View Full Version : Say "Hi" to Lulu!
Here she is. As typified by all my car purchases, named by a previous owner, with strict instructions the name stays ;D
http://www.saabcentral.com/phpgallery/albums/Allsorts/DSCF1254.sized.jpg
Paid a little over the going rate for a 10 year old Corsa, but this one's a goodun, if you ignore the faded paintwork and wheel arches etc. :o
30,350 miles, and anything that needed doing was done. Genuine parts all round :) I've known the previous owner for the last 5 or so years, known the family it was in for the last 12 and "known" the car well for the last 3 years cos I was the one to service, pre-MOT and occasionally repair it :) One lady owner since 1999.
Although not a huge fan of corsas, looks decent for the price (if I remembered it correctly!) and always good to know the history well :)
Red T-Cut colourfast & Meguirs 3 stage programme and the paint will regain some colour. Or just t-cut and polish :DI used to take such good care of my motor, until all the dents in it from cretins :(
Although not a huge fan of corsas,
Gerrout. Yer barred.
I knew I meant to put 'except for Dawn's' :D
;D
I did have a crack at the paintwork a couple of years ago. Did some before and afters :)
http://www.saabcentral.com/~nutcase/images/split.jpg
http://www.saabcentral.com/~nutcase/images/bonnet.jpg
The wheel arch bits are more of a concern, but someone just suggested rubbing linseed oil into them.
I (will have) paid £700 for it.
I don't care what people think of Corsas, my boy (Beck has named him Purry Daniel) has been marvellous. He's seen me up to Yorkshire and back on a regular basis and not failed me yet.
He's had a few bumps from being left in Tesco car park with someone cracking a rear light and someone else denting him by opening a door into him. He's also been keyed twice by some horrible local kids.
We had an adventure when his tyre blew on a dark stretch of the M56 and also when the council hadn't put up signs they were doing roadworks and we hit a ramp at 50mph and cracked his exhaust. He was a little soldier and still carried me back from Leeds that day bless him.
*loves Purry Daniel*
The wheel arches are a common problem on Corsas, mine went the same way. Dad suggested some stuff which we treated them with which helped buy you could never quite get them back to black.. I'll bug him later and see if I can find out what it was.
Isn't the trick with faded black plastics to go at them with a heat gun? Obviously you want to be far enough away not to melt them but just close enough to warm them and bring the oils to the surface which rejuvenates their colour.
Now that is something I had heard before, but couldn't remember where or who or any confirmation! Was toying with buying a set off a scrapper to try first....
Right.. had a quick word with Dad. The stuff we used was called Back-to-Black, which he'd got from Halfords. It did a pretty good job of them.
Ah. Not a big fan of back to black, doesn't last all that long and it doesn't make stuff look black, it makes it look wet, so in the case of Lulu it wouldn't help much :( Thanks for asking though :)
I did find a use for the stuff years ago though - spray it on scalextric track for tail happy racing :evil:
Nothing like chucking oneself in at the deep end. Just about to head off to just outside Bristol for the evening :)
Nothing like a 350 mile round trip to the pub ;D
Didn't miss a beat :cool:
I'm going to have to do a CV joint sooner rather than later though - it's clicking again (a couple of years ago I had to replace the clip on the nearside outer one as it had come off and dumped all its grease. Lucky to have got a couplke of years out of it really :)
Purry Daniel had both of his front cams done last month. I'm so happy with how cheap any work he has done is!
Just found a genuine CV kit for £36 (cost + VAT). Rah :D
Did a 350 mile round trip in the ol' girl last week. No problem at all. Fuel light didn't even come on, despite "enthusiastic" driving!
Done some shopping, got a couple of nuts and bolts that need to be changed when doing the CV joint, a set of proper GM mats and a couple of trim bits to replace damaged ones. All at dirt cheap well under trade prices.
If anyone is looking for cheap Vaux/Saab bits, try here:
http://www.carpartsconnexion.com/default.asp
Flibster
03-12-2007, 20:45
For the black bits - parade black boot polish. ;)
Works well and also last a damn sight longer than black to black.
Wish me luck, gonna do the CV joint today. And it's darned cold out :( But not frosty yay :D
Ugh, that was not fun :(
Got it done eventually though :D But I need to top up the gearbox oil (might as well do a comlete change while I'm at it, as the filler plug is seized :( Didn't lose very much though, so should be ok to drive for a little while yet.
