OK, went to see an LCR that's for sale yesterday and would like some input on my findings and what you would do please. I found the following:
1. First impressions were pretty good, looks in good condition.
2. The owner drove me from the station back to his house, as a passenger it felt a little rattly and loose to me.
3. Inspecting the car I only found a couple of scratches that I could sort easily.
4. I went over the car with my paint depth gauge to check for any respray or repair work and found that the whole roof, bonnet and offside wing have been resprayed. A normal reading is around 120 microns - the roof showed 827! That's body filler and paint on there, which gave me immediate cause for concern - has this car been in an accident or is it dents/stone chips/scratches, etc. 827 seems way too thick to be minor repairs to me.
5. Interior was ok apart from some marks on the plastics and the red showing through on the steering wheel and gearknob - consistent with 98k miles I guess.
6. Engine bay was very clean, Badger 5 TIP and induction kit etc. It is REVO stage 2 with a dyno printout showing 285bhp.
7. TX Autosport FMIC fitted, front bumper hadn't been refitted very well, few top clips missing and a trim panel missing too. bumper covered in stone chips and would require repainting for me personally.
8. Rear brake discs are drilled but new front discs are plain, so for me the rear discs would have to be replaced with plain ones.
9. Bizzarely (to me) the owner has chopped off the large oval tailpipe and fitted small twin tailpipes, making this LCR look like an LC from the rear?
10. Alloys are black but need a refurb, 4 good tyres on it.
11. Brembo calipers faded and need a refurb.
Now I am not condemning this car, far from it, but for me the respray work and filler under the paint does raise my concerns - accident damage or just stone chip/dent/scratch repairs? It is HPi clear having run a check myself, 4 previous owners, 1 of which only owned the car for 3 months though?
The whole car felt quite loose and rattly to me, but coming from my own Leon which felt tight and solid with only 46k miles on it compared to 98k. The MOT also showed a list of advisories too, which were all ticked off so have all been addressed I think.
Would you run a mile from this car?
For me to be happy with this car I would have to refurb the wheels (£300), the calipers (£20 DIY), replace the rear discs (£50 DIY), respray the front bumper (£300), large oval tailpipe refitted (£100), have the steering wheel recovered (£150), new gearknob (£100?) and possibly replace the TX Autosport FMIC as it looks like a cheapo to me. So roughly £1,000 plus a new FMIC to put everything right.
It is priced at £3,700 on a 54 plate. I don't think it's worth that given all the above info.
Your thoughts please?