Cor ! Where to start with all the questions !ÂÂÂ
1) Yes it should say it's a Rivage on the V5 document. They only made them on J (91) to L (93), the L reg's are very rare and most will be J or K reg. The J reg, or anything without a cat where supposed to be the stronger engine's and the cat took away some of the performance.
2) The Le castellete wheel finish should not be a mirror bling but should have a dullness matt finish to them.
3) The original decals should look as though they are fading as that was the finish and that is normal, I dont have the originals on mine and you can buy repros from
www.trimsport.co.uk but Ive never seen a repro with the original "faded" look.
4) The seats should take about 10 minutes to warm up but dont expect a raging furnice !
5) Mohair hood should have snooker table type napp to it, Vinyl will feel smooth and plasticy.
6) I've never had a problem with the trip computer *touch wood so dont know how expensive it is to replace, check it works and shows all the correct functions, mpg, oil temp etc.
7) There should be numbers on the front slam panal above the grille under the bonnet, I think the VIN number is on the bulkhead under the plastic drip tray on the bulkhead under the bonnet grills. There should also be a sticker showing the paint code in the boot on the left hand side of the crossmember of the power hood.
8 ) Nothing much to check on the hood, but that it works, mine takes about 15 seconds to open and close and you do hear a bit of a whining when it come to the end of the open or close cycle but I wouldnt worry about that much. On the left hand side of the boot there will be a fluid reservoir, check that this has fluid in it and at the right level, if it hasnt its not the end of the world as you can get some from VAG. If you need to know that I'll get the part number for you.
9) A leather interior could add up to £500 to the value I reckon, all Green ones had leather but not all blue ones did. My advcie if you want a blue one is to get the cream leather as I personally think they look too dark inside with blue cloth interior.
10) I'm not mechanically good so do any checks to the suspension etc that you would do dor any car.
11) On a test drive make sure it doesn't blow any smoke (blue or black) out of the back, look out for the temp light coming on as mines started to do that but it could be just a dodgy sensor which is what I think Ive got as its not overheating. The tickover should be smooth and idle between 900 - 1100 revs, you'll see two small white lines either side of the 1000rpm line and it should idle between them but constant and smooth. I dont know what you are used to but on a test drive it should be fairly nippy and when you boot it in second or third it you should feel it surge but the power will tail off at the start of the limiter of 6k. Just listen out for any untoward noises but you will get a certain amount of wind noise if you get chance to floor it to 60 - 80 mph but that's just being a cabby owner. Also, take your hand of the wheel and see if it stays in a straight line and also brake (where safe to do so) with no hands on the steering wheel and see if it veers to the left or right, it might do a little but it should not be a violent veer if you know what I mean.
12) As for immobilisors, its best to be a cat1 and I'd also advise getting a microwave style alarm that can be attached to an existing one where you can leave the roof down and if anyone breaks the bubble by putting hands inside the car it will trigger the alarm. Get a good crooklock too.
13) I dont think mine has any rust around the back window and I've recently had a new hood fitted and the old window was put into the new hood so that's not a problem for a good coach trimmer as they need to cut the window hole out of the new hood and seal it in.
14) Fuel filler neck, just open the petrol cap and you'll see it, mine needs doing really and you can replace these and the cabs are more expensive that the mk1 tintop as I've already priced it up, the cabby is about £95 + VAT from GSF and the tintop is something like £25 from ECP or GSF. Apparently the mk1 tintop can be fabricated to fit though so Ive been told.
15) If a mk1 (tintop or cabby) has been well looked after with regular services and oil changes then high miles should not be a problem, I bought mine over 2 1/2 years ago with 91k on it and its now approaching 120k and it still pulls well and on a run down the motorway (autobahn of course
) can still cruise at 100mph with a bit left if I really wanted to push it.
Sorry, cant recommend any books on the cabby as I've not seen or read any.
The only reall problem I've had a couple of times is with a starting problem where the connections on the fuel relay switch get all crapped up and it wont start as it overheats the relay. This is a common problem and to see if there's a relay problem stick your head out of the drivers side and listen for a whurr by the back wheels, this is the fuel pump priming and sounds like a CD player noise, this should prime as soon as you switch the ignition on. You may have a problem with the fuel relay in the future, but hey, sh1t happens.
If you need to know anymore then let me know and I'll do my best. Good luck with finding one and you will not regret it as I love mine, you just need to live with the girly hairdresser jibes !
