Lude Generation

Hi

I looked at 2 5th gen cars yesterday, a manual red top which I had a bad feeling about, and an auto which drove really nicely but had a knock from the N/S rear wheel when it hit a bump and bubbling on the top lip of the O/S rear wheel arch.
Clearly the knock I need to get checked out, am hoping its just a shock / bush (I noted 4WS worked okay).

As for the rust, I didn't attack it with a screwdriver (!) but it looked like it was quite advanced. This car is cheap so I'm fine with a repair & respray but does the rust indicate potentially more severe (i.e. expensive) repairs?

Thanks in advance, Chris

Most will suffer from rust, it's not uncommon... But a manual is the way you want to go, the autos hav a tendency to fail.. And the shock knock is also a common issue, there is a write up on here on how to sort it... Good luck with the purchase..

Yo! What gave you a bad feeling about the manual red top?

The red top had a slight rattle when I revved it up to about 3.5k, loose trim in the boot, wiring hanging under the dash. It was 'registered in my brothers name' and part of a collection of 6 or 7 cars in this lad's drive. Oh, the 4WS light was on, back wheels didn't turn, he said 'been like that for 7 years, not bothered me'.
I expect its okay, but I'm not after a fixer-upper. He wanted £1500 but I think would've taken £1300

I would leave the rattling red-top alone mate, sounds like 7 years of neglect to me. But I would also walk away from the auto unless you are comfy doing a manual conversion..? Keep looking, there are bargains about if you're keen eyed and patient.

I see, suppose id wana look more into that rattle or stay well away. But generally 4ws on 5th gens isnt that hard to diagnose/fix/reset. Manual h22a8 (red top) is deffo the way forward if not a type s but they seem to only come up for sale once every million years good luck anyhoo

The red top is definitely one to avoid by the sounds - plus @£1300 it's still too expensive with those faults.

Rust is difficult to form an opinion on without pics. It generally doesn't get too advanced on 5th gens from what I've seen on the forum, so needn't necessarily be extensive???

Walk away would be my advice

Thanks everyone for the feedback, I settled on a 5th gen manual 2.2 with 69k on the clock, 2 owners and nice clean interior