£1000 for a Corsa C

The corsa C is a very popular car so the only option at that price range is to get something over 100000 miles.

As long as it's been properly taken care of and serviced then it should be fine.

Be wary of insurance too. Corsas are popular boy racer cars and as a result = huge insurance premiums.

Codswallop. If you want to get yourself a sporty looking thing and dress it up in all the gear with no idea, then expect a higher premium, otherwise most Corsa's will be very cheap.

You'll get more for your money if you deal up on, for example, a Vectra?

Little hatchbacks hold their value even when they are knackered due to their popularity. A mid sized saloon with a base spec engine will give you more bang for your buck imho.

I can vouch for this. I bought a Vectra for my first car, instead of the usual Corsas and whatnot. Insurance was cheaper. I paid £1128 insurance.

If we assume insurance is roughly the same or not significantly more expensive or cheaper in either direction, just for a giggle I've just been on auto trader to see what a grand buys you corsa vs vectra...

Vectra will get you up to around an 04 plate 1.8 petrol with 90k on the clock or maybe an 03 with 70k or a low mileage 02.
All with cloth, CD player, maybe alloys? Go a bit older you may even get design spec - so cruise, a/c leather etc...
Seems to be a good selection of cars out there for the money actually. Bit of a buyers market.

Corsa: Looking at an X reg to 51 plate so already an older car for the same 1k budget.
Mileage 70-100k and it's probably going to be a 1.0 3 pot or a 1.2 4 pot.


On paper the vectra will be a little dearer to run at the pump but nothing too terrible. Vectra's are also percieved as being a little boring so unlikely to have been owned by boy racer types.
Saloon will ride better and be more practical and for the same money have fewer miles and be a little newer.


Worth a second look then, perhaps?

1.9 diesel is alfa romeo sourced IIRC and yes they have dual mass flywheel issues quite frequently and it's a grand minimum to put it right.
The 120bhp models are less affected by DMF failure, but they are a bit sluggish. The 150bhp models are virtually guaranteed to fail.

Definately an engine to avoid if you're shopping for either a Vectra or an Astra.

I can vouch for this. I bought a Vectra for my first car, instead of the usual Corsas and whatnot. Insurance was cheaper. I paid £1128 insurance.

You'll get more for your money if you deal up on, for example, a Vectra?

Little hatchbacks hold their value even when they are knackered due to their popularity. A mid sized saloon with a base spec engine will give you more bang for your buck imho.

Rover 75?

Have you checked out any black box insurance? It was £760 to insure my car for a year with 0 years NCB

Hmm... well all I can say is get some named drivers on there with a good driving reccord (whether they will actually drive the car or not is immaterial) and get your mileage down - the national average is 12k per year, but your first year you likely won't clock up anything like that.

^
They were actually one of the cheapest cars to insurance when I was looking around
(well the Corsa B was)
Probably because they're so slow.