Found an ideal (first) car, but.....

[TimNorwich]

Well I have been insured on a Ford KA for a year and a half, but only drove it occasionally. The time has come for me to actually buy a car for myself.

My friend from work (known him for a couple of years) is selling his:

2004 Vauxhaull Corsa 1.2 Active
MOT until May
Tax until July
Full service history
1 lady owner before him and himself the only 2 owners
Alloys as standard, ABS, PAS, steering wheel audio controls etc.

The trouble is, its done 98,000 miles, which is clearly a lot for a 2004 car.

He will be after £1500-2000 for it, but I don't really want to pay any more than £1700 for it.

Is it a bad idea to buy this high mileage car? I am unsure how many miles I will do as I am still riding the Kwacker ER-5.

What to doooo?

Thankyou,

Tim.
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Speedshite 50cc > Honda XR125L > Kawasaki GPZ 500 S > 02 Honda Hornet > 05 Honda CG125 winter hack > 04 Kawasaki ER-5 > 99 Honda Hornet 600 > Kawasaki GPZ 500 S > 99 Honda Hornet 600 > 05 Honda CBR600F > 01 Honda Hornet

[Phoenix]

I've no idea on the Corsa values but at first glance it just sounds expensive. If he wants £1500-2000 then why give him £1700, give him £1500 absolute max, though less preferably as to me, for what it is, it sounds pricey.

[Nexus Icon]

I hate buying from (or selling to) friends when it comes to cars. Sod's law says it will go wrong in a few days and put some strain on the friendship.

More pertinent to your question though: 98,000 miles is well above average (36k for first 3 years then 10k each year thereafter is average - so 66,000 on a 6 year old car) but, more importantly than that, 98,000 miles is a lot on a weedy little 1200cc engine.

It would have to be totally mint and with a full and comprehensive service record to be worth the bottom figure, IMO of course.

[bikertomm]

What the fuck !

98,000 on 1.2 isn't exactly low but if it's been looked after it should live a fair bit longer

Then again, I would pay about £500 tops for a 1.2 with 100,000 on it.

I've seen 1.2's and 1.4's with around 70,000 go for 400 - 800.

Would'nt bother mate! Check out Ebay motors
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07' Honda Hornet now full powaah! My guide on performing an oil change!

[Frost]

As a general rule the smaller the engine, the fewer miles it's likely to manage before something goes seriously wrong. Smaller engined cars have smaller clutches and gearboxes that are quite easily knackered and an engine out job to fix.

A mate had a corsa about that age and engine size. It dropped a valve into the engine at 60,000 miles. I'm not saying they will all do that or that his failing was anything other than a fluke, but it would certainly make me cautious.

I drove a 1.2 corsa (only 300 miles on it) and god was it slow! You could put your foot to the floor in 5th at 70, count to 5 and still be doing 70. even my citroen AX with 4 gears and a 954cc engine was quicker than that!

[MattEMulsion]

Corsa's are not bad little cars but the mileage would put off it a bit. Like it has been said, 98,000 is a lot for a 1.2 engine even if it has been meticulously serviced and the best part of that engines life has passed by already. If my memory serves me correctly too the Corsa 1.2's had a habit of snapping cam shafts too!

Unless it is cheap I would stay away and pick something that is less of a gamble.
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Yamaha YZF-R6

[arry]

[steppen22]

Got a faultless 2L mondeo, 40,000 miles for £199 quid.

1500 for something with 100k seems awfully expensive to me.
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no regrets, no retreat, no apology.
I've made mistakes in the past, and I apologise for FUCK ALL.

[waffles]

Way too much money.

And 1.2 Corsa's are fine for short journeys and driving round town but if you are going to do motorway miles and long journeys then get something with a bigger engine.
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Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[st3v3]

I'm guessing that's a Corsa B?

My mate's just got an Auto one, for £1K and I said he was robbed..

I'd stay away, there's other motors on Ebay far cheaper that are better value, no point spending 1-1.5K on something worth £500, just get the £500 car and use the spare money to fix niggly faults or save for a 2nd banger when 1st one dies.
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Roger wrote: Women don't get damp for clingy puppies. Get some better happy pills, hit the gym & buy a medallion the size of a dinner plate. Job done

[st3v3]

Quicky,

Maybe not as new as you'd like but what about this?

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=204777
(disclaimer - i have no idea what distance there is in question with you and the above car..)
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Roger wrote: Women don't get damp for clingy puppies. Get some better happy pills, hit the gym & buy a medallion the size of a dinner plate. Job done

[Darth]

The prices that some of you are throwing around are laughable! Its a 2004 car! A quick look at ebay would suggest that is well below the average.

I will follow up by saying i have not researched the market for these but if your mate has said £1500-2000 then if you want it then have a good look around it with him and offer what you think it is worth within those figures.

Check out similar cars on ebay/autotrader and whatnot before hand so you have a better idea if you are getting a good deal or not.

On a modern car although the mileage might put me off a little bit, if it was a two owner car, looked after over its lifetime, no obvious faults etc then it certainly wouldnt stop me buying it if i were in the market for one.

In these times when everybody seems harder up - small, tidy, economical cars are going for more money than slightly older big luxo barges that cost 4 times as much when they came out due to the difference in running costs.

Just my tuppence worth on the matter!
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Harold_Shand wrote: I suppose it's like anything, you get your fingers burned when you start out, you learn from it and eventually become a complete arsehole about the whole thing.

[TheDonUK]

Personally the year means very little,

What is much more important is an accurate service history and mileage...

Just buy a 1k car and chuck it away when it goes bang.
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[Current Bikes - GSXR-750 K5 & C90-97 ] [Previous Bikes: Runner 125, YBR 125, GS500, Bandit 600, Hornet 600, ZX6R-99, C90-99, R1-99, XT600E-04, GSXR-750 K4, CRF250L '16]

[D O G]

Definitely get a shitter for your 1st car - my 1997 1.2 Clio cost £300, and have been fine over the past year trudging up and down the motorway. Touch wood.

It's done 124,000 miles now. Ebay is your friend.

[Aidan]

[owl10]

As a rule of thumb, buy on condition not mileage.

Id rather a properly documented maintained 100k car than an abused 50k car which has spent its life being ragged around the local estate without so much as an oil change.

Its one reason why clocking is so common, because so many people get wood over what the speedo says. (and hence the resale value, despite condition)

How does your mate treat it?

[arry]