Thanks for the good advice
I'm guessing the oil consumption could come from having 16 valve guide seals that can wear out
As for mileage, totally agree any 18 year old could have suspect mileage
The seller 'says' it's his Nan's car

The online MOT records show low annual mileages between MOTs for as many years as the records I can see
Bodywork is battered, but I'm not worried about that
It's really cheap
So if it turned out to be a total pile of poop I could sell some parts and scrap the remnants to recoup cash and reduce any loss