Only with my current car have I spent a bit more money but before this I've always driven cars that have cost less than £1500 and never had any problems (honest!)
I've always been willing to travel up to 80 odd miles though
Chris.
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I know of someone with a Subaru Justy P-reg in totally mint condition and 15 000 miles and full history that are casually looking to offload it due to a death in the family. They only want £1600.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>i had one of these same year about 4 years ago,its a 1300 4 wheel drive and it was a stonking car that i couldnt usnstick on the country roads near me,unfortunately nobody wanted it and on the 3rd week in autotrader some boyo came from fields afar kicked me proper hard and drove it away
it was group 10 insurance back then ,goodness knows what it is now,oh and they rot bad underneath because they were usually bought to go up rut tracks and so get a battering
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Just bought a new car, a 1999 V plate Corsa B mid spec with all the electrics and the steering feels right light for an EPS unit. Has ABS too. It has the Suzuki 1.2 16v engine which is brilliant as its chain cam but also cheap to insure. It is completly rust free, a lot more original than my old one. I am the third owner.
I didn't want to mention it but since there is a post mentioning I thought I may as well.
It was not my first choice of car but I probably spent at least £100 just going to see cars and possible lost a job too.
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Rattle
Hurrah!
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It was expensive at £1150 but cars are at the moment it was the fact its clearly never been welded and this guy was the second owner and has had since 2004 which sold it to me.
There is a minor scratch on it but other than it must be one of the best 1999 Corsas out there in terms of bodywork condition.
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Is it a Suzuki engine? HJ only mentions the 1.0 12v being a Suzuki unit in the CBC.
Glad you settled on a car anyway, good luck.
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Either way its the 1.2 16v unit :). I always hated the 1.0 Corsa. Btw the some odd reason the insurance is very cheap on this, I think as its the 5 door its not the chav type.
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Well ive not heard anything bad about the 1.2, small enuf to get u going but slow enuf to keep insurance down - i expect low insurance is due to repair costs more than anything with them.
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Great! A run out at the weekend Rattle?
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Did about 5 miles in it tonight it is very very different to drive than the Fiesta so it will take some getting used to but I think I am going to get on much better with power steering!
Got a few errends to run over the weekend :).
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Bye bye, Rattle. We will miss you now that your life is complete.
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good cars these
i dont like how they drive on the motorway with the electric steering mind
i can now fix these when they go faulty though
make sure it has an oil and filter and the antifreeze is red and up to spec
only other downer on these is handbrake cables and maf sensers go off
keep up to it and you will get good years out of it
well done, sounds a nice gls with 3 rear headrests and group 1 insurance to boot
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Its not the 3 cylinder one for 1.2 16v so its 75bhp group 4 but its still very cheap. Insurance is £55 a month fully comp it does need a good service but it seems ok. All the warning lights work so far nothing come on so thats a good sign.
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I would wipe a little grease on the brake lines...
(I`m getting predictable...;-(
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and slap some gease on the fuel tank as they come bare from vauxhall
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sorry fowl post
i meant grease
lightning
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"it does need a good service"
`My Mechanic` has probably been surviving on old bread crusts since you sold the Ford rustbucket...... ;-)
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its ok, soon we will hear ' theres this noise coming from the widget under....'
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Not on here anyway, I think we've all had enough of that!
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Never! Let`s hear about it in detail as time goes by.
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Never! Let`s hear about it in detail as time goes by.
I agree. Up to a point anyway...
:o}
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Of course you should, I know we take the mickey a bit but it often makes good reading and Im not really allowed to post about any of my own car related issues or I get our resident cross-examiners jump on me, so I need something else to do :-)
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>>i can now fix these when they go faulty though
Spill the beans please BB. I'm sure I'm not the only one willing to learn.
Does it work on Fiats too?
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Sadly I just had to fit its first new part tonight....
When I drove it before I probably shouldn't have done as I had been out for 9 hours at this point doing jobs and some how buying a car inbetween (which took 2 and a half hours) I felt fine when I drove it but I was obviously tired. I went to fill it up with some petrol and well you can guess what happened.
At around 9:45 I just remembered I I did not remember going through the motion of putting the cap back on so I checked it and I hadn't! Just been out to a very expensive petrol station and got a new cap for £4.50.
Luckily I had only put £5 in it as I don't want to jinx things. I also discovered a neat feature which locks the outside petrol flap if the doors are locked.
