The car your refereeing too has had:
Full B12 Coil over kit with Eibach springs,
4 x top mounts,
2 x ball joints,
ARB BUSHES X 4,
Replacement brake pipes,
Front wishbones x 2,
Rear wishbones x 2,
Rear tie rods x 2,
steel braided brake lines,
Battery,
Brake callipers overhaul.
Tore B HID's
Full 4-wheel alignment
Rear Chassis legs, corrosion repaired,
C/W Inner wing closing panels,
Bumper supports x 4, c/w associated paint work.
Cat heat shields,
All underside clips and fixtures.
Oil cooler surround,
Oil fan resistor,
Oil Fan Temp switch,
Air Con resistor.
RS Battery cut off switch,
battery earth lead.
Altenator bearing and Belt tensioner sensor
New PA1000 board and 2 x plips and 1 x Master key, Ex Hamilton and Palmer.
Distributor drive belt and bearings changed,
Distributor Caps and Rotor arms replaced,
Major service and all fluids and oils changed.
Along with a whole host of other bits and bobs, done.
These cars are now at an age that what happened 5 or 10 years ago in 'interesting" but it's actually totally immaterial, you buy them on the condition as they are now and what's in front of you, now a 'Cat" will never appeal to everyone but does it make any difference to the driving experience, not one little bit. It matter the day you buy it cheaper than the full market rate and the day you sell again below the full market rate.
That car you nearly bought would have likely needed most or all of the above work carried out, so whilst the headline starting price may appear to be cheap once you factor in a lot of the jobs these cars will need, purely because of there age, the overall cost may not become as attractive it may at first appear.
If on the other hand that car has had all the work done its was the bargain of the century and should have been bought on day one..