Hi there,
Here is my huge rant about a car I recently bought, soon after passing my test.
I bought a Vauxhall / Opel Corsa 1.0L Club 12V [Silver] last Saturday. It's an X reg [2000 model] and has done 56,000 miles / 90,123 km. It has full electrics, Power Steering, electric windows, heated mirrors, etc. I paid £1750 / $3152 for it, and my insurance for 10 months cost £1026 / $1848 [Third Party].
After purchasing it, the engine control light came on a few times. I took it to my local garage which:
A. Gave the car a full service and,
B. Read the onboard computer which records faults (this tells you why the engine control light came on, and what is wrong with the car).
The full service and reading the computer came to £100 / $180. The full service and reading the computer revealed:
1. The engine control light came on because the car needs an 'EGR valve' which will cost roughly £150 / $270 + labour of £30 / $54 - this regulates something in the car. The car does not give a smooth ride - and after researching on the internet this is the cause apparently. The guy reset the computer so the memory was clean - he said the fault might not show up for a while. However today when driving, the light came back on so I will definitely need to get this part.
2. The two front tyres were at the legal requirements and needed changed.
3. The back-right tyre was on the wrong way (wrong rotation), and on that side the spring is broken.
4. Hand break is sticking - either need a new one or this one needs greased up.
5. The spare tyre is flat.
My Dad has an account set up with this tyre place, so I got 2 new front tyres. They tried to fix the spare tyre but said it was worn away and wasted. So, they took the back right tyre off and put that in the boot as a spare, and put a new tyre on the back right. The car was balanced, the wheel valves were added but the car could not be aligned - due to the broken spring.
Today, I woke up to find the back right tyre flat. I filled it up with air and headed back to the tyre place they said it was a faulty valve on the wheel so they replaced it.
On Monday the spring is getting fixed and so is the hand break - probably costing all in around £80 / $144. I am going to ask him to order in the EGR valve. However I have been researching the problem online and some people have changed the valve and it has not helped, and sometimes the Air Mass Flow needs changed or something which costs like £350 / $630
I am only 18 years old - I paid the insurance in a lump sum as if you wanted to pay it month it was around £250 / $450 more expensive. Have I bought a rubbish car? Is my specific choice riddled with faults and hardware faults? Why are all of these models silver?
I am extremely depressed. I have spent a lot of money > £3000 / $5400.
I do understand things go wrong with cars but I just feel a bit depressed about all of this y'know? When I buy something, I expect it to serve me well i.e my iBook.
What are you opinions on this? Should I just relax? Do you have a similar car / experience?
Thanks for your time.
Here is my huge rant about a car I recently bought, soon after passing my test.
I bought a Vauxhall / Opel Corsa 1.0L Club 12V [Silver] last Saturday. It's an X reg [2000 model] and has done 56,000 miles / 90,123 km. It has full electrics, Power Steering, electric windows, heated mirrors, etc. I paid £1750 / $3152 for it, and my insurance for 10 months cost £1026 / $1848 [Third Party].
After purchasing it, the engine control light came on a few times. I took it to my local garage which:
A. Gave the car a full service and,
B. Read the onboard computer which records faults (this tells you why the engine control light came on, and what is wrong with the car).
The full service and reading the computer came to £100 / $180. The full service and reading the computer revealed:
1. The engine control light came on because the car needs an 'EGR valve' which will cost roughly £150 / $270 + labour of £30 / $54 - this regulates something in the car. The car does not give a smooth ride - and after researching on the internet this is the cause apparently. The guy reset the computer so the memory was clean - he said the fault might not show up for a while. However today when driving, the light came back on so I will definitely need to get this part.
2. The two front tyres were at the legal requirements and needed changed.
3. The back-right tyre was on the wrong way (wrong rotation), and on that side the spring is broken.
4. Hand break is sticking - either need a new one or this one needs greased up.
5. The spare tyre is flat.
My Dad has an account set up with this tyre place, so I got 2 new front tyres. They tried to fix the spare tyre but said it was worn away and wasted. So, they took the back right tyre off and put that in the boot as a spare, and put a new tyre on the back right. The car was balanced, the wheel valves were added but the car could not be aligned - due to the broken spring.
Today, I woke up to find the back right tyre flat. I filled it up with air and headed back to the tyre place they said it was a faulty valve on the wheel so they replaced it.
On Monday the spring is getting fixed and so is the hand break - probably costing all in around £80 / $144. I am going to ask him to order in the EGR valve. However I have been researching the problem online and some people have changed the valve and it has not helped, and sometimes the Air Mass Flow needs changed or something which costs like £350 / $630
I am only 18 years old - I paid the insurance in a lump sum as if you wanted to pay it month it was around £250 / $450 more expensive. Have I bought a rubbish car? Is my specific choice riddled with faults and hardware faults? Why are all of these models silver?
I am extremely depressed. I have spent a lot of money > £3000 / $5400.
I do understand things go wrong with cars but I just feel a bit depressed about all of this y'know? When I buy something, I expect it to serve me well i.e my iBook.
What are you opinions on this? Should I just relax? Do you have a similar car / experience?
Thanks for your time.
