NPOCP - Purple Mazda Edition

"Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy" (zipppyart)
11/25/2013 at 20:01 • Filed to: None

Since everyone's been posting purple cars today, I'll share what I have been looking at for a while, it's located in a nearby town, about 45 minutes away.

What we have here, is a purple 1996 M/Y Mazda MX-6,

$1000, Been listed since the end of August, needs a thermostat and brakes. Minor dent and no rust, engine runs great, and has been sitting for about a year. I'm thinking of this as my first car, as public transport in my area is a bit iffy nowadays (I need to walk about 2 KM to the bus stop to go to college, and I've been commuting by bike daily, until a couple weeks ago, and bus fares are raising every 6 months). I feel that this is a pretty good price, yet my father says it's not even worth half that. I still think it's good, unless there's some other problems with it that I don't know of, I've been texting the owner, and he says it's in good shape, and runs nicely.

My father has owned a white one until 10 years ago. When he bought the Jetta, he sold it to a friend, who later sold it again after a couple years, and got a newer Mazda. He loved that car, and his only complaint was that it went through oil a bit quicker than he expected. He doesn't want me getting one though.

I'm going manual as my first car, as I feel I have a lot more control, and automatics bore me. despite the dirt, it looks clean.

So what do you guys think? !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ?

DISCUSSION (7)

Aaron James > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy
11/25/2013 at 20:11

Needs a thermostat? They don't go bad very often but it's easy to blame a lot of problems on one. I'd be worried about a cracked head or blown head gasket. I think your dad is right, this is a $500 dollar car at best. What is the explanation of why it needs a thermostat?

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > Aaron James
11/25/2013 at 20:16

Not sure, it hasn't been explained.

Aaron James > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy
11/25/2013 at 20:26

you haven't looked at it in person yet? I'd have it completely checked out by a reputable shop so you know more of what you'd be getting into. Biggest thing to look for would be water in the oil or vice versa, common with a blown head gasket/cracked head.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > Aaron James
11/25/2013 at 20:29

I haven't looked at it in person yet. I am planning on bringing it to a shop that will do a proper inspection before I buy it,

Takuro Spirit > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy
11/25/2013 at 20:30

Looks awfully clean... INSIDE at least.

I would get to the bottom of the other issues first. When cars are sidelined for such easy things to fix, I start to worry.

Aaron James > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy
11/25/2013 at 20:31

Good plan, hope it works out for you.

erspimp03 > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy
11/25/2013 at 20:40

That looks awful, I wouldn't buy it for more than $300. Total crack pipe in my opinion. A nice (8/10) MX-6 goes for less than $2000 in my area. By comparison I would say that is a 4/10.

Then again, I'm just going off looks. I would get a compression test done to ensure the condition of the motor. Also by 'new brakes' does he mean it needs new pads, or a new master cylinder, or new disks, or has rusted lines or what? If it's anything more than pads you're likely to pay several hundred dollars. I suspect it will have clutch bleed down problems after that much time sitting as well.

I feel like you've already partially made up your mind, without even knowing it. This is common for first time car buyers, they find a body style they are fond of and overlook many large issues. It happened to me and I watched it happen to my best friend. In the end I couldn't talk him out of buying a rusty heap. Don't fall for this trap.