1995 Opel Corsa Low Mileage - No History

Redtop

I just acquired a 1995 Opel Corsa 1.2. The previous owner, an older gentleman, did less than 1,000 miles per year so there's less than 15,000 genuine miles on the clock. Unfortunately it was not covered or garaged so there are some rust spots on the body. Engine feels and runs perfect. The original owner passed away so details of any work done are not available. It was NCT'd last July and is due again this month. What do you recommend as the being the top jobs that should be completed to ensure I'll still be driving this 5 yeaars from now. Should I check if the Timing Belt/Chain needs replacing. Battery is new. Not sure about oil or other fluid/filter changes. I am hesitant to take to a mechanic for fear I'll get a long list of unnecessary work. Interested in your feedback.

Leonard Hofstadter

Redtop wrote: »

I just acquired a 1995 Opel Corsa 1.2. The previous owner, an older gentleman, did less than 1,000 miles per year so there's less than 15,000 genuine miles on the clock. Unfortunately it was not covered or garaged so there are some rust spots on the body. Engine feels and runs perfect. The original owner passed away so details of any work done are not available. It was NCT'd last July and is due again this month. What do you recommend as the being the top jobs that should be completed to ensure I'll still be driving this 5 yeaars from now. Should I check if the Timing Belt/Chain needs replacing. Battery is new. Not sure about oil or other fluid/filter changes. I am hesitant to take to a mechanic for fear I'll get a long list of unnecessary work. Interested in your feedback.

The car needs a serious once-over by a mechanic you trust. Obviously, if you bring it to a total chancer, he/she will tell you it will need a shedload of things done to it that don't actually need to be replaced at all.

That said, just because the car does not have even 15,000 miles does not for a second mean that the engine will be in good mechanical health. In actual fact, I would say that that engine has a lot more wear than many an engine with more than 100,000 miles on the clock. Chances are the engine has never had a chance to warm up properly in its life, spark plugs could well have corroded etc, the oil could be like sludge at this stage if it hasn't been serviced in a long time, so definitely give that engine plenty of long overdue TLC!

dgt

Sounds like it's crying out for a redtop conversion.....















I'll get my coat :pac:

Pdfile

Redtop wrote: »

I just acquired a 1995 Opel Corsa 1.2. The previous owner, an older gentleman, did less than 1,000 miles per year so there's less than 15,000 genuine miles on the clock. Unfortunately it was not covered or garaged so there are some rust spots on the body. Engine feels and runs perfect. The original owner passed away so details of any work done are not available. It was NCT'd last July and is due again this month. What do you recommend as the being the top jobs that should be completed to ensure I'll still be driving this 5 yeaars from now. Should I check if the Timing Belt/Chain needs replacing. Battery is new. Not sure about oil or other fluid/filter changes. I am hesitant to take to a mechanic for fear I'll get a long list of unnecessary work. Interested in your feedback.

i always thought these where chain driven...

either way; Theirs several good mechanics on here who if you live locally and for a small fee would give it a once over, if not popular opinion on a good GM mechanic should see you right op... their a decent little run about just treat that rust asap if you're keeping her on the road

Nissan doctor

These are extremely cheap to maintain so if you plan on keeping it why not do a full service, timing belt change, brake fluid change etc.

Are you handy yourself at all? You could even try the timing belt yourself as these are non interference engines so you can't damage it.

Keep in mind also that such little mileage is not very good for a car either, at the age it is its very likely that all its suspension bushes and brake lines etc will be perished too.

kermitpwee

Nissan doctor wrote: »

These are extremely cheap to maintain so if you plan on keeping it why not do a full service, timing belt change, brake fluid change etc.

Are you handy yourself at all? You could even try the timing belt yourself as these are non interference engines so you can't damage it.

Keep in mind also that such little mileage is not very good for a car either, at the age it is its very likely that all its suspension bushes and brake lines etc will be perished too.

It was nct'd last year so may not be too bad

Leonard Hofstadter

kermitpwee wrote: »

It was nct'd last year so may not be too bad

I'm afraid that doesn't really mean anything - the NCT is far from a serious overview of the mechanical health of any car!

captainspeed

captainspeed wrote: »

I'm afraid that doesn't really mean anything - the NCT is far from a serious overview of the mechanical health of any car!

Well its not bad for highlighting brake lines or bushings that need replacing in fairness.

kermitpwee

captainspeed wrote: »

I'm afraid that doesn't really mean anything - the NCT is far from a serious overview of the mechanical health of any car!

Thats rubbish tbh. I have put loads of older cars through the test and they will not let you through if the bushins are gone and the brake lines are rusted. Say what you will about the nct but they do check the basics such as bushins and brake lines.

Nissan doctor

kermitpwee wrote: »

Thats rubbish tbh. I have put loads of older cars through the test and they will not let you through if the bushins are gone and the brake lines are rusted. Say what you will about the nct but they do check the basics such as bushins and brake lines.

In most cases that's true, but every garage will have dozens of examples of car that have been in, having recently passed the NCT, with very obvious, and sometimes even dangerous defects.

kermitpwee

Nissan doctor wrote: »

In most cases that's true, but every garage will have dozens of examples of car that have been in, having recently passed the NCT, with very obvious, and sometimes even dangerous defects.

I can accept that the Nct is not foolproof but I have found that they do check for bushins and brake lines. They dont check for brake pad depth and may not know what is happening inside the drums on the rear but generally if they pass on the imbalance the internals in the drums should be ok unless they are equally bad! I can't think of any car I put through the test that passed and was dangerous. Off course it may develop a fault subsequently.

wonski

I don't think there would be any major problem if the car was driven regularly.
For some reason some of you assumed that with such a low mileage this car was just sitting on the driveway for months, and then was driven for around the country trip...

One thing i would worry about is the fact, that due to low mileage, some parts have never been changed, and - for a car of this age this is an issue. But it is not because of mileage itself, but an age of the car (ND mentioned them in his post anyway).

As for NCT - my car failed on brake lines before, they do check them. How strict they are depends on tester, but i believe that when they put the tested car on ramp, they will spot obvious problems straight away...
Some or more strict, some less - like in any other job...

My 2 cents... Know a lad who bought Seicento with a little over 20k miles 2/3 years ago... Car is going strong.

Jimbob 83

Have you driven one of these yet OP ?

Just wondering as they are a horrible little car to drive, almost every small car on the market would be better. Gearbox is utter muck.

GTDolanator

cough cough,might have a spare LET and a bare XE here if your interested cough cough

the_syco

Redtop wrote: »

I just acquired a 1995 Opel Corsa 1.2.
<snip>
The previous owner, an older gentleman, did less than 1,000 miles per year so there's less than 15,000 genuine miles on the clock.
<snip>
The original owner passed away so details of any work done are not available.

How trustable is the garage, as this smells like bullsh|t. I'd get someone to service it, and get their opinion on how much it was actually driven.

the_syco

the_syco wrote: »

How trustable is the garage, as this smells like bullsh|t. I'd get someone to service it, and get their opinion on how much it was actually driven.

.... what garage?

Redtop

That Corsa was not bought at a garage. I know the original owner who bought it New and remained the only owner until he passed away a few months ago. The low mileage is genuine all right because I know how little he drove it.