Automatic Corsa for my nan?

[cobblers]

Reyt, my nans mk3 fiesta is ready for MOT again, but it's no good for her - shes 75 and needs power steering cos she has to turn the car round on her garden which takes her about 20 minutes and she knocks it off all the walls while doing it.

We're trying to get her to move house to somewhere within walking distance to some shops but she won't.

 

I saw this at the garage at the top of the road:

 

 

107k, Auto, PAS, decent test, £300.

 

Doors and tailgate are scabby but the sills looked alright. No point buying her anything nice cos she'll just bounce it off her garden wall turning it round cos she doesn't give a fuck.

 

Is 107k going to be a lot on one of these? Do they hide rot?

Ideally I'd get her a K12 micra but this is very local and I've really not got the time to go up and down the country to find her something.

[Kiltox]

What engine is in it? 1.4?

[cobblers]

1200 according to the sign, sounds hilariously slow tbh

[Kiltox]

Did they fit the easytronic bollocks to the 1.2 Corsa B?

 

It was the gearbox in a 1.2 Corsa C auto and is tragic and expensive if it goes wrong

[eddyramrod]

Billy's the man to ask, he knows these things inside out.

[Hertz]

For £300 with decent test you can't grumble surely.  Sounds perfect for Nana Cobblers to me.

[bub2006]

Late model b and early c corsas had the standard 4 speed snow/winter mode auto box attached to the 1.2 16v lump. This won't be easy tronic or whatever it is

[Rusty_Rocket]

I think that will have an AF13.  A conventional auto gearbox that is reliable.  No easytronic at that age thankfully.  Also, if you're really lucky the 1200cc engine may be the older 4-pot OHC one, again very dependable.

They don't hide grot as such but check the rear 'chassis' above the rear springs and at the front adjacent to the lower arm mounting points.  Otherwise, they're generally solid. 

[Kiltox]

Late model b and early c corsas had the standard 4 speed snow/winter mode auto box attached to the 1.2 16v lump. This won't be easy tronic or whatever it is

Good news.

 

Should be very fit for purpose then - but slow

[bub2006]

Early b corsas had auto boxes on the 1.4 8valve only,later ones had the 1.2 16v engine. Shouldn't be too slow. They had more power and I think torque as well as improved mpg over the 1.4

[Station]

My mate is selling an automatic Nissan 300ZX Turbo. Does your nan want his number?

[sporty-shite]

My mate is selling an automatic Nissan 300ZX Turbo. Does your nan want his number?

 

No, but I might.

 

Also, if I win a certain Wales-based raffle, there may be a familar Golf available!

[vulgalour]

Nugget the B that we got off RobT was hiding rust in the lower inner rear arches and under the boot lip trim.  They tend to be fairly tough on the sills but if you want to know where they rot IainL on here is probably your man.  I think other main rot spot is the front crossmember.  Easy peasy to get bits for still and mechanically pretty good though I don't know anything about the auto box.

[RayMK]

I assume your nan has driven an automatic before.  If not, how strong are the walls?

[Cavcraft]

Pretty certain that'll be a conventional autobox, not one of those stupid modern type ones. It won't be fast that's for sure butt if it's the 8V it'll be reliable. Chassis rot, scabby bonnet edges, door tops being bent back by thieves etc all common problems. 

 

One thing I would check first though is the head gasket: I find small automatics generally the worse for this because a fair chunk of them only seem to pootle about locally and never get properly warmed up, then the either the condensation and/or lack of a good thrashing on a regular basis seems to cause HGF.

Check it before a test drive and again afterwards, just in case seller has wiped the filler cap clean before you set off.

They're pretty hard to kill these cars, doesn't mean you can't though! Also if it's 16V (which I reckon this one might be too early for) they're less reliable than the 8V. If you buy it just change oil and coolant etc on a regular basis.

[cobblers]

Cheers for the input, she's had an auto a few years back and loved it, although when I actually think back this was a brown W reg Toyota Carina so it's probably 20 years ago. She should be reet though!

 

I'll give it a nose around if I get chance next weekend and if it's any good I'll just turn up with it. The garage selling it aren't the most reputable (they got felt for clocking stuff a couple of years ago) so I'll check the dipstick and stuff. It's not a lot of money to lose but I don't want owt that'll need welding for the next MOT

MOT history seems OK, it's never actually failed one.