Not sure what may be causing warning lights - but my recollection is that the engine has piston liners rather than pistons running directly in the engine block.

The projection of the liners is critical to the way the head and gasket seal - unlike the good old days when a skim and new head gasket would usually fix the problem.

Could be a costly fix as mid engine access is a pain.

Hello.

Looking to buy this car

Has not boiled.

How do you know?

Evidence of coolant leak at head gasket.

Hm.

2 small top ups of coolant over last 500 miles.

Who says? 'Small' could be anything from a teacup to a pint.

Any advice welcome.

Like most posters here I am not an expert, merely an enthusiast with a scientific education, over half a century of servicing and maintaining cars as economically as possible but with their longevity in mind, and a deep dislike of opportunistic sharp practice in some quarters of the motor trade. So I never 'advise', I just offer either an opinion, or say what I would do (not what you should do) and argue against needless dogma (eg annual oil change for low mileage drivers) and the physical, chemical and mechanical ignorance sometimes sadly displayed on this site.

In this case, I would run a country mile.

Thanks

You're welcome. Happy yuletide.

So car has been neglected, not serviced properly and owner is not prepared to spend money to fix it?

Runaway. The vendor is almost certainly lying and hiding bigger problems . If anyone is serious about selling a car.. they would fix what appear to be relatively small faults.

They probably know they are facing bills of c £1k plus.. and have neglected the car so other things will go wrong.

When I bought faulty bangers, it usually turned out I spent more than the total cost of a better and fault free car.

As someone with no first hand experience of ownership, I've always liked these cars and understand the urge to own and preserve one. If you are considering it as something to lavish money on, for the joy of owning it, then go ahead. If you are hoping for a low-cost fix, and minimal maintenance thereafter, I would leave it.

For a car of that age I'd be expecting maybe £1,000 on average year on repairs - some years it will be nothing, others it will need something big - engine or bodywork repairs.

And it sounds as if this one might have come to one of the 'big' years.

I can't possibly know what the problems are, but beware of wishful thinking. The cooling system problem is exactly what they are known for being blighted by.

Edited by Manatee on 15/12/2021 at 12:43