Hopefully buying an 02 1.6 tomorrow, advice please!

[coolasacucumber]

Hello all,

My wife has wanted one of these for ages, now seems to be the right time for us...

We're going to see a green 1.6 S with cloth interior, only done 44k, not sure yet if the cam belt has been done, but suspect not.

The seller has dscribed a couple of minor faults (nothing mechanical), but what are the things I should be looking for / testing?

Obviously I'll be trying the roof numerous times, and if I can work up the courage the bucket of water test...!

Any advice greatly appreciated.

[GrandadMonkey]

Clearly make sure everything works perfectly. What are the faults they say it has? Why haven't they had them fixed?

Make sure that the car starts from stone cold and runs perfectly from stone cold. Sellers often warm a car up before prospective purchasers arrive to mask faults.

Check the tyres, all the same make and size? Check the pressures. A mixture of tyres indicates that the car may have been run on a tight budget.

How many owners? How long has the present owner had it. Frequent changes may indicate that there is a an annoying fault that is difficult or expensive to fix.

Make sure you get 2 keys, and the key card, and all the tools that came with it, jack, wheel brace, locking wheel nut key (does it fit the locking wheel nuts?). Check the owners manual is there. Check the service history is complete. Check for hissing noises under the bonnet. Does the passenger seat adjust and lock into position without any problem?

Any doubts - walk away...... There are plenty of good ones for sale. Don't just buy the first one you look at. Look at a few, you'll begin to recognise which are good, and which are suspect.

Let us know how you get on. Good luck.

[coolasacucumber]

Thank you, that was is most useful. To be honest, I have already walked away without seeing it. The steering wheel was badly worn, and only on 47k, little things like that make me very jittery.

Also, there was no service history before 2005, and the last service was done in March 2011, albeit only 8k miles ago.

It was at a small garage. It has a reasonably large crease in the front wing too, paint hasn't broken, but another thing that would need sorting.

It's a pretty long way from where I live too, so decided it was a bit too much of an ask, but to give the seller credit, he was willing to lower the price.

I wasn't happy as it would have been the first one I'd seen. Might try and see a couple of local ones to get an idea.

Silver ones seem to not hold value as much as other colours. Green & black ones seem to go for a premium, is that a widely acknowledged amongst the 206cc crowd?

Thanks again.

[GrandadMonkey]

He was willing to lower the price to get rid of it.

Wise decision.

Personally I'd go for an Allure rather than an S. I think they hold their price better when you come to sell again because of the extras they have. As for colour that's a matter of personal choice - I haven't noticed it affecting value but black ones DO look nice, especially with the cream leather interior.

If you get one without service history I'd allow for the cost of a major service when buying it. Something like £750 should cover it. Better still, get one that has been lovingly cared for by a doting owner. That's what we did.