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Glad you found a car, Rattle. Enjoy it, and drive safe!
Cheers
DP
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sorry to dampen the party but are you sure it has ABS? ive had a quick look on autotrader and not a single 1999 corsa has ABS. still good luck!
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The autofill on ebay said it did but I was wondering this myself as there dosn't appear to be any ABS warning light. It was the autofill thing so its ebays fault still I suppose technicaly I could go mad with the seller but all the cars I have had in the past have not had ABS so it should not be an issue.
Ted hehe I know there will be problems with it but the bodywork is in such good condition its probably worth spending the money. I have every single MOT since 2002 (its first one) and if the history is complete the only ever time its failed an MOT was the last one which failed on handbrake and a stop light. My last car seemed to have majorly failed its MOT every single year.
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Party at Rattle's tomorrow night ! Bring a bottle...T Cut, Antifreeze, Oil, anything.
E Mail me for his address.
Congratulations, Lad, you're off and rolling. Keep the shiny side up !
Ted
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Thats the sad thing now I am driver I can't drink so much on saturday nights! Edit by that comment I mean because I may still be over the limit the next day.
I do plan to T-CUT it in when the weather gets nicer.
Edited by Rattle on 27/03/2009 at 23:11
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before he risks losing his driving skills through lack of practice
I'm saying nothing...... ;-)
Well done Rattle, I hope you and the Corsa get on well for years to come. I've not contributed to any of your car-finding threads before, but by gum I've read them all.
Dave TD.
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What really annoys me is that I missed the great news until now. Fancy sitting watching Coronation Street when momentous things are happening. I shall always remember where I was when I heard the news.
Seriously though, well done Rattle I hope it goes well for you.
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Well done Rattle, that makes two of us buying new cars this week! Hope you have less hassle woth the new one.
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Rattle: like everyone else I am pleased you have found a nice car. But if you have already replaced the fuel filler cap, make sure it seals properly as modern cars have pressurised fuel tanks. They run with a non-sealing cap, but not properly.
Don't keep leaving bits of it behind!
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Just had the first repair done today for free, when in traffic I was noticing it was quite hard to drive and I mentioned this to a customer as he knew it was a new car and ask if it was ok. He runs a break down company and said he would adjust the clutch for me, turns out there was a bolt missing on the cable tensioner so its much easier to drive now. All I have to do is fit some RAM to his laptop for free.
The cap was one of them Metro cap things cost me a fiver :( it seems to run ok but the air filter, plugs etc all need doing but if it becomes an issue I suppose I will have to be buy a GM one :(.
Been surprised just how much I have used it today.
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Why not call the garage you left the original filler cap at?
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Cool bit of techno-barter with the clutch there Rattle, keep it up!
The cap doesn't necessarily have to be GM as long as it seals the end of the filler pipe. There should be a flat slightly squidgy washer under the cap that is squeezed down on the end of the pipe when the cap is screwed in.
When I first got my Ford it had one of those awful garage forecourt plastic bungs that don't seal at all. I got an aftermarket locking cap that didn't seal tightly enough, but a bit of cobbling with a thicker washer cured that. The running was transformed.
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When I was a student I was loaned my fathers Ford for a trip out to Blackpool. Naturally, I just used the Ford key on my bike keyring that I kept there for moving it around the drive.
On arrival at a filling station in Blackpool with an empty tank I found the filler cap key was different. A crowbar was produced by the lad behind the counter and it popped straight off - to be replaced by a bung type for the trip home.
I was thinking of sparks when I did it - but it seemed routine to the attendant.
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Cool bit of techno-barter with the clutch there Rattle keep it up!
Thats ruined many a (tax fetishist) politicians weekend ....well spotted Lud and good going Rattle.
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It seems to be running fine atm but I will ask about the cap when I get the service done.
Quick and bad picture here
tinyurl.com/dgfah7
The inside is very cheap and GM but it has a lot of nice things like electric wondows and mirrors. I am finding it a not nicer to drive than my old one as everything is a lot more responsive.
Also I know its early days but it seems very good on fuel.
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By Jove! That's a Corsa, isn't it?
:o}
... sorry Rattle. Very spruce. Keep it like that without eating your heart out.
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Yep its in very good condition for its age. A few scratches and the usual age related stuff but it dosn't feel like a banger to drive, it feels like an older car, my Fiesta felt like a banger.
