Many many thanks to COAB

[Bolin]

Many many kind thanks are due to COAb (Sean) for looking at a car for sale for me today

Based on what he has said I will go have a look myself hoping to buy it.

Many thanks again Sean

Bolin

[pab]

The guy has been around cars for years, in the trade. I would value his appraisal too.

[FrazzleTC]

Great to hear of a member helping another member out with a car purchase!

[trikey]

He's not bad for a Coventry supporter

[coab]

Ah your all too good. Ive viewed a few cars over the last few months usually a 20 to 30 odd mile journey return and been out of pocket for petrol. Im on a limited wage these days working 25 hrs a week but its nice for Bolin to kindly pay my fuel. I will gladly go and have a look, do all I can and often upset sellers etc and spend time sending feedback but am I asking too much for my petrol? Often members dont get back to buy the car or contact me and Im the idiot doing the rounds out of pocket.
So I dont mind standing in the rain ( as it usually is) talking to strangers but I cant be out of pocket anymore.
Its 50 pence a mile to cover my fuel and the rows and abuse i get is free of charge from people selling Rovers with BMW 5 series engines and Stafford shire terriers sniffing around my feet!

[Bolin]

I went to have a look yesterday for myself. On the whole a tidy example, and with a sunroof which is a big draw for me, but there are a few things putting me off.

I found that there was some rust starting on the underside of the sills - there was also a very small bit on the back wheelarch lip where it meets the sill - this area is better than mine but the rust on the underside of the sills is definitely worst than mine. Actually I think my car isn't too bad in this respect, just a few small spots (plus all the spotwelds on the wheelarch lip on mine are just beginning to show signs of rust) - I don't really want to swap it for one that has a worse onset of rust o the sills, the most likely place that would result in welding being needed, even though it's in the early stages. This car has definite rust staining and the underseal as starting to come away in a few 'bubbles' - although I couldn't feel any crunchy rust underneath those. The O/F/R jack pad almost looks like it is being forced downwards by rust - hard to tell without taking it out. The N/S/R doesn't have a jack pad and I could see some rust extending upwards a little way into the structure. Not sure what the average 75 sill looks like underneath, I'll have to look at a few at meets.

The clutch feels different to mine - as Sean said the engagement is very sharp, but I found it is OK OK if the pedal is released very slowly. I couldn't work out if the bit point was different, but something was slightly amiss. The gearchange also feels quite notchy, even when allowing for the loose aftermarket knob. These are not a deal breaker on their own, but with the other issues they add up.

There is coolant build up around the thermostat housings and in the V, but no fresh deposits after a test drive. Service history noted coolant loss in V for a couple of years, but no record of replacement - and there is looks like possibly a blob of sealant where one hose attaches - probably a bodge. But the coolant temperatures were spot on, fan came on and cooled it down perfectly.

There is a bearing type noise from the engine, which I think is probably the auxiliary idler - that doesn't put me off much but when factored with other potential problems adds to the argument against buying.

There are the usual small things, which don't affect my decision to buy, but might add up to knock the price down - duff door lock, dead sunroof (suspect the motor), broken passenger seat switch, cigar lighter flap stuck open, large scratch on passenger seat, sill tread strips screwed down/one missing. Usual stuff for an old car, probably not even worth me mentioning as they are easy cheap fixes.

But the other big thing putting me off (along with the sill rust) is that the ABS and brake warning lamps are not working. I noticed that the handbrake lamp wasn't coming on, but later realised that the ABS lamp wasn't coming on either. Added to which, the temperature gauge needle is pointing slightly upwards, as if it hasn't been put on straight, the message centre LCD is physically damaged and there is a white smear on one of the indicator warning lamps, inside the IPK. It looks like it's been tampered with the 'turn off' the ABS and brake warning lamps - so I don't know what the fault could be or how much it would cost to fix. The seller said it was like that when he got the car, and he was given a spare IPK and hadn't noticed the lack of warning lamps. He was also going to put a fresh MOT on the car, but given this problem I think it would need fixing before the MOT could be issued. I didn't discuss that point or if he would want to raise the price depending on how much the fix costs. But it looks like the car has had an unscrupulous owner in the past, especially when thinking about the thermostat hose bodge. This really really puts me off.

Perhaps my car isn't too bad, even considering the below-average exterior panels, rust in the boot and er, signs of HGF . Maybe I should stick with what I know and fix it up It was the signs of HGF that made me start searching for a replacement, but I want the exact same spec (only 56 the same spec built though ), or very similar so it can easily be made the same. I think I should confirm what is exactly wrong with mine as the next step.

So decision not finally made yet, I have a few more things to think about/cost up bodywork/HGF on my car. But I'm leaning against buying it at the moment.

[DMGRS]

The ABS warning light being disabled would be a big no-no for me - I've had an absolute nightmare with the ABS system on our cars in the past.

A sensor is easy to change, but it could be a wheel bearing - diagnosing and replacing these is less fun.