Katherine, I am in Aberdeen. Unfortunately mine doesnt have great service history, infact its pretty limited to a few MOTs and a new clutch some time ago. All I can tell you is that now I have been tinkering with it for a while, it is running great and has had new variator, cam belt, cam belt tensioners,fuel filter, auxilary belt, oil & filter, air filter, reconditioned cylinder head (16 new valves, all seals etc), new thermostat..... I have cleaned all the brakes and all is fine there. I cant think of anything else it needs for a few years apart from an oil change. I bought the car, knowing it had no history and then, on the first day, the cam belt tensioner failed and caused a bit of damage to the top end of the engine, I have spend a fair bit of time sorting it out... but you pay your money and you takes your chances.....I have been using the car for months to make sure it is ok before I sell it on. I do agree though with the other comments though, service history is important so that you know the belts etc have been changed but it also depends on how much cash you have to spend! As I am looking to sell mine I have been keeping an eye on prices, this is what I see as a good guide based on cars sold on ebay others may agree disagree or want to add to this...
Basic early B with limited serivce history and quite high miles in fair condition seem to be about £1,300 - £1,500- this is probably quite rough and will need some TLC and I have only ever seen one for sale like this
An OK early B with some history with everything done is about £2,000 - £2,200 (just like mine!!)
An early B with full history, lower miles (say 50,000) in very good condition is probably £3,000 to £3,500
A later B with full history and low miles (say 30,000) in perfect conditions is probably £4,500 to £5,000
YOu might need to add a few hundred pounds for leather and air con and other extras......
Things to check are that the cam belt has been changed recently (opinions differ but they should be done every 3 years or 40,000 miles ish, if they go its a big job to fix (ask me!!) Check if variator has been changed recently (new cam belt and variator is £350 - £400 for a garage to do), start the car from cold, if it sounds like a diesel for more than 5 seconds, the variator probably needs changing. One with a good aftermarket stainless exhaust is a plus as the standard fiat ones tend to break in the middle, then its just normal car things, listen for noises, bangs, head gasket failure etc.
One thing to say is if you find a car you like, ask someone who lives closer to give an opinion on it for you, ask on this forum, everyone is freindly and if they can help, normally will.
Regards
Chris
(PS price on mine is negociable but I was going to stick it in the paper for £2,200 and take a few hundred less)