[Bigpraidey]

Hi all! Just got this little 1L corsa C for a first car very happy with it so far, made in 2002 and only done 17900 miles (owned by an old woman who didn’t like to drive) any suggestions on inexpensive mods to make it look abit sportier without ruining the car. (I’m only 17 so my budget isn’t very big) also does anyone know of the part number for the chrome part that goes under the Vauxhall badge and the driver side wing mirror ?

 

[ozsubrosa]

Hello and welcome to ccuk; very nice car there and a great 1st car choice for a young driver's insurance. I'd like to know what spec level it is, as there is no door badge. I'd suspect "Club" but I don't think a 5dr 1.0 was offered at Club level in 2002. Also, I think your colour is Space Green but have a look on your VIN plate for the code 69U or 388 which would confirm that. Before you splash on nice-looking things (I am always giving this advice but terrible myself for wanting/buying gadgets and non-essentials), I'd suggest you confirm some housekeeping. The two things that I'd check first with a car that has averaged only 1,000 miles/year is
1) Oil and filters. The 3-cyl 1.0 has a timing chain, which is great while it's taut but another reason for regular oil changes. Hopefully, the original books are still in the glovebox or maybe some garage receipts. Low though the miles are, if the oil's been sitting in there some time it won't do such a great protection job and fresh GM spec 5w/30 fully synthetic with new filter is a good idea. Every so often (not now, unfortunately) Tesco do a half price and 2 litres is £6 instead of £12 and 3 litres is all you need. An annual or <10k miles change will save you headaches. Consider the air filter and cabin filter, too.
2) Tyres: they might be good for tread but absolutely ancient. On the sidewalls there will be an oval with a four digit number like 2906 or 3518. The first two digits are the week and the latter two are the year, so the first example would be tyres from mid-July 2006 (bad) and the 2nd example late August 2018 (good).

Good tyres on 15" alloys can be found surprisingly cheap right now, but it can add an extra £20 to my premium and perhaps a lot more to yours, even though no-one would nick some Corsa 15s these days - it's the dumb algorithms most insurance companies use. As for your mirrors, Space green body colour mirrors are a tricky colour (passenger only on ebay right now) but black ones are easy or settle for Star Silver and a spray can of 69U (which you might need for dings and scrapes anyway - I know I did in my 1st year).

Get used to the (serviced) car for a while and find out what you'd like to change most. Post up some interior pics if you like. If I know your rough location, I'm always scanning for used Corsa bargains and would flag up a nearby good-buy. I have the chrome V but, unfortunately, for the facelift (2003-2006) bumper, not your one. Again, your location helps me find you stuff.

 

[Mr drew]

The 'V' on pre facelift bumpers wasn't available separately.

 

[andy-v]

welcome to ccuk

 

[corsaz22se]

Welcome to CCUK.
There are plenty of cheap upgrades you can make to get it looking "sportier" but all will add to your insurance premium.
Alloy wheels, face lift bumpers, fog lights, colour coded trim pars, lowering springs.
A good full service would be the best place to start as the book interval on miles i believe to be far to long and most people would go to miles rather than every year. I have a 2006 z14xep Tigra on 36,500 miles, it had only had 3 services in it's life and engine had excessive wear needing new cams, chain, followers and lifters. The sump was full of sludge from lack of oil changes and it had only had 5w30 gm oil used in it. receipts from the main dealer with car. I prefer to used the 10w40 semi synthetic oil which is also recommended by GM for these engines and then change it every 5k miles. It's under £20 for oil and filter after all.
Like ozsubrosa said check the tyres for age, last thing you want is a blow out.

 

[Bigpraidey]

Hello and welcome to ccuk; very nice car there and a great 1st car choice for a young driver's insurance. I'd like to know what spec level it is, as there is no door badge. I'd suspect "Club" but I don't think a 5dr 1.0 was offered at Club level in 2002. Also, I think your colour is Space Green but have a look on your VIN plate for the code 69U or 388 which would confirm that. Before you splash on nice-looking things (I am always giving this advice but terrible myself for wanting/buying gadgets and non-essentials), I'd suggest you confirm some housekeeping. The two things that I'd check first with a car that has averaged only 1,000 miles/year is
1) Oil and filters. The 3-cyl 1.0 has a timing chain, which is great while it's taut but another reason for regular oil changes. Hopefully, the original books are still in the glovebox or maybe some garage receipts. Low though the miles are, if the oil's been sitting in there some time it won't do such a great protection job and fresh GM spec 5w/30 fully synthetic with new filter is a good idea. Every so often (not now, unfortunately) Tesco do a half price and 2 litres is £6 instead of £12 and 3 litres is all you need. An annual or <10k miles change will save you headaches. Consider the air filter and cabin filter, too.
2) Tyres: they might be good for tread but absolutely ancient. On the sidewalls there will be an oval with a four digit number like 2906 or 3518. The first two digits are the week and the latter two are the year, so the first example would be tyres from mid-July 2006 (bad) and the 2nd example late August 2018 (good).

