2005 Corsa C 1.3Cdti yeah or neigh

[bezzabsa]

had a go in a mates tonight, pleasantly surprised at how well it pulls.....

So what goes wrong, and whats a Corsa C like to live with??? as I'm liking the £30 tax and the fact he's done almost 200 miles on 1/4 tank of dead dino's

 

 

[AxWomble]

I’m sure I remember something about nasty (and expensive) injector problems on some of these 1.3CDTIs, but someone else will be along to advise soon enough - I think it’s very dependent on the use they’ve had, Fiorino, Combo and Doblo vans seem to suffer more, possibly as a result of rough treatment. I’ve heard good things about Panda diesels, which are presumably the same engine, so they can’t all be bad! Maybe get a Panda Multijet purely so that it isn’t a Corsa? 😂  Can’t argue with the economy and tax benefits though, all else aside - Corsa Cs also don’t seem to rust and feel well put together from my experience of three different models, all much abused. (All petrols, all 1.2, all rattly, weedy, and expired before they had any right to) 

[bezzabsa]

Just now, AxWomble said:

I’m sure I remember something about nasty (and expensive) injector problems on some of these 1.3CDTIs, but someone else will be along to advise soon enough - I think it’s very dependent on the use they’ve had, Fiorino, Combo and Doblo vans seem to suffer more, possibly as a result of rough treatment. I’ve heard good things about Panda diesels, which are presumably the same engine, so they can’t all be bad! Maybe get a Panda Multijet purely so that it isn’t a Corsa? 😂  Can’t argue with the economy and tax benefits though, all else aside - Corsa Cs also don’t seem to rust and feel well put together from my experience of three different models, all much abused. (All petrols, all 1.2, all rattly, weedy, and expired before they had any right to) 

must admit when i was looking at Combo vans i was warned off the 1.3.....but the cars seem to be ok??? maybe cos vans are usually passed around and abused,  also IIRC the vans have more Bhp??? so may be a case of ovstretched engine???

[jcr]

From random Facebook videos of banger racing corsa Cs appear to be built like absolute tanks! (body wise)

[AxWomble]

5 minutes ago, bezzabsa said:

must admit when i was looking at Combo vans i was warned off the 1.3.....but the cars seem to be ok??? maybe cos vans are usually passed around and abused,  also IIRC the vans have more Bhp??? so may be a case of ovstretched engine???

Could well be - I’ve always been told it’s usually safe to buy a car based on a well proven and reliable van (Berlingo, to name a random example), because if it can stand up to abuse as a tradesman’s tool, it’ll stand up to anything a regular user can throw at it. If the vans don’t hold up though, I’d be wary about the prospect of  a potentially pretty old (16 years) Vauxhall product that could need £400 of injectors next week. Depends on the cost I guess - if it’s cheap and lasts a year, then you’re quids in! 
 

[AxWomble]

10 minutes ago, jcr said:

From random Facebook videos of banger racing corsa Cs appear to be built like absolute tanks! (body wise)

They are absurdly heavily built - I know a chap who nearly got concussed when the boot struts decided to let go with him standing underneath, I think the doors are all lined with lead. 

[bezzabsa]

21 minutes ago, AxWomble said:

I’m sure I remem, ber something about nasty (and expensive) injector problems on some of these 1.3CDTIs, but someone else will be along to advise soon enough - I think it’s very dependent on the use they’ve had, Fiorino, Combo and Doblo vans seem to suffer more, possibly as a result of rough treatment. I’ve heard good things about Panda diesels, which are presumably the same engine, so they can’t all be bad! Maybe get a Panda Multijet purely so that it isn’t a Corsa? 😂  Can’t argue with the economy and tax benefits though, all else aside - Corsa Cs also don’t seem to rust and feel well put together from my experience of three different models, all much abused. (All petrols, all 1.2, all rattly, weedy, and expired before they had any right to) 

I think the injector problem is on the newer corsa/doblo (the badge engineered ones) they are about £1000 a set, not the model i'm on about

[AxWomble]

Oh well that’ll be alright then - probably why the older Pandas don’t suffer with issues either. I’ve heard of them doing moon mileages - imagine they’re a bit pricier than a Corsa though? Engines aside, the Corsa Cs I’ve used have been okay, one did 100,000 miles with a single gear linkage, one set of front pads and oil changes. It did then expire due to the oil sensors popping out and all the oil making a bid for freedom, but that was my dad’s fault, and everything else on the car was spot on. 

