Hey, I wish I'd seen this thread earlier. I'm on my second MX3, big, big fan of these little cars. My first one sounded just like the one you've bought - I eventually scrapped it after deciding it would take too much money to restore it. It was also a 1996, which is an odd duck for some of the parts, and OBD II, which made it a pain in the ass for puter stuff.
If you have patience and don't mind looking, it's absolutely possible to find a good solid MX3 for a good price. I bought my 1992 last year for $900 with 126,000 kms. on it. A lot of them have issues with the distributor, which contains the crank & cam sensors, as well as the ignition. They're ungodly expensive at the dealerships ($600!!) but can be had on the forums for around $60. Better still, mx3.com has a fix for the problem if you have wiring skills http://www.mx-3.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=64723. A lot of them suffer from the rotting door sill problem, if you open the door and look towards the front fender -- you'll see why. It's a repository for wet leaves. I plan on doing the KLZE swap on mine eventually - this car is so much fun on a track day, the only thing that could make it any better is a bit more power.
