So by way of an update - the £25k Gul N555GUL in Kent. Very good respray, excellent finish and looks lovely. Alloys all very nice too. Original windscreen (Volvo branded anyway) which is impressive after 180k. Wasn't keen on the Maxxis new tyres all round, but hardly a deal breaker. The interior was at first glances ok, however on closer examination the leather was badly cracked and had been coloured over to hide the cracks, would possibly need feeding to recover the leather but they clearly hadn't been fed over the years.
The headlining was all ok but looked grubby and possibly smoked in, there was certainly a whiff in the car. Mechanically it sounded very quiet from a cold start, a slight click/clunk on releasing the clutch in neutral - release bearing?
Negatives? Well when looking in the boot floor there was a set of number plates with the current trend of "4D gel" raised lettering
and the front side lights/DRLs had neon blue bulbs in them. I'm not a fan of those types of plate and with the blue neon bulbs kind of pointed towards a chavvy carry on. I know, I know, I'll get roasted for saying it, but just a gut feel somehow. The front subframe had very recent bolts and fixing plates/washers so that would suggest there's been action in that area recently. The black areas of the bumpers had been painted, badly and really spoilt the look of the car in a big way. I didn't go through the paperwork but it had a head gasket recently too which again concerned me a little, these engines are/should be bulletproof. Overall nice paintwork, poor bumer blacking, average interior, wrong stereo, but there was just something that didn't feel right and certainly not £25k worth of car.