First Car Help

[Carl Gillespie]

Hi im carl, i'll be 17 soon and this is my first post.

I am currently looking for my first car.

I have came across a 2000 corsa b club 1.2 16v with a service history and 55000 miles. It is black and has a factory spoiler and alloys and the car is going to recieve a full service before i get it. the best bit, i think, is that the guy is looking £1200 for it.

What should i look out for when viewing the car and also do you reckon this is a fair price??

Your replies are appreciated.

Cheers

[nitrous6293]

welcome to the site.
cant really say what to look out for when buying a corsa cos mine was a gift.
all i can tell u is whats gone wrong with mine and what ive been told are problems with corsas.
the first thing that comes to mind is the air flow meter. mines gone and i still havent got around to fixing it yet.
ive been told aswell that these are big problems on corsas.
a couple of months back aswell my engine management light was on and when the guy came with the diagnostics tool he said that the main things that come up are the egr valve and the idle speed regulator(both of the things that where wrong with mine!!)
easy enough to fix though
as for that i cant think of anything else to tell you.
a corsa is a great car to work on cos its so easy to get parts and easy to do the stuff yourself.
where abouts are you from anyway?

great cars to learn with, im only seventeen and ive learnt poo loads from messing about with my corsa.
theres some great guys on here that will give you better advice but im just telling u what ive been told really.

see ya
nitrous6293

[Carl Gillespie]

Cheers for the advice mate.

Im from Northern Ireland, about 10 miles north east of belfast.

I have heard of problems with head gaskets and Mass Air Flow metres along with other sensor problems.

Are MAF thingys expensive to replace??

Also what type of sensors should i look out for and are they also very expensive to replace?

Your replies are appreciated.

Cheers

[Octane2097]

only major things that go are the sensors
had my 1.0i for 2 years only things i needed to replace was the crank sensor (£20) the offside rear spring (£35) and a radiator (£60)
and 1 thing that seems to come off on all modles are the CV boots the standard clip on them are well pretty rubbish, easly fixed with a strong tie wrap
the 1.0i and 1.2i engines wer exacly the same (apart from the obvious size)

£1200 sounds like a bargin for that pal. but check the obvious
make sure all the gizmos work, if its got electric windows and sunroof make sure they work
i belive the club has aircon too make sure that works
probably wont cost you much to fix but mayebe you could knock a few quid off the price
same as any marks or rips or stains on seats or doorcards again probably get some money off

check the peadles for wear too obvious sign that the milage is incorrect, check all the documents make sure the milage on service history matches no sudden gaps,

MAFs are not that expensive depending where you look, wouldnt pay more than £50-60 but check ebay seen them as cheap as £35 and yes they seem to go faulty alot
not sure on headgaskets never heard of one going on a corsa b
checked on parkers buyers guide they advise to check:

Car check problem points

Body: Defective door hinges (early cars); poor paintwork or rust (early cars).

Engine/Gearbox: Starting problems or cutting out on early 1.4 16v models; clutch wear/slip on high mileage cars.

Other: Heavy front tyre wear; worn brakes; tired suspension; minor electrical problems; tatty interior trim.

hope this helps pal

[matt1.2]

Another place to look is under the car in front of the rear wheels and rear suspension beam, thats a good place for rust. But you'll have to get your head right under the car.

[Octane2097]

yea good point,
the later corsa modles 97 onwads do resist rust quite well but still worth a look the rear beam is an old fave for rush

[Carl Gillespie]

Thank you all so much for the help.

My dad had a 96 corsa 1.2 premier for like 6 years and no problems with it at all in 70000 miles - except for the head gasket and sqeaky door hinges.

If the rear beam is rusted is that an expensive fix??

Also how do you detect if the MAF is going??

Again, a big thank you for all the replies.

[matt1.2]

not so much the beam these aren't such a problem, more the floor just in front of the forward mounts.

[Carl Gillespie]

Happy days.

With any luck, i'l get a look at it soon, because i cant get down to view the car because of my dads work shifts.

Fingers crossed...

[Carl Gillespie]

Well i have an update on the corsa.

I went to view the car today by myself on the way home from college.

As i happens the car is actually a 1.0 12v club, the dealer mis-read the badge on the back. Whoops.

However, the interior is immaculate with no age related marks or tears at all and is very clean.

As for the exterior apart from the missing alloy wheel centre hubs the exterior is very tidy - apart from where some idiot has keyed it down the rear 3/4 panel from the petrol cap to the front door. This has been repaired although it has been done poorly and will need to be polished down as the repair has been done with a touch up stick.

The car runs well with all the warning lights going on then off a few seconds later, no rattles and no mayo gunk around the oil cap, but one thing i do have to comment on is the fact that the car vibrates alot when idiling.

I just wanted to ask is this normal or is it something i should be alarmed about??

AS usual your replies are appreciated.

[psycho657]

the 1.0 12v does vibrate a bit more than a a 1.2/1.4/1.6 cos the 1.0 only has 3 cylinders instead of 4,the 12v 1.0 engine is pretty strong, ive done bout 24000 miles in the last 15 months, pretty much ragged the little ladys socks off and its been pretty sound, 1 thing with the 1.0 the exhaust manifolds crack, which u can tell by cos it sounds like its blowin from near the engine, the afm will go and is quite expensive but theres plenty of places to get it done cheaper, and apart from that everythin else that goes wrong with is pretty easy to fix. good choice in buying a corsa.