Just had a quick look at eBay and it appears quite clean - nick on the bonnet looks like it has rusted but might only be cosmetic - front bumper damage is difficult to tell how bad it is, could need a new bumper but you might find a bodyshop that could do something with it.
For my tuppence-worth these are the usual bits to look for (I would always view a car before buying - I bought mine from eBay);
- Full service history (including CAM belt changes and variator) – if it has patchy service history you could be looking at expensive repairs - for a car with 59k on it the CAM and Variator should have been changed.
- Tractor noise on startup – means that the Variator needs changing
- Seatbelts – check the mounts where the belts meet the mounting points – early ones become frayed and need replacing
- Check the floor pan thoroughly – the points where panels meet and jacking points can rust
- Body panels should not suffer from rust as they are fully galvanised, that said common places to find rust are on the wheel arches, where panels join and around the front lights, also check the inner wings under the bonnet and the battery tray mounting bracket
- Check the operation of the windows – water ingress in the motors can cause issues
- Check the hood and the hood rubbers closely, make sure that when the hood is up they all meet the windows and are not crumbling – hood and hood rubbers are expensive to replace! - I know the advert claims that the roof has been replaced but still make sure it fits well
- Jack the rear wheels off the ground and give them a good wobble – if there is movement its likely the ‘sway’ bushes need replacing
- Check all of the panels align – sounds obvious but if they don’t its likely to have been in a smack
- Have a close look at the leather, it can crack around the piping.
- Check the exhaust, although the ad says it has a sports exhaust you could call the FIAT exhaust a sports exhaust! If it is the original exhaust check it carefully, they are heavy and crack
I have to say that from the ad it looks quite good, depending on how good it is in the flesh I would expect to pay between 3-4k-ish.
I would contact the seller and ask what its up for on the other 'media', you will get an idea of what he's looking for then. Bicester is only about 50 mins from me, if you are serious and cover my petrol I don't mind going and having a look for you but can only do Monday as I have a busy week next week!
Oh, don't even think about re-spraying the Blue one, it will never be right unless the car is totally stripped down for spraying!
