Highlights

• Just two owners from new
• 35,476 miles indicated
• MOT to November 2023
• Factory spec, unmodified
• Late pre-facelift model

The Appeal

The History and Paperwork

• First registered in August 1990
• Two registered owners
• Current owner since April 2015
• Previously run by the owner’s mother until she could no longer drive in 2015
• The car has been garage stored from new
• The car has been annually serviced from new, with a stamped service book up to 2014 and a stack of receipts and invoices detailing maintenance and servicing after that
• The most recent service as carried out in November 2022
• 35,476 miles indicated, confirmed by the MOT and service records
• Excellent MOT history
• Current MOT to November 2023
• Complete with the owner’s handbooks, previous MOT certificates, lots of service invoices and two sets of keys

The Interior

• Grey fabric upholstery with green and blue accents is in exceptional condition for the age, with barely any signs of wear
• The rear bench almost looks as if it has never been used
• Grey carpets through the cabin, which look to be in good order, and black rubber mats in the foot wells
• The headliner is cream vinyl and appears to be secure, undamaged and with no evidence of staining we could see
• The only fault the vendor mentions internally is that the interior light currently doesn’t work
• Original Panasonic radio/cassette still fitted and functioning
• All of the internal trim and switchgear looks to be in remarkably good condition for the age of the car, with some lights scuffs and blemishes, but nothing we would worry about
• There is some evidence of corrosion around the grommets in the rear hatch, where the water feed and electrics pass through from the main body
• Boot area shows well, being lined with a rubber mat and containing a full-size spare, a jack and the wheel wrench

The Exterior

• Light blue paintwork is in reasonable condition for the age of the car, some areas look to have been resprayed, while there are blemishes and marks to all panels, but it all appears to be fairly minor
• Some areas appear to be quite dulled and would benefit from a machine polish
• Other than a few slight dents to the front valance and driver’s door, all of the bodywork looks to be straight and clean
• We’re told by the vendor that one wing was replaced and sprayed after “an argument with a bollard” in a car park
• There are a couple of tiny rust marks on the driver’s door and some corrosion beginning to show under the near-side headlight
• The sills have both been repaired and undersealed a few years ago
• All of the glass is lightly tinted from the factory
• Amazingly, the original dealer plates – from “Coulthurst & Grimshaw” – are present and correct
• The tailgate wiper is currently not working
• The car rides on its original 13-inch steel wheels, finished with the original wheel plates, which are all a little scuffed and marked but perfectly usable
• All of the wheels are shod with a matched set of Continental tyres which look to be in very nice condition, with good tread levels
• Underneath, the car appears to be straight and solid, there is some surface corrosion evident to some drivetrain components, but overall it looks to be in fine order

The Mechanics

• 1,043cc naturally aspirated, inline-four runs on unleaded petrol
• Four-speed manual transmission
• A new battery and radiator have been recently fitted
• The engine bay looks tidy, although some components wear a light coating of surface corrosion
• It appears as if the heater hose has corroded and become disconnected
• There is some evidence of a top-end oil leak, possibly from the oil filler cap
• A full service was carried out in November 2022
• The current MOT runs to November 2023
• We’re assured by the vendor that the car runs “as sweet as a nut” and drives just as it should, with no mechanical issues they know of

Summary