After my 30 mile run today I was very happy with the way it drove considering Corsa B's were enver drivers car.
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its a corsa club
should be group 2/3 insurance
nice car
best colour
get it in the trader at £1695
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A bit of Autoglym Bumper Care on those grey (or should they be black) mouldings will smarten it up no end.
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I paid £1150 for it which was a little over priced considering it is in good need of a full service but the seller would not budge.
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A bit of Autoglym Bumper Care on those grey (or should they be black) mouldings will smarten it up no end.
To return them back to black, you need to waft a heat gun over them.
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Good lord! Well done! (I'm a bit miffed, what will I read all day?)
Just a small point, but you should straighten the steering wheels before parking the car (unless parking on a slope, of couse). Otherwise a passing car might hit the wheels and then you'll be looking at some serious damage.
Nice looking shopping trolley, BTW. My (soon to be ex) '99 Vectra has rust appearing around a wheel arch, in the bit designed to collect mud. Make sure you clean it out regularly.
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Yeah it was the first time I've ever parked it though, I do make sure its straight usualy. I usualy park itside our our house but is this old Fiesta stuck there atm as it won't start :(.
A shopping trolly really is what I intend to use it for. If the engine seems ok in the summer I might put some rust protection inside the wheel arches and on the bottom of the sills just to help it.
Driving wise its fine, these Corsas get slated by the press but I am getting nearly 50mpg out of it despite it being on 80k its nice to drive, the gearbox is nothing like as vague as the ones I remember from my learning days. It is a lot nicer than the 1.0 3 pot Corsa but it but uses hardly any more fuel and is no more expensive to insure.
It has done 80k and it has a few oil changes but it is well over due now but that milleage is mostly motorway and the fact the pedals still feel really tight and hardly any wear on the rubber confirms that.
I plan to take it up to 90k providing I don't have any accidents or anything major goes with it, that means it would still be worth something but if it turns out to be a good car I may keep it longer depending if I get bored or not.
Having a full service done on Wednesday, I need to buy a new spare tyre too but its nice to hav e a car where I am planning a summer project of a big T-CUT rather than cutting bits of bodywork out and filling them with filler.
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planning a summer project of a big T-CUT
For heaven's sake put some miles on the damn thing Rattle. Have a look at Land's End, John O'Groats, Ipswich and Haverfordwest. Nip down to Spain.
Its cosmetics are entirely respectable and unless you are going to get a special paint finish and keep it detailed you can just put some polish on and forget it. Oil, filters, other fluids (does the 'full service' include brake fluid change? Hardly anyone ever does that but you're supposed to) and any necessary adjustments are important though. Once those are done you can range far and wide. It's what cars are for.
Check tyre pressures frequently until you get a feel for how quickly they lose pressure (they vary). I keep mine at the high speed/heavy load pressures which give sharper handling and better economy.
Do give me a call if you are inside the M25. I look forward to hearing your discourse after a couple of Leffes.
:o}
Edited by Lud on 30/03/2009 at 17:26
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I will ask for the brake fluid to be changed :). Is that something I can do myself or does it involve the dreaded bleeding?
One of the tyres is 10 years old (was a spare) so need to replace this and revert this back to the spare and once all that is sorted and I know the brakes are ok hopefully I will have the confidence to go long distances.
It has 12 months MOT from a reputable garage so I can't imagine much needs doing with the brakes/suspension side of things.
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It does involve the dreaded bleeding. But garages have a device that makes it fairly quick for them.
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Just "bleeding" drive it Rattle and enjoy it.............. Please !
;-)
Edited by Humph Backbridge on 30/03/2009 at 17:37
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Bleeing brakes is a doddle. If there's no ABS you cannot possibly go wrong.
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Thanks. I think in June there is a trip organised to Anglesey and my mate has a 15 year old Fiesta which is on its last legs (I was offered it for £100 and said no) so it looks like we will be going in my car and exploring a lot of Wales. I won't be doing all the driving but I will get my mate some temp insurance.
We will probably do at least 400 miles in that week. The campsite is 117 miles away from my house.
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If there's no ABS you cannot possibly go wrong.
Beg to differ Mm in practice, although I agree it's straightforward enough in principle. Bleed nipples can shear or break off if corroded and overtightened, and that when you are unlucky can mean a new caliper or brake cylinder. Apart from that, unless the fluid has been standing for some time it may contain microscopic air bubbles that have to be bled out repeatedly, and it can be easy to introduce air in other ways too.
