hello mate, welcome to the board,
As for a buying guide lets see.........
Not sure how much £1200 will get as the prices of mx-3 varies quite alot.
But i rekon a 1994 1.8 V6 will do fine, at least with a 1994 your get a obd1 car which is good if you want to do a engine swap at a later date.
any pre 1994 mx-3 is obd1 after 1995 they are obd2.
You could get a pre 1992 model in decent condition and use the extra cash to do the exhaust, with pre 1992 you could loose the cat which would free up some power.
As for faults, check all the suspension for leaks ( i didnt check mine and 2 months later had to replace all the suspension
)
Check the brakes are in good condition or recently serviced as the calipers are prone to ceizing, and rear discs also rust like hell after a few years.
Check the rear wiper and spray works as the motor and reservior are in the boot and again a pain to repair.
Check rear window heater works, as a new screen wont be cheap.
Check a/c works if fitted, ( was optional when new at extra cost ) i didnt get a/c because its just extra weight, and more to go wrong
Definately check the sunroof, these are prone to failing or not operating correctly, they usually need striping down, re greasing, and aligning after a few years.
The engines are very strong and will go to 130,000 with no problems. But check it has had a cambelt change as these are not cheap mazda charge somewhere between £300-£500.
Check the rear gasket on the rocker cover as if its leaking its a pain in the arse to replace because you have to take all the inlet manifold off.
In general any oil leaks are not good so have a good look underneath.
The main signs of failure on the engines are headgaskets and HLA tapping, the engines do tap slightly but should not sound like a ford fiesta tap tap tap !!.
Take the car for a spin and floor it, make sure it doesnt hesitate or buck.
Another thing they are prone to fail on is distributers, they will run then suddenly cut out, then will start back up again once they have had time to cool, but saying that my distributer is on 122k and hasnt missed a beat.
Oh check for rust around arches, if you can see behind the front arch liner see how much crap is behind there.
Put the car on full lock and make sure there is no tapping.
Well cant think of anything else, but as your the mazda man i expect you know how to tell a goodn from a rotton egg.
Oh, have you checked insurance as i thought it was a bit pricy in ireland?
Enjoy !!
2.5 Ze straight neck, blitz intake, mazdaspeed engine mounts, fidenza flywheel, CM II Clutch, KL-36 ecu, Magnecor 8mm Leads, Battery Relocation. Hotshot headers, 2.5 mandrel bent stainless exhaust, hi-flow cat, Speed hut dials, custom coilover set up. Custom willwood big brake conversion.
