Buying a mazda 323 ASTINA. High kms?

[pieee]

Hey guys,

Filip here, been a member here for a while, my first car was a grey mazda 323 BA Hardtop, unfortunately I wrote that off along with my second car and now I am planning to make a return to astinas after a long while of looking at them pass me on the streets.

Anyway back on topic I am looking at an astina tomorrow or the next day it has about 267,xxx kms and I have a few pictures of it here because i went past their house to check it out but i was a bit too late they had left for a wedding and i couldnt take it for a drive or get inside, I wanted to find out what kind of problems I might have to face if i were going to buy this car, it has had a major service just done to it along with a new head gasket and new sports wheels. Also i dont mind the small scratches on the door and the ding in the fender.

So the pictures are here please tell me what you guys think :)

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/8544/img00016201002141724.jpg
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5919/img00015201002141723.jpg
http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/2438/img00012201002141723.jpg
http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/8746/img00011201002141723.jpg
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/6791/img00010201002141723.jpg
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/4322/img00009201002141722.jpg
http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/1161/img00008201002141722.jpg

AND also direct link to just the album so you can see the thumb nails

http://img203.imageshack.us/g/img00008201002141722.jpg/

[project.r.racing]

The major services are at 100,000km intervals, so either they are lieing or it's just had the 200,000km one done, which means it hasn't been serviced correctly. or they could be talking about the 250,000km one, which is just a lube/oil service.

For a BA Astina at that age:-

look for cracks in strut tops, cracks = replace @ $140ea
bounce car and see if shocks are dead, bouncing = worn shocks
rev to 5,000rpm to see if rings are gone, blue smoke @ high rpm = worn rings
attempt to start cold to see if valve stem seals are gone, blue smoke @ start up = worn seals
look under oil cap for excess sludge, excess = too much time between oil changes
look for tears on drivers seat, torn = no rwc

what size tyres are they? 195/50? if so, load rating will be lower than required. will not pass rwc.

power antenna also is broken also.

car is very rough panel wise.

i'd purchase it for $4000. or $4500 if the tyres are 195/55R15 and not 195/50R15.

[pieee]

The offer was for 3500, so at this price im looking at something worth the money being put into it, I will write this list down and check it out when I go have a look, thanks so much for your help :)

[NaughtyGT]

those klms are a bit high tbh. Even for a V6 net alone a 4. What is the engine? You didn't mention & there isn't a pic. For those k's it'd want to have beed pristinely cared for. Resale value drops considerably when k's are up. How much driving are you planning on doing? (how quick will you be clocking up the mileage?)

[project.r.racing]

1.8L I4 = 4 stud hubs
2.0L V6 = 5 stud hubs

pics have 4 stud hubs present looking at the wheels.

for $3,500, it be worth it. as long as it does not blow the blue smoke as posted above. you can fix any other issues if it's that cheap.

blue smoke will cost you $2,000 to fix. if blue smoke is present, offer $2,500.

[pieee]

Ah looks like its just not so. Check out the car today and it was really unresponsive and running with smoke. the gear stick felt really loose along with the steering and flooring it in both first and second the car just didnt move.

[project.r.racing]

offer $1500 for it then.

the sloppy gear shifter can be fixed for under $50.

the lack of response could be dirty injectors or spark plugs.
smoke could be very old oil still in engine or carbon build up if hasn't run for a while.

was the smoke black or blue? black is easily fixable, blue will require more effort and $$$.

[pieee]

it was a mix of white and blue smoke, there was also alot of blow back from the engine when we opened the oil cap, either way with 260kms i would be expecting more mechanical problems to come later down the track. I cant ask for 1500 cause he was a family friend of my fathers so I just told them straight out that the car wasnt suited to me, Im on the hunt now for either an astina or a hatchback honda civic up to 3500 maybe even 4000 if i cant find anything in the other price range, cause alot of the civics ive seen are around 3000, if anyone could help for anything around the sydney/nsw area that would be great :D thanks guys

[NaughtyGT]

yep, walk away from it man! Don't even think of it. Don't get someone else's hassle. There are heaps of finds if you seek hard & know a little of what to look for.

I put money that the head gasket is phlucked just by reading your last post. Trust me, I know what i'm talking about bro ;) Let someone else fix the problem. It's only one car in a huge car pool after all.