With any car of this age (12 years old now) condition and evidence of service history is important.

Things I'd be looking for:

Does it start easily from cold, any blue or white smoke in the exhaust

Where is the clutch biting point, any evidence it's worn or slipping

Clunking or other alarming noises from the suspension

Any corrosion

What does it look like under the bonnet

What evidence of service history is there?

When was the cambelt (assuming it's a cambelt engine) changed?

Is there enough oil and water in it (best checked when cold if possible)

What do the tyres look like - any uneven wear?

State of the brake disks

It's been valeted which shows the vendor is at least trying

All this said, it's a £600 car so it won't be perfect. I'd advise you to budget at least a few hundred quid for sorting out any bits that may come up - eg brake pads may want changed, alignment of wheels, a tyre or two, etc.

Amongst the other items other posters have said you should look for, I would check the government's MOT check website (free) to see it its had several major failures (problems such as major corrosion, electrical problems, emissions, steering/suspension) that could be a guide to future ownership issues. Some, like rust/corrsion (especially of major structural elements) won't go away and will get worse (i.e. more expensive to patch up) until they are unrepairable or uneconomic to repair.

[update] I did notice that the ad does not include a photo showing the registration plate in full, so you'd have to see it in person to run the MOT check. It might be already sold as the headline car description says "Nissan Almera Tino SE MOT 30/04/2017. SOLD"

Bear in mind as well that car manufacturers are only legally obliged to keep making spare parts for cars for 10 years after the car goes out of production, which in this model's case is this year - you'll probably be ok for a few years after, but availability will probably be reduced and the prices of the spares will go up and take longer to become available to fit - which could mean the car being off the road for more than a few days if you're unlucky - no 'Almera Tino drivers clubs' around to help onwers in that regard I'm afraid.

Edited by Engineer Andy on 07/04/2016 at 16:24