Looked at a seicento sporting last night (its currently on ebay 220902799839 (i'm not allowed to post URL's )) everything is / was as described but i'm not to sure about something.

1. The Radiator is leaking more than drunken tramp, he has a new rad to fit (or i can fit it myself) but theres a lot of water stains around the expansion bottle could this just be the water thrown back into the engine bay?

2. The exhaust was described as blowing, its actually the flexi-pipe holed (the stainless gauze is frayed and the pipe is factured) can you repair these or is it a new exhaust system?

There are a few marks on the body but nothing serious (these are shown in the pics). Would these faults put you off or am i just being over cautious?
I'm after something i can use for a cheap runaround (used to have classic minis but they are stupid money at the moment) and this seems to fit the bill

You need to do 5 posts to post up URLS (to stop people spamming) you have only done 2 at time of this post

Exhuaust - get the section that is at fault (new or salvage) not too expensive for these, personally id plan to replace it and say 'its not a blow on exhaust its this....' etc etc and use it as a bargaining tool

The stains wouldnt put me off round the expansion tank i would agree with you it is probably water thrown back into the engine

The marks would not put me off either, depending on its colour they may polish out, dont forget newest one of these are 7/8 years old and oldest 12/13 years old a few marks should be expected

If its not too dear and you also have experience with messing around with cars then its worth a punt, you are getting a replacement radiator into the bargain also

Just looked at pics, the dents push out in my opinion, and the scuff on the bumper, id either get a slavage bumper or touch it up

Be aware though I reckon he might possibly pull the auction of he doesnt get his asking price stated in the description

Is it worth the money his asking? Whats the going rate for a '99 sporting?

If it's as good as the photos (they never are), £400 quid is OK. BUT, the guy has already lied once (the new rad isn't fitted!). I'd want to see and hear it running, poke it for rust, etc. Plenty of doors in the scrappy, but it looks like that one may have been yanked at the top by a thief.

Is it just me or does the rear wiper look to be parked well above where it should be? Perhaps that's not functioning correctly - another bargainig chip?
When I bought a Sei Schumacher at the beginning of November I haggled the asking price from £800 to £300 by finding every last little fault and using them as bargaining tools.

Ian

Will try and arrange to go and view it again and maybe take some money with me this time, Cash might help with the haggling,

Tyres are in good condition????
Check them when ur there, maybe it's the pic but the N/S front looks very dodgy.
I think the guys feedback says it all....

Have arrange to go and have a 2nd viewing tonight so i can check out what everyone has said and hopefully can drive it up and down the road to check out everythings ok with th eclutch / gearbox / brakes etc.
The radiator still needs replacing but i'm pretty good with the spanners so dont see this as being an issue will make sure that he's filled it back up though, dont want it to overheat on a test drive (although technically if it does then hes got the bill to sort it out)
Will report back on my findings although providing its not a dog to drive then i will be the new owner!

Well i went and had a second viewing and the car is now parked on my drive
Had a quick test drive, all gears could be found, clutch seems very good, brakes stop the car (always a good thing) and i managed to haggle the price down a bit.
Theres a lot of history with the car (not service history as such but a lot of receipts for servicing and most if not all the previous MOTs)
There are a few jobs to do and a few things i have noticed (rad needs changing, rear wiper not working, and i'm going to service the car myself (oil, filter, air filter, fuel filter?, coolant flush - at the same time as the rad change, and a clean inside and out) but apart from that i'm happy with the little, its no classic mini but they dont have a 4 speed heater!

Yeah you can change the fuel filter on these if you wish

If youd have got a newer MPI model then it wouldve been a different story

Rad changed and anti-freeze renewed, oil and filter changed (Mobil 2000 semi-synth 10-40), air filter replaced.
Only issue with the rad change is i had to do it on ramps as i broke my T27 bit on the 3rd bumper bolt i tried to undo, and despite running the engine for 5 mins (or so) the fan never cut in so i've shorted it out for the time being until i can get a new rad switch (fan runs permanently now)
Just the rear wiper to look at and clean it then its good to go

good stuff...!!,
corrosion down the shaft is fairly common with rear wipers,
some units come apart readily others don't - good luck , and let us know what you find,
Charlie

Everybody changes the rad switch, but it very seldom fails. For trouble shooting see this.

fingers99 said:

Everybody changes the rad switch, but it very seldom fails. For trouble shooting see this.

Click to expand...

The link doesn;t work, asks me to log in?

Wish they'd sort that out.

In the meantime, you need to join Rebels: it's free and there are discounts on there.

Have joined just waiting confirmation email

well had no email from Rebels, so the fan is still shorted out but have managed to get the rear wiper working. Followed the guide and now it works, smothered the shaft with copper slip so hopefully good for a few years

worton75 said:

well had no email from Rebels, so the fan is still shorted out but have managed to get the rear wiper working. Followed the guide and now it works, smothered the shaft with copper slip so hopefully good for a few years

Click to expand...

Dunno what's happening mit der Rebels. PM me your email address and I'll post it to you.