Faults:

Camshaft broke in two.

All valves damaged because of camshaft breaking.

New camchain needed.

The car lost most of its power on the motorway temporarily.

Lately first gear is stubborn, and I need to de-clutch before engaging.

General Comments:

Suspension is soft, so it soaks up the bumps well. Lots of body roll.

Around town, if there is no massive traffic, I usually get 45 mpg.

Faults:

Car cutting out when the engine is warm.

Engine fault lights illuminating.

Car won't start after cutting out or when ignition is switched off.

Changed relay system.

General Comments:

Returned to dealers on numerous occasions and told the fault had been rectified (not).

Traded car in for new shape Corsa this year.

Phone call today from a lady who has just bought the 05 Corsa; lo and behold she is still experiencing the same problems.

Faults:

I got my little Corsa 1.0 Breeze just over a year ago now and have had nothing but problems with it. I bought the car on 11,000 miles and it has 29,000 on the clock now.

The most recent problem being a sort of squeak/humming coming from the front end. At first this was happening mainly when I turned left into a road or onto my drive etc. I took it to my local dealership where I have had a new steering column, steering rack, ABS recall, brakes took out and cleaned, new anti roll bushes x2, all to try and fix this humming noise. After all these visits, the car still remains the same and is not fixed.

This fault isn't there all the time and comes and goes as it pleases. It mainly happens now when I am reversing and turning the wheel at the same time.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what it could be as when I take the car to the garage, I have trouble in getting the car to re-produce this noise and therefore the garage have no idea what to fix if they don't hear the noise.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Faults:

12,000 miles: Front passenger wheel arch trim came loose while driving in heavy rain - fixed under warranty. An issue I had with my previous Corsa.

14,000 miles: Steering becomes heavy when parking and turning onto full lock, but only happens intermittently. Dealer unable to find fault.

A few weeks after this, steering has started to make a clicking noise only when turning the wheel to the right. Dealer identified noise, but unable to give a clear cause, currently a case of 'wait and see'.

General Comments:

Bought the car after local Vauxhall dealer offered a great part exchange deal for my previous Corsa. The SXi gives the sporty features, without the hefty running costs of a sportier model.

It still looks good, especially with alloys and metallic paint, though it looks dated when parked next to the new shape Corsa.

On the whole it's a lovely car to drive, both in town and on the motorway. All the controls are simple and easy to use, easy to park (apart from current steering issue) and makes an ideal first car. It also zips along country lanes nicely, although the suspension manages to be hard and bumpy on rough roads, yet soft and spongy on cornering.

The 1.2 engine is excellent, although needs to be revved hard for best performance. Overtaking at 50-60 MPH in 5th can be scary, but once up to speed it cruises well.

It can be run on pennies, with decent insurance, low tax (£115) and 20,000 mile service intervals. Fuel economy is so-so; it needs to be driven with care to get mid forties MPG.

Lots of nice features, such as 2-stage central locking, bag hooks in boot and clear dash-top display with time, outside temp etc.

The interior is spacious, with excellent seats, quality radio/CD player and cool white dials/silver dash trim.

Its well screwed together and reliable, the only concern being the current steering issue.

On the whole, it's a super little car that's practical, affordable, reliable and good looking.

Just need to start saving for the new model...