Finally, unless the person pressing the brake pedal when you are nippling away in the filth under the car understands what's going on they can inadvertently torpedo the operation.
I must say if you've always found it a doddle you have been jolly lucky.
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Perhaps I have (a little bit of ignorance is a dangerous thing...)
One-man self-bleeding kits, though Lud? No need for a helper...
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Bleeing brakes is a doddle. If there's no ABS you cannot possibly go wrong.
mmmm ..like Lud says,plenty of scope for going pear shaped these days, see recent example :-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=73520
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I agree. If that pic is any indicator, you have just bought one of the cleanest V-reg Corsas I've ever seen.
Get the oil changed if it's overdue, then get out there and enjoy the thing. A few long runs will work wonders for your confidence, and will help keep the engine in tip top condition as it gets the oil properly hot, and boils off any condensation.
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Interesting. There are several Corsas on autotrader HALF the age of Rattle's for only a few hundred pounds more.
Newish (higher mileage) cars are amazingly cheap. Old cars are amazingly expensive.
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Yeah but usualy when you see them you see why they are so cheap. It is often something obvious when you see it int he flesh. Trust me I have seen so many smaller cars lately and the cars look great on the pictures when you go and see them you discover missing VIN plates, obvious problems with the engine etc. For £2k I could have got something a lot newer and better value for money but I would have had no money for repairs or anything.
I knew the price I was paying for this was on the high side. Also small cars are always expensive in Manchester because of high demand. The total cost of charge between this and my Fiesta was around £500-600.
I don't think I got a bargain I tried to knock him down but I am not an actor. I certainly have not been ripped off either, I can't find any rust on it anywhere just a little bubble on the slam panal but I've seen that on much newer cars.
People seem to still want around £600-£700 for old P reg base spec Corsas it is always the way with cars.
It is why I didn't buy a Focus as I could have afforded £2k but I would have been badly skint and would end up worrying about money. The Focus would have been a 2000 one for that price so only a year newer plus insurance and tax would be more. With this I can save up for that newer car which I will keep for years. I found with Focuses £3k is where it starts which was well out of my budget.
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>>People seem to still want around £600-£700 for old P reg base spec Corsas it is always the way with cars.
Funny market, isn't it. [Puts tin hat on for making sweeping over-generalisations, by attempting to put a value on all cars in two sentences, but sticks neck out all the same.] For ordinary cars - Fords, Vauxhalls etc, cars between 10 and 5 years old all seem to be available at pretty much about the same - 1-2k for a big car, 2-3k for a small car. Then they go up to 50% of original cost at about 1-2 years old.
Over 10 years old, (maybe 12-14 for small cars) they are valued in the traditional way, at scrap value add £20-£50 per remaining month of MOT less immediate repair costs (necessary new tyres etc).
The £50 top end is much higher than it has been for years. (But that is the value of the P-reg Corsa Rattle mentions.)
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For ordinary cars - Fords Vauxhalls etc cars between 10 and 5 years old all seem to be available at pretty much about the same - 1-2k for a big car 2-3k for a small car.
Yes, my bangernomics Omegas / Vectras tend to cost less than poorly equipped Corsas of the same vintage. Presumably prices at this end of teh market are driven more by youngsters looking for cheap to insure cars than bangernomics oldies like me.
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But keep one eye on the speedo in North Wales.
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If there's no ABS you cannot possibly go wrong.
Master cylinder failure on Vauxhalls which are having their braking systems worked on is not unheard of. For this, and the reasons mentioned by Lud, this isn't a task I would be encouraging Rattle to have a go at.
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Madux yep I plan to research all the speed limits down the A55 before I set off and I will also bring my satnav which should be able to cope with the A55.
My uncle does the journey from Conwy to Manchester every week and so far as a clean licence so I will also ask him about the speed limits.
However I will use the old fashioned method of looking out for speed signs too, the sat nav is just a backup.
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There are speed limit signs on the road Rattle. In any case on most roads your speed will be governed by other traffic to one depressingly far below the limit. On the other hand if everyone is driving over the limit it's a safe bet that you can too. There is no need whatsoever for any advance research. Just use your eyes when you are driving and take your cue from the mainstream of the other traffic.
Do not, I beg, drive around trying to peer at a satnav.
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