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What were the issues with it? I had drive of a 15 plate 1.4 Punto and few weeks ago and apart from the low gearing, thought it drove surprisingly well. Mind you, it only had 5000 miles on the clock.
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The Getz is a fine and reliable car but as a fellow 6'2" I can say the front legroom is a bit restricted. I've driven many miles in swmbo car and it is just about tolerable for a couple of hours .
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Punto, Corsa and Clio.
A list to avoid if ever there was one.
Yaris + Jazz + just about anything far eastern is better and will serve you well compared to this collection of european-designed dross.
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Thanks again for the help and advice.
How about this?
www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20171012022...1
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Thanks again for the help and advice.
How about this?
www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20171012022...1
Looks like a sensible choice.
Don't see anything horrific in the MOT history. Mileage seems consistant every year (would suggest it's only had one previous owner, you would have to check that with the seller). Not an issue if it's had more than one.
In the event you are going to view:
- It says phone to make an appoinment, so make sure you say, you want to hear it start from cold.
- Try and take someone with you who has some knowledge about cars.
- Before starting it open the bonnet and check the fluid levels. Look for clean oil on the dip stick (on a petrol car it should not be jet black!). Look for it being close to the max mark. Remember to check the level, wipe the dip stick clean then re-dip. It's the reading on the 2nd dip that counts.
- Remove the radiator cap or the expansion tank cap (ONLY DO THIS IF THE ENGINE IS COLD, otherwise you'll cover yourself with boiling water). The water should be be the colour of the antifreeze (normally blue, pink or orange). If the water is rusty brown, walk away (the car has serious issues).
- Check the service history, you want to see receipts. A stamped service book is easily faked.
- See if there is a receipt for the cam belt change at 65000 miles.
Don't feel rushed, when looking over the car. I'm sure others will be along soon with advise.
Remember at this age and price point the warranty will hardly be worth the paper it's printed on. So satisfy yourself that the car is the one you want, before agreeing to buy.
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Some good advice above from FiestaOwner.
Rio looks a half decent car, just have a good poke nose underneath especially around the subframes and suspension whilst checking the car over to make sure things arn't rusting too badly.
Make sure the discs are in decent condition, so take a torch because not so easy to check through those sensible (far more practicle than alloy) steel wheels, and make sure the clutch feels decent, depending on previous ownership and use one might be on the cards in the next 25k, whilst the parts (good quality pattern) should be cheap i have no idea how easy the job is.
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Good advice above. These are generally robust little cars but not much joy to drive, not that this is a big worry at this money. Rot is your enemy here so get under it and look at the front crossmember and front and rear subframes all of which are prone to serious rot on these. Don’t rely on past Mot advisories flagging it up you need to look for yourself.
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You’ll find good and bad examples of all mass-produced cars, but for what it’s worth here is my experience of a 2003 Corsa 1.2 petrol that has just reached the end of its life at 136,000 miles. It was my Dad’s car and I inherited it when it was 2 years old with 11,000 miles on the clock when he finally went to the great car park in the sky. I took it on as a car for my 4 sons to share and they have been responsible for all the post-Dad miles. It still has the original clutch, but most other parts have been replaced. A persistent problem ever since we took it on is the heater blower, which has been replaced several times and now only works on the strongest setting. The fault which has dealt the final blow is water leaking through the bulkhead; it has somehow got into the ecu and completely messed up the electrics. The only solution is to put it in the hands of an auto electrician and there is no guarantee that he can get it working again.
In all the repairs it has had, I have never found parts expensive. It broke down twice, once with a blown head gasket and once with an oil leak which deposited the contents of the sump in a motorway service station car park. Would I recommend it as a car? For reliability, yes, in spite of all the faults it developed mainly towards the end of its life. For driveability, yes, in terms of safety rather than excitement factor. For economy, yes, as it would return 45 mpg on a long run. Vauxhalls often get a bad press, but I’ve owned 3 and they’ve been good cars to own and drive.
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You’ll find good and bad examples of all mass-produced cars, but for what it’s worth here is my experience of a 2003 Corsa 1.2 petrol that has just reached the end of its life at 136,000 miles. It was my Dad’s car and I inherited it when it was 2 years old with 11,000 miles on the clock when he finally went to the great car park in the sky. I took it on as a car for my 4 sons to share and they have been responsible for all the post-Dad miles. It still has the original clutch, but most other parts have been replaced. A persistent problem ever since we took it on is the heater blower, which has been replaced several times and now only works on the strongest setting. The fault which has dealt the final blow is water leaking through the bulkhead; it has somehow got into the ecu and completely messed up the electrics. The only solution is to put it in the hands of an auto electrician and there is no guarantee that he can get it working again. In all the repairs it has had, I have never found parts expensive. It broke down twice, once with a blown head gasket and once with an oil leak which deposited the contents of the sump in a motorway service station car park. Would I recommend it as a car? For reliability, yes, in spite of all the faults it developed mainly towards the end of its life. For driveability, yes, in terms of safety rather than excitement factor. For economy, yes, as it would return 45 mpg on a long run. Vauxhalls often get a bad press, but I’ve owned 3 and they’ve been good cars to own and drive.
Quite right, most cars of all makes don't experience anything more than minor problems every now and then, its just that some experience more than others, or that the lack of customer service that follows is rightly given lots of publicity.
I would say though that getting 45mpg on a long run using a 1.2 ltr petrol engine in a small car is nothing to write home about, in fact its quite poor for a car of that size and engine.
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I agree that the fuel economy was not spectacular but it was a 2003 vehicle. I get almost the same economy from a modern 2 litre turbo petrol engine - and significantly better performance. I think that in its time 45 mpg would have been respectable.
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Your previous post reminds me. I'd forgotten that ours also had a head gasket failure when our son had it. I note that your overall Corsa experience and view are more positive than mine. Maybe the Corsa C is better put together than our D?
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