Faults:

Brake discs and pads replaced all round.

Both rear wheel bearings replaced.

Handbrake adjusted and levers free'd off.

Stereo head unit was being replaced, but when removed to swap with ebay one, found to be unplugged! Works fine.

Key fob no longer works, but possibly just battery.

Ashtray has pushed down into the centre console, but looks to be an easy fix.

General Comments:

Not my kind of car. I am a car collector and even my daily drivers tend to be RWD and older "prestige" cars - Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes. This feels worlds apart. Long story as to how I came to own this, but save to say I thought it was too good to scrap as the condition is very good - just some lacquer peel and few dings.

Having been sitting for quite a few years, I gave it a quick once over - replaced brakes and VERY worn (dangerous even) rear wheel bearings. At first I didn't like it at all! FWD feels very alien to me, more body roll than I am used to, feel like you sit on not in the seats. 140bhp a lot less than I am used to.

However... after having done a few thousand km in this car I kind of like it!! On twisty roads, if you keep your toe in, it pulls itself round bends quite impressively. Need to get up to 4-5k revs to get any kind of performance from it and then there is not a lot left, but it keeps up with the traffic. Nice gear change but badly needs a 6th gear. Once used to the fairly flat seats, it isn't uncomfortable. Pretty quiet around town. Not overly kitted out, but has everything you need to get around in relative comfort.

It's a car I now plan to keep. It will never be lavished with love, but I get the impression it doesn't really care and will just start on the button and do what it does well.

Gets around 35mpg despite me driving it very hard.

Boot is massive, and with te seats down you can get quite a lot of stuff into it.

I would highly recommend this car to anyone looking for a reliable car. It isn't going to set the world alight, but it is a very well put together package.

Faults:

Turbo and injectors caused the biggest headache and were very expensive to fix.

The rest was just wear and tear as with any car; I serviced the car on time and drove carefully, and normally did longer drives not short journeys.

General Comments:

When it was working correctly the car performed great and did a solid 45 - 50 mpg.

Good looking car fun to drive. So good in-fact it is hard to believe it would be nearly twenty years old now, and could give modern cars a run for their money in the handling department. Stunning in dark blue with alloy wheels. Seats were very comfortable.

Would never get diesel again though - my friend had a 2003 1.8 petrol LX model that went for over 100,000 with no major issues, whereas my car was barely six years old when I got rid of it with low mileage!

Faults:

A week after owning this car, it started driving very sluggish and had quite a loss of power.

Had a look under the hood and it turned out to be the top turbo hose that was split (yet another common fault on these)! £150.00 later it was fixed and driving like a dream.

A month later it started getting very sluggish again, and assumed it was another turbo hose. It then started going into limp mode, and then cutting out completely; not fun in the outside lane of a motorway.

Had a look under the car and the exhaust pipe from the cat had sheared off at the flexi. £100.00 later and this was fixed.

A couple of weeks later, back to sluggish again and cutting out again. Took it to a mechanic friend (note I said mechanic, not a modern mechanic who just follows what the electronic diagnosis machine reads)! Left it with him for a few days, stripped and cleaned the turbo vanes, checked the fuel pump, fuel filter... all OK. Played around with the injectors and this was found to be the fault. Injectors needed replacing. £800 for all 4 + fitting and then having to be programmed to the car.

It was at this point I've decided to cut my losses and am now selling the car.

Such a shame, as when it's driving as it should, it's beautiful to drive and so responsive. I was averaging 525 miles to a tank, which is pretty impressive.

My biggest regret, having read the reviews before buying, was that I wish I'd listened to them!!!

I'm going to be roughly £1,500 out of pocket, but I'm not plowing a thousand pounds into a car, which in all honesty, still might not solve it!!!

My advice to anyone wishing to buy one of these... Don't waste your hard earned money, read all the reviews and believe them!!!

General Comments:

A lovely car to drive, when it's not breaking down!!!