1998 Vauxhall Corsa Merit 1.0 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

An excellent choice for a young driver's first car

Faults:

Second set of front disc brake pads from new seized at 23,000 miles, cleaned and re-assembled, fixed the problem.

Paint peeling off the full length of the near-side wind-screen pillar at 23,500 miles.

Rear silencer cracked at 24,000 miles, no corrosion apparent, appears to be a lack of exhaust bracket supports causing undue strain on the exhaust system.

Oil leaking badly through the oil warning light sensor on the engine block at 35,000 miles, new sensor cured the leak.

Oil leaking from the area behind the fan belt pulley at 33,000 miles, so far I have not managed to find the exact location of the leak.

General Comments:

This car is cheap to run with Group 3 insurance.

Very roomy for a small car.

Good fuel consumption: 50-60 mpg.

Nice driving position with good headroom.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 25th May, 2001

1998 Vauxhall Corsa Merit 1.0 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A brilliant and economic car, and a joy to drive and own!

General Comments:

The car was very good in an accident and neither I or it hardly had a scratch.

The turning circle on the car is amazing.

The road holding is not so great.

The engine veers between roaring and purring.

I love the car - it is my baby!!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th March, 2001

1998 Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Never again

Faults:

Stereo runs slow intermittently - can never be found by the garage so never fixed.

Headlight bulbs frequently blowing.

Leak in driver's window seal.

Head gasket blown

Oil filter needed replacing.

Windscreen wash pump needed replacing.

Grainy, generally poor quality windscreen that never seemed clear, even after copious washing/polishing.

Failed first MOT (this month) on brake sleeves and handbrake cord amongst other things.

General Comments:

Basically a disaster of a car from the word go. It's a company leased car so luckily I didn't have to fork out for the repairs, but the inconvenience got beyond a joke. Mostly little, niggly things, but almost always SOMETHING. It did always start etc. in the mornings, so reliability in that way was okay, but for a new car I think it was abysmal. I would have back my G-reg Micra in a minute.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 11th January, 2001

1998 Vauxhall Corsa GLS 1.4 16v from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Spritely runabout

Faults:

Faulty exhaust bracket (which is, apparently, a design fault).

General Comments:

Suspension set up is incorrect - too bouncy. Gives a comfortable ride but also too much body roll.

Great car, but as I like sportiness I would prefer alloys and lower suspension; the car has same engine as the SRi version so it should have these.

Gearbox could be crisper with a shorter gap between changing gears.

Very good overall though.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th November, 2000