As car owners go, my eldest is what you might call benevolently indifferent but not seriously neglectful. What advice do I give to make his recent purchase a lasting goer. For this purpose, assume he is of the 'if it makes a funny noise, turn the radio up' school of motor ownership.
He has bought a K reg 1.5 diesel corsa. One owner, FSH, 80k miles mainly motorway and (get this HJ) oil change every six months from new.
There is little chance it will be looked after quite like its previous owner. It will be properly serviced, but what are the basic essentials please, particularly to begin with, to ensure as far as possible a useful and lasting workhorse. He will probably do about 12K mainly A and B road driving to, from, and relating to work.
Cheers and thanks in advance Colin S
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Regular (every 5,000 miles or 6 months, whichever sooner) oil and filter changes, coupled with regular use. If the regular use is very short trips, a weekly longer run to clear out the engine should help.
If he thinks that not changing the oil will save him cash, remind him that a change at a fast fit place will cost him under £20 (0.4p per mile) and will largely prevent mechanical failure. Additionally, as HJ repeats time and again, it means that every 6 months or so a mechanic is under the car and hopefully able to spot the chafed brake hose that's about to split.
Hope this helps,
V
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And, if it hasn\'t been done within the last 3 years or 30,000 miles, change the cambelt. There\'s no point in looking after the car and then having the cambelt take out the whole engine, no matter how fresh the oil is. If you don\'t know when it was last done, do it anyway. It\'ll cost you £100 or so in parts and labour (maybe more, if it\'s a pink fluffy dice to get to or you live in an expensive part of the country) but think of it as insurance.
Also, find a cheap, reputable garage that can talk to you knowledgeably about the car and use them regularly. A car that age doesn\'t need the main dealer or OEM parts, but finding someone who knows what they\'re dealing with will save you money in the long run. Having said that, the main dealers\' fast fit places (Masterfit for Vauxhall) and the like may actually offer a good deal where routine maintenance is concerned.
I agree completely with the maintenance thing - it is possible to kill a low mileage, 18 month year old Corsa in 1 year and 25,000 miles by neglect. I\'ve seen it done. A £6k (expensive, I know), 22,000 mile Corsa bought by a mate of mine was sold for £2,000 after a year, rusty, running rough, and looking generally tatty.
By looking after the car - washing it, driving it gently, and maintaining it regularly - you should get another 100,000 miles (or more likely, 3 to 5 years) out of the car without any problems. Maybe more.
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Vin and David HM. What extremely thorough and helpful responses.Gratitude and thanks for taking the trouble, especially as it's all comprehensible to a two thumber.
Best wishes Colin S
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"..chafed brake hose that's about to split"
As spotted by my MOT man last week. I'm reasonably vigilant about this sort of thing, but he spotted it and I didn't.
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