The Good Car File: 1996 Vauxhall Corsa 1.5 LS TD

I was out of work again (you should see my CV...) but had just managed to secure temp work packing for a very well known retailer that sounds like a Jungle. (I'll say no more.) i did have a car, a J-Plate Rover 216, £150 of car which saved my life when a Deer ran out of nowhere on a quiet country lane at 1am in the morning, and straight into it. I now needed a car as well as a new pair of Y-Fronts.

I was going to get rid of the 216 anyway, it was drinking petrol, and i'd already spent the value of the car on Petrol in three weeks, and because it wasn't the tidiest of 216's, it did attract a lot of police attention, and resulted in me having to "do a producer" at my local police station when one keen young policeman took a vested interest in the roadworthiness and insurance situation of it (don't worry, i always run legal, always. It's never worth the risk.)

So i sold the Rover for £100 scrap as i had no idea where the Deer had come from whatsoever or if he was insured, and looked for a diesel car. After a near miss on a 309, which was a very valid lesson in why you should always, always check a car on ebay before buying and don't rely on the photos, i desperately took a day off work to look at a tatty Corsa 1.5 turbodiesel in Thetford, Norfolk for £375.

I didn't have high hopes, but the seller wasn't a goon, the car seemed honest enough, if dog rough and i was desperate, so money changed hands.

I expected it to last a month, and it lasted three. It was an absolute peach to drive, and 60mpg. Plus, it could move some when asked, with that peppy little Izuzu engine, plus cheap tax.

Really, i was buying an engine and steering components and four seats because the body was shot and the brakes were only just adequate. The washer bottle used to ice up a treat in winter and take ten miles to defrost despite wrapping rags around the bottle to try and keep the cold out. Then the fan belt started slipping and i had to apply copious gallons of Hycote Belt Slip to get that to work properly.

Then i had to do an emergency stop thanks to some wally coming out of a Quarry in a Lorry (does that rhyme?) which blew the rear wheel brake cylinders, and having been laid off (again...) i just couldn't afford to fix it, which was a shame because i was looking forward to cutting back the badly faded red paint when the weather got better and turning a profit on it...c'est la vie