT) or £1700 (Fully Comp). Will remind my mate of that...
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Your mate has more money than sense. £750 is more than enough for an 18 y/o!
Uh? Surely it might be better to get something a bit nicer? My first car (when I was 19 IIRC) cost about £2000, I've had it for 3 years and it's still going strong. Even for that price the car wasn't in great condition.
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I'd imagine the usual checks like the tyre wear would be a good clue & the state of the bodywork for dings etc etc.
As for driving it check the suspension works properly, it doesn't lean over to one side all the time.
It's not that easy if it's been thrashed or not, but an HPI check would definately spot a write off.
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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Daughter #1 seems to have had mostly low-speed/parking issues in her 18 months of driving - three times in our fairly large yard/drive. The fourth was on her way down the lane/drive when she hit a fence post and broke the lower suspension arm, wrecked the wing etc. Just as well it was a 96 Punto. It now sits awaiting me to build up the motivation to fix it, and as punishment I replaced (she paid me back) it with £195 worth of 89 Nova.
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check the seam sealer hasnt split in front of the suspension turret local yokel they usually kink the chassis leg down here when they get bumped front corner bottom arm bent.
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Earlier this year I had a 1.2 "Twinport" Corsa as a courtesy car from my local dealer for a couple of days. It had less than a thousand miles on it.
It was good for pottering around town in and wasn't half bad on the motorway - obviously a bit raucous but zippy and economical all the same. Some of the interior plastics looked as though they'd scuff easily but it was well built with a not bad spec - alloys, air con and CD player. I'd certainly pick one over a Clio.
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What has also got me thinking is that there're more written off Corsas on ebay then there is of Fiestas in the same spec :-/
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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Well I spoke with some mates last night and with your and their help was all prepared to go and see this "too good be be true" beast. My mate duly arrived, but the advert was missing any address - despite being a "dealership" with a flash web page (although only 5 cars in stock...). Couldn't raise them on either (mobile) phone so tried 118 who couldn't locate the business. So we set off anyway, en route mate's son asks "what does CAT D mean?".
At that point I turned around and came back. I'm aware that Cat D isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the old saying "if it looks too good to be true then it probably is" sprang to mind.
They really have a major problem. The lad is hung up that this is the only car he wants (Corsa Sxi), his dad is a bit lethargic, and every one they have rung (except this one) is already sold. The lad said it is one of the most sought after Corsa's amongst his mates (alloys etc). I suggested a Fiesta or Seat Ibiza (for that is what my kids drive) to no avail.
Anyway, thanks to all for help, my mate and I were most grateful!
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So we set off anyway, en route mate's son asks "what does CAT D mean?". At that point I turned around and came back. I'm aware that Cat D isn't necessarily a bad thing,
From watching Wrecks to Riches on Discovery RealTime, IIRC they said that a Cat D car was only worth approx 2 thirds to ¾ of it's original pre accident value.
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And that was true, it was very cheap compared to similar (although maybe not quite as cheap as you suggest).
I think so long as you are a bit savvy and go into a CAT D knowing the risk etc then maybe it can work out well. But with my mate's lack of experience etc this one was best avoided... :-) Downside for me is that I will most likely be approached again to give opinions and view cars with him... :-(
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From reading your post smokie it does make a clearer picture of why there're more written off corsas of that range.
I think i might go for a Fiesta Zetec 1.4 if there're far & few between corsas that're in decent nick!! :-/
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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