What to check before you buy a modern classic

Cars from the 80s and 90s are old enough to need care and new enough that people still underestimate them. Most of the expensive surprises are visible if you know where to look, so take your time, take a friend, and don't view one in the rain or the dark.

Rust first, everything else second

Mechanical parts can be swapped. Structural rot is where restorations go to die. Check the sills, wheel arches, jacking points, floor pan, boot floor and the bottoms of the doors. Lift the carpets if the seller lets you. Fresh underseal on an otherwise tired car is worth asking about.

A bright torch and a small inspection mirror make this far easier than squinting under a car with a phone light.

Read the paperwork properly

Look through the service history and receipts, and check that the chassis and engine numbers match the V5C. Then look up the car's past MOTs for free on the GOV.UK Check MOT history service. Advisories that repeat year after year tell you what's been put off.

Ask about the timing belt

Many engines of this era use a cambelt, and some will be badly damaged if it fails. If there's no proof of when it was last changed, budget to have it done straight away.

Test every switch

Electric windows, central locking, heater fan speeds, pop-up headlights and dashboard warning lights. Old wiring and tired motors are rarely expensive one at a time, but they add up and some trim-specific parts are now hard to find.

Check the paint for hidden repairs

Mismatched panels, overspray on rubber seals and uneven gaps all point to past repairs. A paint thickness gauge shows where filler or extra layers of paint are hiding.

Find out how easy parts are to get

Before you commit, join the owners' club forum or Facebook group for that model. Members will tell you which parts are still around, which have been remade, and what usually goes wrong.

And if you do buy one, we have a shirt for that.