Vauxhall Corsa C SXi
Discussion
I was tasked with finding a car for a new driver in the family, with the criteria being: reliable, cheap to insure, manual, and green. I like Fiestas, but they tend to rust and are usually more expensive to insure. The Clio CB (2nd gen facelift, or phase 2 or whatever people call it) and the Corsas B & C seemed to keep really well. I rarely see a rusty one. After browsing online I realised it was harder to find a good, cheap, Clio than a Corsa - perhaps down to a higher percentage of older folks with Corsas than Clios, and hence looked after a little better.
The Corsa seems to be the vermin of the car world. Ubiquitous, undesirable, and cheap. I found a Corsa C 1.2 SXi in a rank green colour. 53k miles, no rust, and it drove really very well. I paid £800 for it which seemed like good value. It had iffy paint on the O/S/R quarter but given it would probably end up crashed anyway, that wasn't a concern. Mechanically it was excellent.
I must say after driving it home I've completely changed my opinion: what a good little car it is. This is probably the most under-rated car I've ever driven. It isn't a great car, but it's just very good - the shell is really stiff and overall it's pleasant to chuck around. My Mum has a low mileage Sport Clio, the phase 2, and whilst faster, it isn't as nice in the handling or gear change department, plus it's full of rattles. The Corsa feels like a step up in mechanical quality - much more solid.
I wanted to tidy up the car before handing it over. The first step was to address the paint; Corsa paint seems to oxidise heavily. The plastic trim was also sun faded.
I tried some fancy detailing products with the DA, but in the end found that good old G3 with a Rupes blue microfibre (coarse) pad worked really well. I finished with Autogylm and the DA.
Next stop: headlights. These were very yellow.
2000 wet and dry followed by G3 then Autogym did the trick.
The glue on the side repeaters had failed, so the lenses were cleaned up and expoxied back on.
The gear and handbrake gaiters are vinyl. It's common for them to wear out so I bought some aftermarket leather versions.
I found some genuine mats to tidy up the interior.
Full service and replacement of leaky CV boots. I also replaced the perished roof aerial gasket.
Here is the finished result. This was my first time working on a GM product. Some of the packaging and maintenance design is a little strange: access to certain things is not as straightforward as with a Ford, but overall I think the balance of quality vs (original) price is very good.
The final total was around £1000. In my opinion this represented fantastic value for money. The recipient was also very pleased with it.
The Corsa seems to be the vermin of the car world. Ubiquitous, undesirable, and cheap. I found a Corsa C 1.2 SXi in a rank green colour. 53k miles, no rust, and it drove really very well. I paid £800 for it which seemed like good value. It had iffy paint on the O/S/R quarter but given it would probably end up crashed anyway, that wasn't a concern. Mechanically it was excellent.
I must say after driving it home I've completely changed my opinion: what a good little car it is. This is probably the most under-rated car I've ever driven. It isn't a great car, but it's just very good - the shell is really stiff and overall it's pleasant to chuck around. My Mum has a low mileage Sport Clio, the phase 2, and whilst faster, it isn't as nice in the handling or gear change department, plus it's full of rattles. The Corsa feels like a step up in mechanical quality - much more solid.
I wanted to tidy up the car before handing it over. The first step was to address the paint; Corsa paint seems to oxidise heavily. The plastic trim was also sun faded.
I tried some fancy detailing products with the DA, but in the end found that good old G3 with a Rupes blue microfibre (coarse) pad worked really well. I finished with Autogylm and the DA.
Next stop: headlights. These were very yellow.
2000 wet and dry followed by G3 then Autogym did the trick.
The glue on the side repeaters had failed, so the lenses were cleaned up and expoxied back on.
The gear and handbrake gaiters are vinyl. It's common for them to wear out so I bought some aftermarket leather versions.
I found some genuine mats to tidy up the interior.
Full service and replacement of leaky CV boots. I also replaced the perished roof aerial gasket.
Here is the finished result. This was my first time working on a GM product. Some of the packaging and maintenance design is a little strange: access to certain things is not as straightforward as with a Ford, but overall I think the balance of quality vs (original) price is very good.
