W203 Coupe/Hatchback - any good?

[gaz_l]

Greetings, Citizens.

Since we sold the Ypsilon (which we both agreed was the right decision, as it wasn't getting used) and gone down to one car, somehow we seem to be fighting over the Mini. It looks as though another car is on the cards.

I've seen a 203 hatchback that looks pretty decent - reasonable miles, 1 owner, good MOT history etc. so I might wander along and have a goosey tomorrow. It's a 180SE, so not going to be a fireball with its 143 BHP, but it has the sport suspension and what looks like the 17" alloys with silly low profile tyres so I'm guessing the ride might be a bit harsh. Still, I drive an R53 Mini Cooper S on runflats and that's OK so perhaps I'm worrying about nothing.

I know the M271 engine has a few issue with timing chains, but not sure when these might manifest themselves. The car's only done 65K, so is this likely to be a problem? Obviously if it's got a death rattle going on I'll walk away..

Anything else much to look for? Comments good or bad welcome.

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[richard]

Make sure radio works on am and fm and remote keys too
Replacing antenna amp means removing back windscreen although same symptoms if alarm gets wet / dies and blows fuse

R