What to look for - INTERIOR
When buying a car the condition of the interior is often very important for illustrating a cars true mileage. It also gives an idea of what type of person the previous owner is.....avoid dirty, uncared for cars.....if the interior is not looked after then it's likely that the rest of the car has not been either!
The main points to look at are the driver's seat, steering wheel and foot pedals.
If these parts have all been replaced, there's not a lot you can do other than look at the general condition of other trim. If they are there then check for wear.....badly worn pedals, steering wheel and/or driver's seat indicate high miles so if the seller says it's got 50K on the clock, don't trust them!
Nova interiors are fairly strong and durable although some plastics used are a bit cheep and tacky, so they can damage easily.
One of the main bits that often gets damaged is the plastic trims on the rear bottom corners of the front seats....they are easy to catch when climbing in and out of the rear seats and break easily. Scrap yards will not usually sell these to you as they reduce the saleability of the seats you took them from, but they don't cost much from Vauxhall.
On 2 and 3-door models, the release catches to tip the front seats forward can sometimes cease to work properly, so check that they work as they should on both front seats.
On sports models with the sports front seats, check the driver's seat bolsters as they can wear badly with age, more so in fact than lower models, mainly due to you having to rub past them to get in and out.
The side bolster towards the door can often sag too so you loose thigh support.....sit in the passenger seat and you will often notice the difference!
The seat back bolster towards the door is often the bit to wear first so if this is ok, the seat will usually be in good condition.
Look carefully at the steering column shroud, as this is easy to damage if the owner has attempted to remove it for any reason. Also, if the car has been subject to an attempted theft, this may show damage due to this unless it's been replaced.
The Parcel Shelf is a common problem with the Nova.
They often suffer from broken hinges and/or location pins, making them sag and not sit properly. Also, the straps (either string or rubber, depending on age) that suspend the rear edge of the shelf from the tailgate often break. In this case, you end up with a lop-sided shelf or one that stays sat down in the lower position with the tailgate open, limiting boot access.
On top of that, if the shelf is fitted with speakers (6x9's usually), the shelf will often sag under the weight and the pins and hinges are more likely the break.
The problem is that finding a replacement in a scrap yard is near impossible and new ones are very expensive, so it's worth checking at the same time as you check in the boot for rust and the condition of the spare tyre.
The alternative of course is to replace the shelf with a custom built stealth shelf made of MDF to both hide your speakers from prying eyes and improve sound quality.