Yay, no more clicking :D
Filled her up for the 2nd time (43 litres, only a 46 litre tank!). Not bad though, 41mpg. Ok, so most of the miles done was a round trip to Bristol, but about 50 miles of general thrashing around town as well :)
Got the tracking done today as well as it was feeling a bit vauge. Apparently there was +1 of toe out instead of +1 of toe in. I guess all that parking on kerbs poor Lulu had to endure confused her! Feels a bit better now :)
Poor Lulu, she's been bumped :(
Went to drive round to a friends and noticed a bit of paper under the wiper. Scrawled note apologising for "bumbed" into. Broken numberplate. And a phone number.
Had a quick look and it could well only be the numberplate needing replacing :cool: Not rung the number yet, will do that tomorrow when I've looked in the light, but assuming it's not a dud I'm very happy they've owned up to it :)
Needed a new front plate at some point anyway, as water has got in, so looks like I may get a free one. I won't try and milk the situation :)
http://www.saabcentral.com/phpgallery/albums/Allsorts/12012008031_small.jpg
Blimey! Someone bumps a Corsa then owns up! Am shocked!
You and me both ;D
Had a look this morning, bit of scuffing to the bumper which I'll ignore as it's no worse than other places on the bumper, and a slight scratch to the bonnet which didn't go down to the primer so I'll also ignore that...
Rang the number, and the chap was very apologetic and has offered to pay for a new numberplate :cool:
http://www.saabcentral.com/phpgallery/albums/album116/DSCF1285.sized.jpg
Indeed :) Think I'm going to try and find a better bumper anyway from a scrappie or something.
Chap called Lucky just popped over with the money for my numberplate.
Anyone spot the irony there? :p
http://www.saabcentral.com/phpgallery/albums/album116/DSCF1291.sized.jpg
http://www.saabcentral.com/phpgallery/albums/album116/DSCF1292.sized.jpg
Think I stuck it on straight :evil:
So I can go back on the road again now :)
One more payment and Lulu is all mine :)
Renewed the insurance, was hoping to get under £100, but alas £133 fully comp was all I could find :(
diddums100
11-07-2008, 10:12
how much is a new plate btw?
B@Th*nG
Plate was about £8 I think. Got a pair, but not put the back one on yet :o
It's just a cheap runabout really, nothing special, but she's reliable, good nick and very good on petrol, so perfect for me really :)
TinkerBell
20-07-2008, 09:03
Can't believe the difference that doing the body work has made :shocked:
I am really suprised that the person owned up!! I have had alot worse happen to my car and they just drove off the sods!!
I really need to find something to sort out my bumpers as they are quite faded, tryed back to black, it just doesn't work for long enough! Damn! I haven't had many problems with my corsa either, W0000ttt!
I really need to find something to sort out my bumpers as they are quite faded, tryed back to black, it just doesn't work for long enough! Damn! I haven't had many problems with my corsa either, W0000ttt!
Black spray paint?
If you do it properly, it can last a while tbh. You need to make sure you mask things properly, clean it properly, spray it properly etc. though else it'll look rubbish :p
Lulu passed her MOT no problem last Saturday. 4 advisories, worn front tyre edges (roundabouts :o), slight clunk in the steering rack, leaking outer CV, blow in the back box.
In the history of the car, there's no record of the cambelt ever being done. Vauxhall recommend 80k miles/8 years, haynes reccomend 40k miles/4 years.
Lulu has almost 37k miles but it 12 years old, so 4 years past Vauxhall's recommendation :o
Picked up a genuine kit last year, as well as a water pump. Figured might as well do the thermostat at the same time as you have to take the cambelt off to do that.
I'd forgotten how easy a vauxhall 8v cambelt change is. Don't even need to jack the car up :cool:
Just a shame I don't have the waterpump rotating tool that's mentioned in the haynes - would have saved me an hour of getting the belt tensioned properly!
Now for the sump gasket (it leaks slightly), oil change, cooland refill, plugs, filters etc.
Hmm Vauxhall cambelts easy eh? Fancy giving a 2.6 V6 a crack? :D
Erm, I wonder what they would say about the mr2, worn front and back tyre edges?
Now for the sump gasket (it leaks slightly), oil change, cooland refill, plugs, filters etc.
Couldn't be arsed with the sump gasket in the end. Need to drop the exhaust. Maybe next year, the leak isn't that bad :D
I've seen a GM V6 (in a Saab 9000) cambelt done. Hardest part is getting all the ancillary crap out the way, and then, shock horror, tensioning it properly :)
It was that job that taught me WHY a proper kit comes with new bolt for the tensioner - the reused old one sheared 50 miles later, 12 (or 24 I forget) valves needed replacing.
Why, when's yours due?
:'(
http://www.saabcentral.com/phpgallery/albums/album116/07032010020_G.sized.jpg
http://www.saabcentral.com/phpgallery/albums/album116/07032010021_G.sized.jpg
Basically mr blue kia decided to pull out of a side road turning right (so heading the same direction as me and had to cross the other direction) and drove into my offside rear. Blind?!
