MH newbie

[Maureen O'Sullivan]

Hello Ant
I have just discovered the existence of citroen C15 romahome, when I saw one parked recently.
I then started to research to find one for sale and discovered that with an upper limit of approx £2,500, that I am likely to find a vehicle of 1987 to 1993 provenance, to be within my price range, so I am not expecting perfection in any aspect.
Pre supposing that a vehicle has a recent MOT is there any other MAJOR fault or likely problem with a vehicle of this age that I should be looking out for, that could cost significant money to get it functioning I am a full time student and won't be able to find much money to repair anything significant after purchasing the vehicle. From limited reading I see that rust in the bulkhead can be a problem, is this fixable, or does this mark the end of the vehicle? I am not too concerned about body work rust from the appearance aspect but could this also cause a vehicle to fail a future MOT, or can this also generally be put right? Sorry if this sounds like how long is a piece of string type questions, but to narrow it down I am only concerned about large potential problem areas that I should be aware of. I will of course get a technical inspection, but based in Ireland I could eliminate making lots of long distance trips by asking the right questions initially. Many thanks in anticipation

[ant]

Hi Maureen.
At £2500 to spend you're in the "Buyer beware" bracket. The costly bits to look out for are;
Rust on the Bulk head.
Rust on the rear Chassis member.
Collapsed rear trailing arm bushes ( the rear wheels will look like they are tipped in at the top, and loud clanking noise when going over a bump).
Simple electrical bits are getting harder to find ( wiper motors, heater blowers etc).
Check it has had a Timing ( Cam) belt.
Body rust is only an MOT problem if it leaves sharp edges that might cause a pedestrian some harm!
If it's ever been run out of water ( over heated to the point of stopping) just walk away.
Ant