So just to confirm we are in agreement that I should look into 187 more and seems like a solid car.
My worry with eBay 7k one is rust. Can't buy another car with rust issues, my mental health and bank balance can't take it.
You're going to find rust with most of them unfortunately, they have lasted longer than the Mk1 Clio's ever did but you're not going to get away with a rust free car no matter what the advert has to say.
If you can get away with one not showing on the bodywork and it's just showing underneath then you are onto a winner but you will find some, without a doubt.
Definitely don't buy on mileage, for me personally it's far easier to get a car mechanically sound than it is to restore a body.
So #187....
Northy & me picked it up in March 2021, the owner drove it on the test drive then we trailered it back home. It was with me until January 2023 when it was PX'd for a Megane. It was stored outside under a cover in this time, it had seen a healthy amount of WD40 sprayed underneath/arches before being covered. Mileage when we picked it up in 2021 was 76,690, mileage when we dropped it off 2023 for PX was 76,714 - the guy went for a drive in it when we arrived, again it was transported on a trailer to him.
Apart from driving it up & down my street we had never used it, it was a long term plan but the Megane came up.
It was bought without MOT, mainly due to COVID and was never MOT'd in the time we had it, it was PX'd without MOT by us. I did make a list of things at the time, I'd have to see if I still had it, mainly things that needed doing to return it to original, one of which was the exhaust, man it was loud!!
I took plenty of pictures, I'd need to check if I still had them, we did the video for the guy where we PX'd it.
It did clean up well from memory, a few orange trim bits which is the norm.
We had bought the service items for getting the car done so we included them in the sale/PX.