Good tyres on 15" alloys can be found surprisingly cheap right now, but it can add an extra £20 to my premium and perhaps a lot more to yours, even though no-one would nick some Corsa 15s these days - it's the dumb algorithms most insurance companies use. As for your mirrors, Space green body colour mirrors are a tricky colour (passenger only on ebay right now) but black ones are easy or settle for Star Silver and a spray can of 69U (which you might need for dings and scrapes anyway - I know I did in my 1st year).

Get used to the (serviced) car for a while and find out what you'd like to change most. Post up some interior pics if you like. If I know your rough location, I'm always scanning for used Corsa bargains and would flag up a nearby good-buy. I have the chrome V but, unfortunately, for the facelift (2003-2006) bumper, not your one. Again, your location helps me find you stuff.

Thanks for the message, it has been serviced quite a few times when I check back in the books so everything seems to be good there,although I will need to check the tyres but it was checked by a garage before given to me and they said every thing was in ‘prestige condition’ that is except for the wing mirror casing and the front v, will take some photos of the interior later on in the day 👍

also my location is Hertfordshire If that helps in anyway 😃

 

[Bigpraidey]

Welcome to CCUK.
There are plenty of cheap upgrades you can make to get it looking "sportier" but all will add to your insurance premium.
Alloy wheels, face lift bumpers, fog lights, colour coded trim pars, lowering springs.
A good full service would be the best place to start as the book interval on miles i believe to be far to long and most people would go to miles rather than every year. I have a 2006 z14xep Tigra on 36,500 miles, it had only had 3 services in it's life and engine had excessive wear needing new cams, chain, followers and lifters. The sump was full of sludge from lack of oil changes and it had only had 5w30 gm oil used in it. receipts from the main dealer with car. I prefer to used the 10w40 semi synthetic oil which is also recommended by GM for these engines and then change it every 5k miles. It's under £20 for oil and filter after all.
Like ozsubrosa said check the tyres for age, last thing you want is a blow out.

It has been serviced a fair few times according to the books and it was checked over before I received it aswell so all good there but like I said to Ozsbrosa I will need to check the tyres

 

[Bigpraidey]

The 'V' on pre facelift bumpers wasn't available separately.

That explains why it’s so expensive for such a small detail 😶

 

[Bigpraidey]

welcome to ccuk

Thanks Andy 😁

 

[MarkoM]

Projector headlights give a nice touch.

These were OEM on some models after 2003. i think. You can replace them in one afternoon. Pinout of the connector should be the same

Other things...
-facelift bumper. This would perhaps require respraying if the color doesnt match with your car's color. Even if it appears to match, there may be a difference you will notice only when you put it on car.

-foglamps. Requires wiring and programming...

 

[ozsubrosa]

Oh, that's good news. Sometimes, the "hardly driven by an old person" cars can, as z22se examples, be encrusted internally by some scrooge who deliberately ignores the "whichever comes sooner" phrase in the maintenance booklet. Looks like your previous wasn't one of those owners. The two things that garages (dealerships, which is a good thing when someone else is paying, do tend to profitably tick all the boxes on the page) is the cabin filter and (see later) tyre age, as opposed to condition.

The cabin filter is a DIY change (much easier for me with a LHD, the battery cable gets in the way on the RHD) and is also easy to inspect. A filthy one doesn't harm the running (so indies often never look) but it makes the car fusty.

1NELIFE is a (rhd) C owner and member on the forum, some YT vids are for the lhd. If it's as grey and nasty as the video one, then replace (only a few quid on ebay).
The garage could well be happy with the tyres: they check for tread depth and cracks in the sidewalls which would make them unsafe. However, the rubber deteriorates with age (more so if standing unused funnily enough, the rotation and warming/cooling cycles from driving keeps them nice and squidgy). I'm a science nerd and found research that shows several metres of braking distance are added on to old rubber. Pre-2015 tyres, I'd bear that in mind; pre-2010 tyres I'd be inclined to replace for my every day driving.

I'll point you to some mirror options. Front bumpers are often worthless. If I see one in Herts, whatever the colour and condition, it might be worth getting just for the V alone and throw the rest in the hard plastics recycler at your local. If a Space Green appears (I do see them) then even better for future keeps.
See this here

Vauxhall Corsa VIN number vehicle Identification chassis number locations and VIN decoder

Vauxhall Corsa VIN Number Identify and find where the VIN chassis number is located Vauxhall Corsa

www.vinnumberlocation.com

looks like yours and the VIN plate is by the air filter on the front suspension turret on the driver's side. Click on the pic and you can see "388"; the code for Space Green. Hopefully, yours is the same code but let me know or upload a pic.

