BarryC 10 Posted April 12, 2012 well have a deal done for a 89 1.8 corrado in blue genuine car should be collecting it around the 24th so my question, things to look out for ? what goes wrong and is it an expensive fix ? cheers for any help Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
floppyman 0 Posted April 12, 2012 Well for me the most important things are interior related.... Especially sunroof, heater, interior lights, rear spoiler. Seat handles. Interior stuff is starting to get really hard to.come by Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
easypops 8 Posted April 13, 2012 http://wiki.the-corrado.net/the_corrado_buying_guide_checklist.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted April 14, 2012 Bit late if you've already done a deal to be asking what you should look out for! Most things have been covered and the wiki link is good too. Just check its stone cold (touch the exhaust mannifold to make sure) when you first get there). Start it up with bonnet open, check its not too tappety, its old so will more than likely be a little, but check exhaust smoke too. Remember these are pre-cat, therefore it will smoke more than a modern car, but check the smoke isn't blue or excessive and white. Smell it too, if it smells oily, thats not good. Take for a drive, and make sure the temp gets up to 90 within a few minutes, and stays there. Then check the heater is nice and hot too. If its not, its a big job to sort alot of the time as you will need to change the heater matrix. When you get back, turn it off. Then a few minutes later start it again. Check for water in oil (mayo on cap), and oil in water (you will smell it in the expansion tank or see it sat on top of the water). Check sills, arches, and drain plugs for rust! This is a deal breaker, if you can see holes and serious corrosion, chances are its even worse underneath the underseal! Other than that, as long as the bodywork is reasonably straight, most things are relatively easy and cheap fixes. Obviously check other things as you would on any car (exhaust blows, electrics work etc etc) but again its relatively cheap to sort. Good luck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wullie 1 Posted April 14, 2012 most things are relatively easy and cheap fixes Are you talking about a Corrado? Cause that would be a bit of an oxymoron, the words Corrado and cheap in the same sentence. Now you've got one enjoy it, they should be classed as some form of mental disorder, Corradoitis. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stonejag 10 Posted April 14, 2012 Check sills, arches, and drain plugs for rust! This is a deal breaker, if you can see holes and serious corrosion, chances are its even worse underneath the underseal! Second this - in particular check the floor pan is straight near the jacking points as jacking them in the wrong places cracks the underseal/wax injection and they corrode from the inside. There's a spot where the sills meet the rear of the front wheel arches which gets all the road dirt/water flung at it, they often rust through. There's supposed to be a bolt there going vertically into the outer wing, if the rust is severe the bolt will spin freely like on mine ;) If it has an alarm then check the fobs and central locking work - many go bad over time (or are shoddily installed!) and it's a dash-out job to remove and replace one. I took the checklist with me but didn't really know what I was looking at so ended up buying a doer-upper ;) Worth taking someone with you who knows cars well if you're not 100% sure. Having sorted so much stuff on mine I reckon I could spot 90% of the faults if I went looking again, but only because I've been there once... Stone Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Portent 0 Posted April 14, 2012 As for electrical stuff... check the sunroof goes back and forth easily (the motors and the linkages often break), check the spoiler raises and lowers smoothly and within about 5 secs (do with both on the manual switch under the drivers dash and at approx 60mph and dropping at near stopping speed). Also check both mirrors work (usually a motor or the switch fails - fairly simple fixes and switches can be cleaned up). These are old cars now and many people will have played around with the wiring so faults can be hard to track down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robrado974 1 Posted April 14, 2012 Are you talking about a Corrado? Cause that would be a bit of an oxymoron, the words Corrado and cheap in the same sentence. Now you've got one enjoy it, they should be classed as some form of mental disorder, Corradoitis. lol wullie ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted April 14, 2012 Ok ok, not cheap but in comparison to newer cars where a second hand elec window switch would cost you £30, they aren't bad tbf. As with anything, there are bargains to be had if your prepared to look and wait a little. :ignore: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon green 4 Posted April 14, 2012 When you get in it,turn the Radio on, If its tuned to Radio 2, you've found a good one,! Bonus points for a tape player Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
floppyman 0 Posted April 14, 2012 When you get in it,turn the Radio on, If its tuned to Radio 2, you've found a good one,! Bonus points for a tape player Lol thats good.... Check point 18 on the rac checklist Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
