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Which one is all personal choice. If you are a williams fan then the 1's are the only car to have. If you dont care for the brand and just want a williams you might be happy with a 2 or 3. They are essentially the same car but the 1's have a plaque and are lighter (just). 3's have a sun roof.

As for what to looks for, well this is again dependent on your needs. Some people like to get a mechanically sound car and not too worried about a few bits of rust, some like to get a nice shell and are not too worried about mechanicals. It depends what you want it for really.

The main areas that rust are the rear arches and the sills. You will be paying towards 4k for a car with no rust on it (at least). Personally my pet hate is damaged sill as ones the underseal is damaged water gets in and they rust from the inside. Arches are a fairly easy and cheap fix. Sills are the real problem.

Engine condition depends on how its been looked after, not on mileage. I had a 140k williams engine rebuilt and it was like new inside. The previous owners had done the oil ever 3 - 6 k. Try to get a full service history all stamped up. Dont worry too much about mileage, condition (how its been treated) is more important factor.

Personally i wouldnt buy anything that had been on track. Track days put a lot of stress on the engine and gearbox.

The main way you can tell if its a nice car is to drive it, but you have to have driven a good ones to know if its good, because even the bad ones feel good if you are used to a mondeo or other standard road car.

They quite often get play in the steering column (simple weld repair)

Quite often have holes in the manifold (simple weld repair)

Most have rust and sill damage

Most have flakey wheels

Most have unworn interiors but worn gear knob numbers

Most will have 195 50 15 tyres which totally destroys the original factory feel. They should have 185 55 15 tyres. The car is far more delicate on the 185s. People fit the 195 tyres because they are cheaper. Up to 50 quid a tyre for 195, over 100 quid a tyre for 185. People on forums try to pretend they fit 195 tyres because they 'handle better' or some other lame excuse, but in reality they are just buying cheap, non standard tyres. If they skimped on tyres, what else did they skimp on? A williams on premium brand 185 55 15 tyres is on 500 quids worth of rubber and shows the owner will spend money on the car to me.

Having the original stereo in is also a failry good sign, as it means a boy racer who likes his 'tunes' hasnt owned the car as the stereo is almost impossible to hear in standard form.

Modified cars are also ones to avoid. I like to see a paper filter and standard exhaust, with a cat fitted.

If you post up links on here i cant look and say if i think its a nice car or not.