The five things that cost Mk1 owners money.

The 8N runs a first-generation Haldex. It needs an oil and filter change roughly every 20,000 miles — far more often than most cars ever got. A neglected unit feels like a juddering rear end under hard acceleration, or tyre scrub on full lock at low speed.

On a test drive, pull away briskly on a wet roundabout. The car should grip and drive forward, not shuffle torque to the rear with a clunk. Ask for the Haldex invoice, not just the stamp.

Every 1.8T 20v needs the belt doing on miles or age — 60,000 miles or five years, whichever comes first. Do the water pump, tensioner and aux belt at the same time; doing them separately is how people pay twice.

The 3.2 V6 runs a chain instead, so it is not a belt job — but listen for a rattle on cold start and check the chain tensioner history. A belt with no paperwork should be priced as an immediate £400 job, not a maybe.

The LCD in the instrument cluster loses horizontal lines as the solder joints age. It is almost universal on 8N cars now, and it hides the mileage and the DIS warnings you care about.

Specialist cluster repair is the usual fix — cheaper and better than a second-hand cluster, because the mileage has to be carried over. Budget for it before you buy, and never accept "the mileage is on the MOT history" as a substitute for a working odometer.

Check the roadster roof with a hose, not a hand. Water collects behind the seats and in the boot well when the A-pillar seals or the drain channels are tired, and the roof mechanism micro-switches are a known weak point.

Open and close the roof three times in a row. It should complete every time without stopping halfway. Replacement seals are inexpensive; a roof frame rebuild is not.

A misfire under load on a 1.8T is usually a coil pack. They fail one at a time, so owners learn to carry a spare. If the car stumbles when you ask for boost, that is the first thing to check.

Look for a workshop invoice showing all four replaced together, plus plugs. A single new pack among three old ones usually means the others are close behind.

The 225 responds well to a decent intercooler and silicone boost hoses before any map. Do the servicing first — a mapped car with a tired Haldex and an old belt is a breakdown waiting to happen.

In the cabin, a single-DIN head unit drops straight into the 8N dash with the right adapter loom and fascia. Keep the original unit; it matters to the next buyer.