buying an Opel corsa OPC

cojomo2

I've decided on one of these..I do very little driving and was torn between buying the likes of an Astra OPC/Audi TT or similar or just putting my dreams on hold and getting an economical cheap car like a getz etc for the moment until finances improve.

I think the corsa is a good compromise...its exciting and doesn't break the bank either.

Is there anything I need to look out for? One example I looked at had no service history but I did my homework on it and it was serviced 11kms, 27kms and 40kms..and isnt yet due it's next service...sound good? Price is too high on this one so will probably move on to the next if we can't agree on a price.

I have heard the radiators give trouble on them around 60k kms.. anything else I should be aware of?

Thanks

cojomo2

Can anyone with experience of this car confirm what its like on fuel? After doing a bit of reading up on the vxr forums i see a few people mention that there is no difference in petrol consumption between the corsa and astra opc..despite the official mpg figures.

Does anyone here have any real experience if these cars? Thanks

Atomic Pineapple

kev_longshanks on here used to own one, maybe give him a PM to see if he can give you some pointers?

Ardennes1944

i asked kev myself what it was like before and this is the reply i got:


Hey dude,

Yeah I had a corsa opc for 3.5 years before I got offered a job in Sydney that I couldn't refuse. Unfortunately the car couldn't come too!

It cost €28k for it new in Jan 2008 (I didn't pay full price as I traded in a 2006 astra).

Bad points:
Rear bearings are a know issue. I covered 70k of KM's in mine and the bearings were rear bearings were replaces twice. 1st set were under warranty as the car was less than 2 years old. I paid for 2nd set myself. Approx €250

Radiator
The styling of the front bumper had big openings. Looks class but big holes mean the Radiator is more likely to get hit with stones. I found a blue puddle under the car one morning and knew straight away something was up. It was 3 years old at this stage and opel met me 1/2 way on the price of the replacement. Cost me approx €220

Good points

^ The feeling everytime I drove it. I NEVER got bored of it. It was unique on the road and very powerful. 192bhp for a tiny wee hatch = awesome.
You read about tourque steer in OPC's but the corsa has none. Its also got the best seats as standard this side of a lambo. Seriously!

All in all, i miss my wee car and if i ever get the chance again (ie if I ever move back to Ireland) I'll definitely think about getting another.

If you get one (arden blue FTW) then you'll not regret it.

Mine averaged 29 MPG over the course of a week. Not great but a 2.0 petrol mondeo wouldn't match it
__________________

cojomo2

PM sent, thanks guys.

Ardennes..did you end up buying one yourself or what did you go for.

29mpg in the real world on the corsa so, would that be in line, or even worse than a mkv gti ?

Ardennes1944

i ended up keeping my astra h sri. the corsa is just a little too rich for me budget wise.
regarding the mpg....if your tootling along nice and handy, a 1.6 turbo'd engine isnt gonna be that bad on mpg. i would expect it to get mid 30's. but as with the vrs tfsi, golf gti (same engine) and the corsa opc, its gonna be very difficult to drive them slowly once you feel the boost:D
the 2.0 gti engine is very economical for the size and turbo and puts the astra opc mpg to shame. a remap on the gti/vrs would bring it to 240bhp easily without any mods.
as with my astra, i would expect the gearing ratios to be very close in the corsa making it feel much faster than it is

Henry Ford III

It's a relatively high performance car - a light vehicle with almost 200bhp.

If fuel economy is a priority high on your list OP then such a car might not suit.

cojomo2

Ardennes1944 wrote: »

i ended up keeping my astra h sri. the corsa is just a little too rich for me budget wise.
regarding the mpg....if your tootling along nice and handy, a 1.6 turbo'd engine isnt gonna be that bad on mpg. i would expect it to get mid 30's. but as with the vrs tfsi, golf gti (same engine) and the corsa opc, its gonna be very difficult to drive them slowly once you feel the boost:D
the 2.0 gti engine is very economical for the size and turbo and puts the astra opc mpg to shame. a remap on the gti/vrs would bring it to 240bhp easily without any mods.
as with my astra, i would expect the gearing ratios to be very close in the corsa making it feel much faster than it is

Thanks Ardennes. Yeah I have 1st hand experience of the gti- sold mine last week. I was happy enough with the mpg, was hoping it would be a little better with the corsa opc. I am aware that the astra opc has silly MPG but alarm bells started ringing when I read online on the vrx forums that lads were saying in real life, there is no difference in MPG between the corsa and astra OPC..? Can't be the case , surely ?

Ardennes1944

if you drive it how its meant to be driven then i wouldnt expect to see a huge difference in mpg. but even when an astra opc is driven lightly it gets pretty poor mpg. if youre cruising around the motorway and b roads then the corsa will return mid 30s. if youre doing all down driving and drive with a heavy foot like in my case, you wont see too much over 22mpg i would think.
if you can afford to buy one, you like it, then i would definitely go for it. they are a nice little car and are rare in this country. get a remus exhaust for it if you can, the noise is sublime

Ardennes1944

also, other alternatives of course are the vrs tfsi, focus st., dc5, ep3, rx8,
whats your budget and needs OP?

cojomo2

Budget is 8.5k..needs are simply something that is fun to drive,fairly powerful, newish (06 on) and lowish mileage ( less than 80km)...under 2litre .

The opc that i have nearly bought is clean, 08 with 40 km on it.

Mr.David

Would you look at a Renault Clio 197? Not many over here, but you could import from the UK?

Just an alternative suggestion!

Henry Ford III

Check the costs of replacement tyres and brakes. An OPC will be heavy on both.

cojomo2

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Check the costs of replacement tyres and brakes. An OPC will be heavy on both.

cheers..brake pads and disks were replaced approx 2000km ago(costing 500 euro) with invoices to prove ..tyres should be cheaper than the gti (slightly cheaper!)..they look like they are good for a while.

I'm getting it checked over by Opel also..I'll be asking them to specifically check the radiator , rear bearings (are these wheels bearings?) and the air con compressor. Hope I have covered the main things. Thanks

Ardennes1944

+1 on air con compressor.

.Longshanks.

I think almost everything I was going to say has already been said
On that one your going to look at with 40km have a good listen for any rattles. Mine had none when I sold it - the way it should be!

Expect the paintwork around the bottom of the front bumper and on the edge of the bonnet to have more than a few stone chips...