Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Yeah.
Had a look earlier, have agreed in principle to buy for £2600, provided they MOT it and I can double check why the v5 was reissued - likely just because the original was lost. VIN matches chassis and v5 etc, HPI check otherwise clear.

Couple issues, big scratch on one side, and a small dent on the front passenger door. Also the airbag light was on and off during test drive, which annoyingly is an MOT fail, but hoping it’s just a loose connection (done a bit of reading on it), rather than something needing the loom pulled out. Can of course wire it through to avoid the light coming on for MOTs, but will try and get it sorted.

Feels a bit funny as I don’t have the car yet, and it needs a few things sorted before I’m fully happy with it. But my mate reckons it’s a fair price and it does look sick!

There's something called a log-book loan, which is much as it sounds - you hand over your V5 and the company loans you money at 300% APR. Until you pay the money back the loan sharks own the car, but unscrupulous people have been known to take the loan (which doesn't/may-not appear on HPI checks) and then apply for a fresh V5, sell the vehicle and then it's the new owner who discovers that that don't have legal title to the car they just bought.

I'd check this out pretty thoroughly, if it were me.

MOT checker will (if they're on their game) check that all the correct lights go on when the ignition is fired, then go off again as the various modules give the ok. You can bypass the air-bag with a resistor (which I've done in my 911, as my wheel doesn't have an air-bag), just as long as that's the issue, and for e.g. the issue is not that the vehicle has been crashed in it's past and the pyrotechnic safety features are still upset.

Looks ace. I wouldn’t worry about the scratch and dent (mine is riddled) but yeah get the annoying stuff sorted. Glad the test drive went well.

Have really enjoyed mine this year. Been a faithful workhorse and totally reliable. I do mainly use it in lieu of small van as moved out if the smoke and lots of shit (sometimes literally) needs moving. Stuff that I just can’t expect from my little fiat.

I know a good specialist for a post purchase inspection.

Lol.