WHAT TO LOOK FOR

INSPECT IT CAREFULLY FOR ROT

Cars with metallic paint corrode less, and later examples seem to be better protected than earlier editions; the low point is around 1986-88. Check the valances, rear wheel arches and sills together with the seams where the A-, B- and C-posts intersect. Also check the intersection of the sill, rear wheel arches and inner sill below the rear doors, along with the crossmember behind the radiator, the bulkhead and the floorpans. Corrosion is likely in outer panels, including the door bottoms and corners, leading edge of the bonnet and the lower edge of the tailgate, as well as around the rear screen. The front screen aperture may also be bubbling and repairing this properly is a glass-out job. The seams where the pillars join the roof also corrode.

IS IT PUFFING OUT BLUE SMOKE?

Cars with the A-series engine are still quite common. It is tough but oil leaks are impossible to prevent. Expect some blue exhaust smoke from oil being burned at around 80,000 miles, but a DIY re-build is easy enough and cheap at around £600 for the parts. The 1.6- and 2.0-litre engines are more durable but can sound tappety even when the valve clearances are well adjusted; calibration requires shims and a special tool. The auto choke on the 1.3, 1.6 and 2.0 SU carb-fed engines can be unreliable. A manual system was fitted to 1.3-litre cars from 1985. Rough or uneven running can be caused by split rubber vacuum hose connections, perished vacuum switch diaphragms, faulty overrun fuel cut-off switches and swollen fast-idle stepper motor O-rings damaged by unleaded fuel.