Buying first car, can anyone advise?

[pistonheeduk]

Hey, I’m looking at buying my first car and saw a 2012 Vauxhall corsa listed for 3500, the corsa has done 44k miles and seems in pretty decent condition apart from some colour fading.

When asked for a test drive it was noticed that the back drivers side brake had seized up as it was sitting for 2 weeks.. once I got home I looked up the previous MOTs of the vehicle and noticed a few things of caution.

In 2020 it was noted - Nearside Front Service brake binding but not excessively (1.2.1 (f)
Nearside Front Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously w..
Offside Front Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously we..
Nearside Front Brake pad(s) wearing thin (1.1.13 (a) (li))
Front Sub-frame corroded but not seriously weakened (5.3.3 (b) (i))

In 2021 the only advisory was that some tyres were balding and close to the legal limit.

My concerns about the vehicle is, if the brake disks/callipers are needing replaced it’s not the biggest deal in the world as I am assuming it can be replaced/repaired although it will cost a few hundred pounds but the front sub-frame being corroded and not seriously weakened, how much of a turn off of the vehicle should that be? I haven’t seen the extent of the corrosion myself but will tomorrow when I am deciding if I am buying it or not, the corrosion wasn’t mentioned in the 2021 MOT but I wouldn’t want to buy my first car for it not to last at all.

Hope someone can help
Thanks

[Eemo26]

I have a skoda fabia mk2, lovely cars and built like little tanks. I've never had a corsa but can vouch for the mk2 fabia being a good car and the 1.4tdi can get more than 60mpg on the motorway....nippy too.

[Milkyway]

My son passed his test a few years ago & bought himself a Fiesta.
One litre turbo. ( 3cyl)
Low tax & insurance,
Sporty interior.
He enjoyed it... said it was quite nippy.

Edited by Milkyway on Tuesday 31st May 17:08

[Pica-Pica]

Eemo26 said:

I have a skoda fabia mk2, lovely cars and built like little tanks. I've never had a corsa but can vouch for the mk2 fabia being a good car and the 1.4tdi can get more than 60mpg on the motorway....nippy too.

We have a mk2 Skoda, the 1.2TSi, petrol. Despite my E36, and now my F30 335d, hand-on-heart this is realistically the best car we have ever bought, 9 years old, from new, and has never missed a beat. Full size spare, if you have ordered it. Easy to park.

[Panamax]

pistonheeduk said:

in pretty decent condition apart from some colour fading.

I'm probably out of date but £3,500 for a 10-year old Corsa with faded paintwork sounds rich money to me.

[pistonheeduk]

Eemo26 said:

I have a skoda fabia mk2, lovely cars and built like little tanks. I've never had a corsa but can vouch for the mk2 fabia being a good car and the 1.4tdi can get more than 60mpg on the motorway....nippy too.

Thank you for that! My friend has been telling me to get a fabia for years! I think I’ll do a bit more research before settling. Thank you again!

Milkyway said:

My son passed his test a few years ago & bought himself a Fiesta.
One litre turbo. ( 3cyl)
Low tax & insurance,
Sporty interior.
He enjoyed it... said it was quite nippy.

Edited by Milkyway on Tuesday 31st May 17:08

Really wouldn’t mind a fiesta! One of my friends had a fiesta as his first car and it was a very nice car, low tax and insurance is definitely an incentive aswell. Thank you for the reply!

Pica-Pica said:

Eemo26 said:

I have a skoda fabia mk2, lovely cars and built like little tanks. I've never had a corsa but can vouch for the mk2 fabia being a good car and the 1.4tdi can get more than 60mpg on the motorway....nippy too.

We have a mk2 Skoda, the 1.2TSi, petrol. Despite my E36, and now my F30 335d, hand-on-heart this is realistically the best car we have ever bought, 9 years old, from new, and has never missed a beat. Full size spare, if you have ordered it. Easy to park.

Honestly when it comes to cars but Looking up the mk2 Skoda I can see why they’re so loved, amazing package in that car. An easy to park car is definitely for me!

Panamax said:

I'm probably out of date but £3,500 for a 10-year old Corsa with faded paintwork sounds rich money to me.

The faded paintwork was a bummer and made the price not too great but I thought the 44k miles would make up for that, managed to haggle the price down a bit but not too much haha.

[stevemcs]

Forget the mileage, it means nothing. A folder of receipts and a full service book is what you want - so 1 service every year regardless of mileage.

Subframes, it does seem to be getting common, its not a bad job, 2-3 hours labour, wheel geo, possibly an exhuast - you need to split it to drop the subframe and the front flexi always break, then the rear breaks when you end up replacing the front pipe. Budget £450 - £650 to put right, brakes wouldn't be an issue for me.

My money would go on a Kia Rio, Mazda 2.

[georgeyboy12345]

I think that subframe corrosion would be enough to put me off unless it was a £1500 shed and I just wanted to run it for a year

[anonymous-user]

Panamax said:

I'm probably out of date but £3,500 for a 10-year old Corsa with faded paintwork sounds rich money to me.

That is the going price of old cars now, with a budget of around £5K to spend I gave up in the end and ordered a brand new Dacia Sandero Stepway, with £5K down it is (was the price has gone up now) £72 a month.