He got out and said sorry, didnt' see me etc. so absolutely no problem with liability, but really not what I needed. Whilst Lulu is 100% mechanically, bodywise she's a bit faded and there are a couple of scrapes. So I think I'm going to have a fight on my hands to not have her written off...
Doh :(
I think you will have one hell of a fight not to have it written off, sorry mate. I think your best chance is to get a payoff and then try and buy it back. It's because of where the damage is on the motor. :( The only other way is to take a few hundred off the guy but I can see him wanting to go through insurance (even if it is a POS Kia).
Had quite a few try and take me out in the Omega..... there's no way you couldn't see that thing coming down the road.
Seems ideal to me, get a payout, buy it back, don't even bother repairing it. Profit.
Nah, really want it repaired! Not many 39k miles corsas with full service history and 100% mechanicals. If I have to buy it back and get it repaired with the payout I will but really don't want the car written off.
Spoke to my insurance company today, and said I want to do it through the third party, and that I do NOT want the car written off unless it is structuraly unsound. It was the solicitors for my insurance that rang me and they seemed to think that it shouldn't be too much trouble to do that :cool:
Becuase I'm not doing it through my insurers I've got to take the car for an estimate and it may take a little longer to sort, but as long as it's done by sep when the mot is due I'm not too bothered.
Spoke to them again today because the other party's insurer rang up to say they were accepting liability (forgone conclusion but still a relief :)) - and spoke to a different bloke. Much less helpful and seemed to think I wouldn't have any say in what happened. I said I was prepared to fight for the car not to be written off.
Finally got time to take the corsa into a couple of places for estimates. First one arrived today. £1300 :shocked:
Don't look good :(
Finally got time to take the corsa into a couple of places for estimates. First one arrived today. £1300 :shocked:
Don't look good :(
Doh :( Although when I took the Focus in I was getting quotes of £500 to fix the scrape on the rear wheel arch someone did for me :angry: This was just on the arch without panel damage.
volospian
31-03-2010, 08:23
£1300?? Sounds a lot...
Mind you, the quote to fix the Cerb was over £13k, lol.
Got the other one, only about £50 less. Looks like they agree on having to cut the rear quarter out and replace with a whole new panel :( Deffo going to be written off :angry:
Justsomebloke
02-04-2010, 09:30
Is there any damage to the Floor ?
If it's Only the rear quarter then just buy it back after they write it off. You could drill holes in that panel & use right angle to pull most of it out yourself & clag it.
Some of the Best cheap motoring you can have is in your situation, Insurance pays original price of car, you fix for free & then run it into the ground.
It Wouldn't fail an MOT just because of a dent in the quarter.
Is there any damage to the Floor ?
If it's Only the rear quarter then just buy it back after they write it off. You could drill holes in that panel & use right angle to pull most of it out yourself & clag it.
Some of the Best cheap motoring you can have is in your situation, Insurance pays original price of car, you fix for free & then run it into the ground.
It Wouldn't fail an MOT just because of a dent in the quarter.
Yep I would say do exactly that. As long as nothing is bent though, which I presume not as you've been running around in it?
Got the other one, only about £50 less. Looks like they agree on having to cut the rear quarter out and replace with a whole new panel :( Deffo going to be written off :angry:
What? ****ing lazy *******s! A bit of hammer and dolly and some heat will get that straight. WTF is wrong with bodywork places? :angry:
Yup, dissapointed about both places saying got to cut out the whole panel :angry: I reckon would cost half that to hammer it out. Might well do that. Beginning to come around to the fact it might be written off. Still angry though because I'm going to be left with my car in worse condition than it started. I would struggle very hard indeed to find a replacement car with similar service history and reliability :angry:
I'd just accept the write off and buy it back, and drive it as is.
The "opposition"'s engineer is viewing lulu tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
Aww. Crossing my fingers for you.
My lovely 10 year old Corsa Purry Daniel died a death 2 weeks ago. He was a lovely little runner until the day his throttle, drive belt and 2 engine valves went at once. He was a nightmare for anyone else to drive as he had a sticky clutch but we were used to each other.
I miss him!
Ouch, yes that would be enough to kill off most cars that age :(
I'm assuming the assessor looked at the car today.
They've offered £800 :( Worth more than that! Need to find the same car somewhere - all the ones on Autotrader are much higher mileage or nearly £2k but better spec...
Lulu is now on ebay :(
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300451710263
She's gone :( Someone from Braintree just handed over £225 and she's gone.
Might have got a little more on ebay but they fleece you on fees!
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