Guidence needed on buying a Nova 1.4 SR G Reg

[lewissheridan]

Hello,

I am currently deciding upon whether to buy a Nova 1.4 SR G-Reg and would like some advice. The car I'm buying is from a friend and it has about 130k on the clock. It has alloys, low suspension and the person is a mobile 'tuner' for performance cars. The car he original bought for his g/friend. My concern is that i hope i'm not buying a thrashed car. It has a full years MOT on it, and he's offering ?400 for it.

I would appreciate if there's anyone out there that remember buying their first Nova and could possibly give me any advice, tips, or common pitfalls to avoid. I am a novice in terms of cars.. so idiot proof explanations welcomed.

Many thanks in advance

Regards,

Lewis (Soon to be Nova) owner :0)

[wisewood]

The most obvious thing to look for is rust on the bodywork. Check the front and rear wheel arches for signs of decay or rust, also check underneath the battery, the boot floor beneath the carpet and around the engine bay as these are all areas which will tend to rot.

Other than that, if he is a friend of yours and knows a thing or two about mechanics you shouldnt need to worry about the engine too much, just lift the bonnet and have a listen to the engine and make sure its sounds smooth, no tapping or knocking noises and the tickover is steady and not up and down too much.

Look at the interior and check for rips and tears on the seats etc - any problems with any of these areas and you might want to consider pointing them out and trying to knock a bit off the price.

Hope this helps.

[lewissheridan]

Thank you for your prompt response, much appreciated :0)

[deacon_2107]

I brought my SR with.....

74.000 miles on the clock
Vauxhall alloys
4" back box
Sony X-plod 6x9's
JVC head unit (unsure of model)
Years Tax and MOT

little rust on the bottom edges of the sides and a poor quality attempt at sorting the rusting drivers side door. Infact it looks to me like they took off the door handle and pumped half a tonnne of filler through there.

All in for ?695

..... waits for the posts telling him he's been ripped off ......

[burgo]

you can get em cheaper than that as my m8 just has he bought one for ?100 all it needs is the brakes bleeding usual welding in the boot and drivers side inner arch it also needs the exhaust quietening down abit the engine is a recon that has done 80000 which has just had head gasket and all the seals and camblet changed by dc's mecahanic (dc=david coulthards) lol its handy knoing peeps like that

[jatinder]

also look out for the blue/black smoke out of the exhaust and make surei heats up correctly and the fan comes on, ask him what been done to the engine as 130,000 is a lot of miles and good luck

found this at a parkers website might help a bit

CarCheck

BODY: Rust, particularly on tailgate and rear wings; possible water leakage via sunroof or defective door rubbers.
ENGINE/GEARBOX: Oil leaks; noisy camshaft indicates serious wear; faulty fuel pump; noisy or smoky high-mileage engines, especially 1.0; slipping clutch; worn gearbox linkage.
OTHER ITEM: Split rubbers on constant velocity joints; uneven tyre wear; worn steering and suspension, particularly on sports models; avoid bodged body-kitted GSi models.