[Barry Cade]

Just check the carpets not wet around the pedals. They can leak horribly here which causes issues..

[bub2006]

If memory serves me right they are available in 2 power outputs.6 speed box is 95 bhp and the 5 speed is 75 or 80 maybe. A few years back when my friend had one he sold his due to dash binnacle issues and it was only 6 or 7 years old. 54 plate 1.4 Sri petrol model and apparently it was a known issue to vauxhall at the time. They do feel better built than the corsa b though. I also have to agree on the van vs car issue. Usually vans if owned by a company have a lot of drivers or driven mercilessly as the driver doesn't have to foot the bill. One man band owners tend to look after their van better though but I suppose same can be said for the car variant if it hasn't had a mechanically sympathetic owner, the type who thinks it had an mot 6 months ago so why is it making a rattling noise. 

The way I see it is same as any vehicle,if you can get it cheap enough to throw away at a large bill of doom or throw money to get it repaired then go for it. You will always hear bad things about the cdti engines but I've never known of them catastrophically dying from the few I know of which is a astra 1.3 cdti and a few vectras with the 1.9cdti owned by less than caring owners. 

[Ian_Fearn]

I recently bought an 80k Panda with the 1.3 diesel and it runs perfectly (and I was REALLY dubious). The PO has ran these in various Pandas and just bought another so they can’t be that bad.

I think water pump leakage and timing chain failure is more likely than failing injectors on these unless they’ve been abused on shite diesel maybe. 

[garbaldy]

@bub2006 are you getting your C's and D's mixed up as I've never seen a 6 speed box in a C.

Not a bad engine but I'm sure Ratner supplied the chains and I've seen many broken ones, this one was an easy fix though.

[bub2006]

Just now, garbaldy said:

@bub2006 are you getting your C's and D's mixed up as I've never seen a 6 speed box in a C.

Yes Ratner supplied the chains and I've seen many broken ones, this one was an easy fix though.

 

Now you mention it I'm not sure. I know the c could be had with cdti 1.3 but maybe it was only the lower powered 70 ish bhp as you could get the Sri with the 1.7 cdti 100bhp and the 1.3 higher output was 95bhp I think so would have been rather pointless having both. Sorry. I'll stand corrected. 

[Botzarb]

I had a Corsa C back in 2010 as my first car. Mine was only a 1.0 but it wasn't great.

Positives 

• Large wing mirrors made manoeuvring easy peasy
• Good Speakers (on the 6 speaker models at least)
• Cheap insurance
• I found the seats quite comfortable, but this is a very individual thing
• Space inside wasn't too bad, and the interiors are reasonably good quality
• Secure handling, but not much fun

Negatives

• Wiper motor stopped working
• Water came into the footwells through the bulk head - you can repair this inside the car by sticking your head up where the bulkhead is and going wild with silicone
• Electric power steering has little feel and there is quite a bit of play in the straight ahead position
• Gear change was notchy 
• If the steering wheel and seat height doesn't adjust check you can get comfortable if you are tall
• Bodyroll was atrocious, and so was the ride which was quite hard even on 14inch wheels
• O2 sensors can go, heat matrixes can go, window regulators can become slow
• Original gear linkages are plastic and WILL go 
• I believe the electric power steering can prove unreliable
• On 3 door models the mechanism to fold the seats forward can become stiff 
• CV boot linkages are a weak point
• As someone said above, the instrument cluster can prove unreliable. Mine stopped working on a roundabout but a swift punch got it working again. 

Personally I wouldn't have another, and I don't see as many as similar aged fiestas, but if you can get a cheap one I dare say all the common problems will have been fixed by now and it should make for cheap motoring. 

[beko1987]

The ex had a 1.2 c when I met her and whilst it was fun (I imagine a little derv being a nice little torque rocket tbh) to wind up to its fullest maxest speed and hold on driving from Stokenchurch to Marlow twice a day, and fucking cheap and simple to repair, their tinny loud, heater-matrix-clogging-in-winter, you have zero street cred or more importantly road presence and their a fucking vauxhall... In sxi trim their even more wooden, rattly tin fuck boxes... Get one with some suspension

I've always felt the shaggy zx's I've gone to like a comfort blanket in my hour of need to be much more nicer in every way! 

Equally the ex's 1.2 was rattling really fucking badly from the chain. After a few oil changes from pretty much never being serviced at all ever it did run quieter. Drank a bit of oil but it, the Meriva and the zafira all did so it's fine but it always let you know when it was low! By rattling the chain for a drink... 