With the Fiesta Ecoboost (Ecoboom) just be warned that they have a wet belt that starts to disintegrate, block the oil pickup and then no oil pressure and dead engine.

Minefield really, in the past you spent £1500 on your first car, if there was anything seriously wrong with it you scrapped it and bought another one. Now you are looking at £3K to £5K for essentially the same car, at this point it is too expensive to scrap so becomes a liability if something serious goes wrong.

[ZX10R NIN]

1) make sure everything works Air Con/Windows/Heater etc.
2) You want to see receipts if they don't have them then you have to assume it hasn't been done.
3) Make sure you do a V Check/HPI Check.
4) Don't get to caught up with the mileage side of things.
5) Buy on overall condition which means using all of the above to decide on if the car you're looking at is worth buying.

Get quotes because what may be cheap to insure for someone on here but it might be high for you.

Saying that I'm going to suggest some cars that have come back with sensible insurance numbers for some of my clients children.

Alfa Mito Sprint 80:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205316...

106:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205236...

Veloce 90:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205286...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205286...

120:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205286...

DS3 DStyle 115:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205276...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205246...

208 Allure 95: Same car as the DS3 but with imo a better interior:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204305...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205115...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205236...

Volvo C30 100:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205015...

Mazda2 Sport 100:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205286...

TS2 85:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205266...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110168...

All of the above are reliable as they're N/A so simple to maintain, which way you go will be dependent on your insurance numbers.

[LightningBlue]

Nothing major to worry about with the Corsa there apart from the subframe - might not be too bad at all. A lot of 10 year old cars will have rust underneath but it can vary between MOT testers whether they deem it worthy of an advisory. That generation of Corsa isn't great to drive though, they can look good though if a 3 door but almost everyone has one as a first car. Fiestas of that era are better to drive but like the Corsa, it's not a very individual choice. I like the idea of Volvo C30 - stylish (R Design if you can), nice interior and much more unique. I can also vouch for Kia Rio if you want something more normal, they're decent little cars. I'd have a Rio over a Fabia which in all honesty is one of the most boring cars on the road, they're dull to look at, sit in and drive!

[RammyMP]

I’m looking to get the lad a Corsa to learn in, he’s 17 next month. This may sound like a silly question but what’s the best way to insure it, in my name with him as a provisional driver then insure it in his name when he passes his test? Can I insure it in his name if he’s only got a provisional licence? What’s the best (and cheapest) method?

[Tyre Smoke]

RammyMP said:

I’m looking to get the lad a Corsa to learn in, he’s 17 next month. This may sound like a silly question but what’s the best way to insure it, in my name with him as a provisional driver then insure it in his name when he passes his test? Can I insure it in his name if he’s only got a provisional licence? What’s the best (and cheapest) method?

Insure it in his name on his provisional licence. Put you and anyone else you want as named drivers. Then when he passes his test keep it in his name.

[RammyMP]

ZX10R NIN said:

1) make sure everything works Air Con/Windows/Heater etc.
2) You want to see receipts if they don't have them then you have to assume it hasn't been done.
3) Make sure you do a V Check/HPI Check.
4) Don't get to caught up with the mileage side of things.
5) Buy on overall condition which means using all of the above to decide on if the car you're looking at is worth buying.

Get quotes because what may be cheap to insure for someone on here but it might be high for you.

Saying that I'm going to suggest some cars that have come back with sensible insurance numbers for some of my clients children.

Alfa Mito Sprint 80:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205316...

106:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205236...

Veloce 90:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205286...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205286...

120:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205286...

DS3 DStyle 115:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205276...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205246...

208 Allure 95: Same car as the DS3 but with imo a better interior:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204305...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205115...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205236...

Volvo C30 100:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205015...

Mazda2 Sport 100:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205286...

TS2 85:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205266...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110168...

All of the above are reliable as they're N/A so simple to maintain, which way you go will be dependent on your insurance numbers.

As the previous post, I was looking at getting the lad a Corsa, never thought of a Mito, that’s a bit cooler as your first car!

[Tyre Smoke]

Only four seats though.

[RammyMP]

Tyre Smoke said:

RammyMP said:

I’m looking to get the lad a Corsa to learn in, he’s 17 next month. This may sound like a silly question but what’s the best way to insure it, in my name with him as a provisional driver then insure it in his name when he passes his test? Can I insure it in his name if he’s only got a provisional licence? What’s the best (and cheapest) method?

Insure it in his name on his provisional licence. Put you and anyone else you want as named drivers. Then when he passes his test keep it in his name.

Cheers, I didn’t know you could do that.

[Tyre Smoke]

It's what I did with my son. Much cheaper and no chance of 'fronting'.

[Turtle Shed]

I'd buy the best Aygo you can afford. Japanese. Manual. Petrol. The holy trinity of car buying. Thank me later.

[stevemcs]

Turtle Shed said:

I'd buy the best Aygo you can afford. Japanese. Manual. Petrol. The holy trinity of car buying. Thank me later.

You mean French ....

[ZX10R NIN]

RammyMP said:

As the previous post, I was looking at getting the lad a Corsa, never thought of a Mito, that’s a bit cooler as your first car!

They're a very good option.