 

[Bigpraidey]

Oh, that's good news. Sometimes, the "hardly driven by an old person" cars can, as z22se examples, be encrusted internally by some scrooge who deliberately ignores the "whichever comes sooner" phrase in the maintenance booklet. Looks like your previous wasn't one of those owners. The two things that garages (dealerships, which is a good thing when someone else is paying, do tend to profitably tick all the boxes on the page) is the cabin filter and (see later) tyre age, as opposed to condition.

The cabin filter is a DIY change (much easier for me with a LHD, the battery cable gets in the way on the RHD) and is also easy to inspect. A filthy one doesn't harm the running (so indies often never look) but it makes the car fusty.

1NELIFE is a (rhd) C owner and member on the forum, some YT vids are for the lhd. If it's as grey and nasty as the video one, then replace (only a few quid on ebay).
The garage could well be happy with the tyres: they check for tread depth and cracks in the sidewalls which would make them unsafe. However, the rubber deteriorates with age (more so if standing unused funnily enough, the rotation and warming/cooling cycles from driving keeps them nice and squidgy). I'm a science nerd and found research that shows several metres of braking distance are added on to old rubber. Pre-2015 tyres, I'd bear that in mind; pre-2010 tyres I'd be inclined to replace for my every day driving.

I'll point you to some mirror options. Front bumpers are often worthless. If I see one in Herts, whatever the colour and condition, it might be worth getting just for the V alone and throw the rest in the hard plastics recycler at your local. If a Space Green appears (I do see them) then even better for future keeps.
See this here

Vauxhall Corsa VIN number vehicle Identification chassis number locations and VIN decoder

Vauxhall Corsa VIN Number Identify and find where the VIN chassis number is located Vauxhall Corsa

www.vinnumberlocation.com

looks like yours and the VIN plate is by the air filter on the front suspension turret on the driver's side. Click on the pic and you can see "588"; the code for Space Green. Hopefully, yours is the same code but let me know or upload a pic.

I’m also planning on blackening the trim again, any recommendations on what to use ?

 

[ozsubrosa]

Peps, on the forum here, is a professional valet and he knows products that work and save time better than most but there are pricey products that make sense for a 24/7 worker which are a bit of a wallet-hit for the one-car owner. So, notwithstanding that I'm using stuff that Peps wouldn't have in his kitbag, my recommended cheapo improver is CarPlan Original Black. I found an Auto Express review of these things and it was their best of the value end. My experience is that it turns my mid-grey external plastics to a nice contrasting black against my white paintwork and is simply spray on, wipe off excess (not necessary if you spritz just right) and that's it. Good for a month or so even in Malaga summer, which I was expecting to fade it pretty quickly.

I get it for about £3.50 from JTF, a local cash and carry, but Euro Car Parts sell it, posted, for £4.39

CarPlan OBS500 Original Black Trim and Bumper Shine for All Colours - 500ml for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for CarPlan OBS500 Original Black Trim and Bumper Shine for All Colours - 500ml at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

This is my Combo Tour in need of it

and after I'd applied it. Note the rubbing strips, door handles etc but also that I'd forgotten to do the rear door handle and strips, so the difference is quite obvious. A can is good for four or five goes on mine which has a lot of plastic so should be at least 6 months on yours.

 

[Bigpraidey]

Thanks a bunch, will probably get some tomorrow then 👍

 

[ozsubrosa]

While I'm digging out my pics, one sportier-look mod that costs very little and really has no insurance implication is to replace your black plastic splitter (my backup bumper was missing it anyway) with a carbon-fibre look rubber splitter

They're only around £7 and are a simple and effective fit. Don't rely on the 3M adhesive strip but back it up with self-tapping screws.

 

[ozsubrosa]

Do you have manual or electrically adjusting door mirrors?

 

[MMS2]

Congrats on your new CC! If I were you, I would check (and possibly replace) your waterpump hose connector nipple (top left of the engine).

While changing my rocker cover gasket, I lightly tapped the coolant hose, which immediately came off, spraying coolant everywhere. The cause? The completely disintegrated, porous, plastic hose connector nipple had snapped of: one half in the coolant hose, one half in the engine... Appears to be a common issue.

Ended up replacing it with a brass one, like this: GENUINE Vauxhall AGILA ASTRA CORSA MERIVA - WATER PUMP CONNECTOR PIPE - NEW | eBay
If you already have a brass one, you’re good. But the plastic ones just snap out of nowhere, rendering you immobile!

 

[ozsubrosa]

ORIGINAL VAUXHALL CORSA WATER PUMP SCREW IN PIPE CONNECTOR 55564351 3800975051758 | eBay

VAUXHALL PART NUMBER: 55564351. ORIGINAL VAUXHALL PART. WATER PUMP SCREW IN PIPE CONNECTOR.

www.ebay.co.uk

an ebay UK link (slightly cheaper, too). I've put it on watch as something to consider before I drive to Malaga again (hopefully) in the late Spring. I've never had a failure on the way but I'm keen to take out insurance against the possibility.

 

[Pugh125k]

Welcome to ccuk


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