We part ex'd it against the Meriva. The drivers footwell was fucking spotless... As it had been wet vacced out at least once a month and indeed 2 hours prior to us getting rid! Brake thing on the bulkhead indeed! 

I would if you wanted to, buy cheap, give it a service and tbh I imagine a fucking chain job is a simple* how to guide and a weekends work nowadays and some ebay parts. 

[leafsprung]

Timing chain stretch (and eventually failure as shown above) in those 1.3's. Had it in the misery spec Astra. Sometimes it took 4 or 5 attempts to start from cold and would randomly go into limp  mode, normally at 70mph in the outside lane in heavy traffic. 

Hideous car, hideously mismatched engine. Was thirstier than the 2.5 Volvo D5 which eventually replaced it because you had to rev the bastard to extract any kind of motive power. 

[1duck]

My dad loves his panda 1. 3 diesel, he did just have to do the waterpump last week which was a bit of a pig of a job, apparently they changed the water pump design, as the new one slotted in perfectly whilst the old one basically had to be destroyed to remove it, shy of lifting the engine out for better clearance. Which I assume is how fiat do it in house, but they wanted 250 quid to change a 30 quid water pump. 

There were horror stories on forums of the water pump barely lasting 30k miles, guessing they fixed that though? Will let you know in 30k miles or 3 years whichever happens first. 

[bezzabsa]

well i bit the bullet...so it's now in my hands...1.3cdti Life (poverty spec) 5 door , manual everything...quite roomy , seeing as i'm 6foot and no anorexic, nippy - REALLY nippy, BUT can stick it in 5th at 35mph for 1200 revs, and it will still accelerate..68Bhp and £30 tax is a bonus, Previous owner has fitted some uprated speakers for Bass yo'!!! and it does indeed shake the bloody car , Kenwood head unit too ..Needs a fusebox cover as the one in the car is MIA..

125k miles and MOT till June 2022, so not bad - had a brand new starter and alternator belt last week , and was serviced in May IIRC...No rattle coming from chain, slight Chirp from pulley when cold for 1-2 seconds, instant start hot or cold.....Temp Gauge seems a little shy as it hardly moves, but Heater is Old Ford Toasty!!

All in all seems ok...done a swapsy with a mate with my pickarse,as my mom has go rid of her walker now shes had Both hips done!!!!

[sierraman]

9 hours ago, leafsprung said:

Timing chain stretch (and eventually failure as shown above) in those 1.3's. Had it in the misery spec Astra. Sometimes it took 4 or 5 attempts to start from cold and would randomly go into limp  mode, normally at 70mph in the outside lane in heavy traffic. 

Hideous car, hideously mismatched engine. Was thirstier than the 2.5 Volvo D5 which eventually replaced it because you had to rev the bastard to extract any kind of motive power. 

I cannot accept it could be slower than a Corsa D 1.0, I once hired one, it was so slow it made you feel as if you were having a stroke.

[beko1987]

10 hours ago, bezzabsa said:

well i bit the bullet...so it's now in my hands...1.3cdti Life (poverty spec) 5 door , manual everything...quite roomy , seeing as i'm 6foot and no anorexic, nippy - REALLY nippy, BUT can stick it in 5th at 35mph for 1200 revs, and it will still accelerate..68Bhp and £30 tax is a bonus, Previous owner has fitted some uprated speakers for Bass yo'!!! and it does indeed shake the bloody car , Kenwood head unit too ..Needs a fusebox cover as the one in the car is MIA..

125k miles and MOT till June 2022, so not bad - had a brand new starter and alternator belt last week , and was serviced in May IIRC...No rattle coming from chain, slight Chirp from pulley when cold for 1-2 seconds, instant start hot or cold.....Temp Gauge seems a little shy as it hardly moves, but Heater is Old Ford Toasty!!

All in all seems ok...done a swapsy with a mate with my pickarse,as my mom has go rid of her walker now shes had Both hips done!!!!

Nice! Do an oil change and just drive it! 

I had a sick sub and amp and 6x9s in the reat speakers of my puma, it was great! Probably attribute a fair bit of my fucked up hearing to it though... Used to have it so loud the mirrors were just a blur 

[bezzabsa]

5 hours ago, beko1987 said:

Used to have it so loud the mirrors were just a blur

Yup, been there dun that...and quite possible in the corsa too....

Just need to name the beast now...