Andy - oh agreed - we need more pictures of everywhere around that 2.0GL before you could make a full assessment, for sure.
But exterior, IMHO, doesn't always give age/mileage away as well as interior parts. The car could sit in a damp area or for the first miles of its life or have oil/water splashing around the bay that might give the false impression that the vehicle is higher miles than it is. Not that the latter is quite so likely. But mine has probably done 6000 miles in near 20 years and the engine bay is pretty horrible. But then I did inherit and fairly grim engine bay 15 years ago when it had done 80k miles to that date.
But it has got worse from doing nothing.
Alternatively, it could have been fully restored. There are plenty of people's motors on here who have covered 60k+ miles and look as good as new. Now that is a hidden secret, if someone wanted to pass off their 60,000 miler as being of 5k miles.
Interior is a tricky one. You can't hide ageing from sun and usage, unless you refurnish the car. That could be a little difficult. Steering wheel, gear knob, pedals, seats, entry/exit points and scuffs all start to build a story. If I was serious for that one or for anything that is casting itself to be quite a fresh motor, I would be looking for the build receipt that is hidden in the car as well. Now that would show some originality.
But absolutely agreed with you - more pics required on this one.
Going back up the thread a bit to whether you would buy one of these as a daily instead of a garage queen or a weekend only motor - I did consider a Sierra before I bought the Mondeo to crash through 30k miles per year. The Sierra I would be looking at would be £5000, maybe more. Apart from 1980's design vs a motor of 8/10 years old, why would there be a difference if you were sure it was a looked after example that could do that work ? Yes, some Sierra owners would think it is sacrilege to start the rep mileage on a 30 yr old motor that is considered a classic. But it wouldn't phase me.
What I like about older motors is that they are simple to work on. What I dislike is that the simple stuff you have to work on, you have to complete more frequently. So it does mean the bonnet up every 3 weeks and get on with that job, instead of bonnet up every 3 months and scratch your head about where to start on the latest gremlin.
But we are seeing this now in the agricultural industry and I feel it will filter down to cars. There is now a disliking for tractors and other farm equipment when they started getting technical, some 20 yrs ago, and no longer was a nut / bolt required to fix something. Instead, you need one of those clever electronic boxes. The fix ? Whoaaaahhhh! Well, £1000s.
I was just picking up an alloy wheel from another Mondeo owner for mine and he was stating why he was selling it - he no longer had his 03 plate Mondeo because it went to the metal heaven place after the body control unit started playing up. The car was fine. The Control unit was a major though and that piece of electric box wrote off his car. We'll see more and more of that as the motors move through electronic evolution.
There is no control unit on a Capri and very limited stuff on a Sierra. For me, that's one headache that doesn't write off your motor. That means that a 1987 Sierra to do the mileage and if looked after, do more years, would not be a bad move. Well, in my head it is!
Edit:- sorry, and just to add - 2018 has seen more MOT failures and cars being scrapped than any year previous. This is because the MOT regs got tighter in May 2018 and with any dashboard warning light that appears on the motor - Engine mgt light, airbag, other stuff - it's an instant fail. It's also sometimes costly to fix. It's also an instant fail if they don't illuminate of the self check before start up. So no more bulb removal to get you across the line.
Gives you something to ponder - is it now worth operating an older motor that has less to fail on ?
Sorry for me dragging the thread off topic - I was just entertaining the item - would you buy an older car as a daily runner, mentioned further back.