The final total was around £1000. In my opinion this represented fantastic value for money. The recipient was also very pleased with it.
That's a superb job; the car looks fantastic now 
Our youngest niece is just on this journey; her sister has a Fiesta and it doesn't get used as she's at uni, but that'll change this June when she's back after her final year and then she'll be using it for work (specialised nursing)
So I've been tasked to sort a car for the niece'let with a £1500 budget and the Corsa is the first car that sprang to mind!
Our youngest niece is just on this journey; her sister has a Fiesta and it doesn't get used as she's at uni, but that'll change this June when she's back after her final year and then she'll be using it for work (specialised nursing)
So I've been tasked to sort a car for the niece'let with a £1500 budget and the Corsa is the first car that sprang to mind!
Hope the new driver is happy with their first car!I'm biased, as I own a Corsa C, have done for 11 years. The reason Clios are rarer is because they're crashed more often. I've owned one of those too, and joined the facebook groups. Clios get written off every week, the back ends just seem to let go on occasion.
I love Corsas though. As a detailer, they're so much easier to tart up than Fiestas, Polos, Clios etc. And honestly I think they stand up to abuse better than the rest as well. The reputation for being the worst of the s***boxes is kinda unfair I think. As long as the oil is changed regularly, they kinda just won't die.
I love Corsas though. As a detailer, they're so much easier to tart up than Fiestas, Polos, Clios etc. And honestly I think they stand up to abuse better than the rest as well. The reputation for being the worst of the s***boxes is kinda unfair I think. As long as the oil is changed regularly, they kinda just won't die.
I think this looks smashing and will be a great little run around. 2 of my early cars were corsa, the older one than this 1.4 and 1.5d and they were brilliant fun. The grunt in the 1.5 was brilliant. This 1.2 is a 4 cylinder isn't it? Part of me is surprised there are many of these still around in one sense the world has changed so much. What year is it?
Good story.
Good story.
Edited by White-Noise on Wednesday 10th April 19:34
They're cracking first cars, our eldest had an identical spec & colour car when he first hit the road. The tin worms had a bit of a munch below the battery, & the gear linkage mechanism failed, both easy fixes. A service, a clean & a tidy up, he then took it around the continent with a couple of mates, no fuss, no drama, & eventually moved it on for what he paid for it. That's how memories are made 
Great effort Mark, looks like a smart buy that.
This actually takes me back. My first car at 17 was a 1.0 Corsa C in Aruba blue; a povvo spec car in the most basic “Club” trim. I then spent most of my Saturday job wages modifying it; including upgrading it to “SXi” spec using genuine parts lol!
Naturally, it had zero grunt to it. Literally couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding, but the 3 cylinder engine did at least sound good when revved out. I too found it solid in the handling department. My one weighed next to nothing having manual windows, manual mirrors no aircon etc. And coupled with skinny tyres meant it was just so much fun to drive on the limit as any silly 17yo would! Those were the days.
BTW that colour is called “Space green”.
This actually takes me back. My first car at 17 was a 1.0 Corsa C in Aruba blue; a povvo spec car in the most basic “Club” trim. I then spent most of my Saturday job wages modifying it; including upgrading it to “SXi” spec using genuine parts lol!
Naturally, it had zero grunt to it. Literally couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding, but the 3 cylinder engine did at least sound good when revved out. I too found it solid in the handling department. My one weighed next to nothing having manual windows, manual mirrors no aircon etc. And coupled with skinny tyres meant it was just so much fun to drive on the limit as any silly 17yo would! Those were the days.
BTW that colour is called “Space green”.
I don't know why my soft spot for Corsa's peaked at the Corsa C but I reckon it was due to friends owning them nearly new when I was a doing my driving lessons and being driven around in them in what felt like a little go kart at the time. The Corsa D that followed I had as rental cars through work and always felt slow and lethargic and never quite got my curiosity going like the Corsa C.
Nice to see one restored and ready for a new driver. I'll be honest it's been a while since I've seen one on the road!
Nice to see one restored and ready for a new driver. I'll be honest it's been a while since I've seen one on the road!
my third car was a 1.8 SRI equivalent at the ripe old age of 18, loved that thing!Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff