I'm currently selling my Vauxhall Nova 1.2 Merit. It's a 1988 model with 62,000 miles and it's in remarkably good condition for its age. I have had it for about 6 months now and bought it as a restoration project after it had spent 5 years off the road.

It now has 9 months MOT and 2 months tax and is in full working order, ready to drive away.








Since I've had it I've done the following work:

New brake discs, calipers, pads, front flexi pipes & brake fluid change
Fresh oil, coolant, oil filter, air filter, wiper blades
New cambelt and alternator belt
It has also just had new handbrake cables fitted.

For its last MOT it only needed a little welding to the rear ends of both sills and a small amount of welding to the front subframe. It wasn't a failure point but due to extensive corrosion I also had a new battery tray welded in.

After these repairs, it passed the MOT test without a single advisory. Both the MOT tester and mechanic remarked on its condition - now the repairs are done there really is a remarkable lack of corrosion. The sills are (aside from the two small repairs at the rear) pretty much spotless. The rear arches are fine, the rear suspension turrets are fine - it's very solid and from what they could tell, it has never had any welding until now. This may be due to the generous quantities of underseal that are under the arches.

The engine's in pretty good condition as befits the mileage and starts on the button, pulls well and sounds healthy. All 4 tyres have plenty of tread and the spare is unused.

There are some minor niggles but it is 24 years old:

- the front doors let it down, the driver's door is dented and the passenger door bottom is rusty (this is now the only real rust on the car)
- there is a thumb-sized shallow dent and a rust blob on the bootlid
- the fuel gauge doesn't work - a spare is included but the connections are different so I haven't been able to fit it
- there is a very small oil leak which I believe is coming from the distributor - this only started after I began to use it and the car does not use any oil. A spare distributor is included.
- the original front grill had a crack in it so I got hold of a better replacement - however this one has a couple of small holes drilled in it so it's not perfect.

With a new pair of doors it would be pretty much rust-free which is pretty unusual for a Nova. Overall I'd say it's quite tidy, very original, very useable but not immaculate. The 5 door version does seem to be quite rare now. Oh, it also has a pile of reciepts and some service history too, mostly from the Bournemouth area where it seemed to spend most of its life.

I'd like £750 for it and am open to sensible offers. I am happy to discuss delivery options within reason. The car's located in Bideford, North Devon.