Anyone near Laurel, MD? Need a used car checkout tomorrow ('89 MX6)

I've been texting with the seller of this...

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/cto/4353427228.html

...he says it has a check engine light, valve cover gasket leak, exhaust is noisy, no heat (his Google-fu tells him maybe heater core?). About 175k miles, not sure about working AC, tire condition, etc. If someone could check this out for me tomorrow or sometime soon that would be great. The guy said he is free most of tomorrow.

No heat? Or just no working fan?

These are notorious for eating resistor boxes. They're about... $15, and take 3 minutes to change.

I'll try to upload some photos of it that i took on Sunday

In reply to captdownshift:

You went and looked at it, or is it yours? He sent me a bunch of pics, it looks decent. Interior looks good, exterior looks solid, just needs a few smaller things it seems.

In reply to Swank Force One:

I just asked him, and he said it blows air but not heat, even after the car is warmed up.

Anybody?

I'm stealing an idea from Javelin's new thread...I'm willing to pay in beer and/or baked goods if someone can take a look for me!

Just bumping...

I work tomorrow Hope you find someone, if you don't let me know.

In reply to JtspellS:

I shouldn't have put tomorrow in the title...I actually posted this Friday. Any time would probably work, I can check with the seller. If you could really do this, feel free to PM me and I can contact the seller to work something out. I would be much obliged...I don't want to drive 4 hrs up there unless I am 100% certain I'm getting it.

In reply to Datsun1500:

Awesome! Let me see what JtspellS says, and we'll go from there. Thanks a bunch guys!

I should be open for just about any time as long as I have plenty of notice.

I'm guessing a stopped up heater core. I had the same issue in my '89 Probe Turbo. disconnect heater hoses from engine and flush with CLR. Then backflush with water and light blow from an airhose. Works great in my case. My best friend and I met Ben in Columbus when his friend bought my KLZE MX-3. We drove back to WV in 7° with no heat at all... :-/

In reply to dansxr2:

Well that's good to know! Somedays it's like spring here (it was 70 today), but other days not so much (it's supposed to sleet/snow tomorrow with a low in the 20's). I'm pretty sure I will want the heat. I figure even if it needs a heater core, it can't be that bad to replace (fingers crossed).

Pulling the dash on these isn't THAT bad. You can do it in about 20 minutes once you've done seven or so.

In reply to JamesMcD:

Haha. I hadn't looked into it, but the dash has to come out? Dashes used to scare me, but not anymore. I've done enough of them that I actually don't mind them (you get to sit down and usually you stay pretty clean). I guess the worst thing about doing one on an older car is that all of the plastic is brittle by now. We'll see how this all plays out. Hopefully JtspellS is checking the car out for me later this week, then I'll know more. Thanks for all the help guys! This forum rocks!

Now that I think of it, when I did the heater core, I had the dash out already for another reason. You may be able to get to it by removing the glove compartment assembly.

In reply to JamesMcD:

That's good to know!

Well how about this mx6 mafia people, tell me what to look for and where (I'm more educated in later mazdas) and we can help sethmeister out.

Really the usual. Rust. Huge oil leaks. Check if it idles correctly. Smooth power, good brakes, no misfires, suspension/steering feel tight? Is the reflector in the passenger headlight broken like they are on every one of these, ever?

They're pretty simple cars.

On the rust front, you'll want to check EVERYWHERE. James and i have had the conversation a time or two that these cars don't have one area where they all rust. I don't think either of us have seen the same rust areas on two cars yet. If they're going to rust, they're going to do it in new and interesting ways, every time.

The only rust mine has is a small patch under the dead pedal. Haven't seen that on other ones.

Yeah they don't rust easier than other japanese cars of the era, neccessarily. They just rust creatively.

But if I had to mention the most common areas, I'd say you should look at the "frame rails" under the floors, the trunk pockets behind the rear wheels, the back sides of the A-pillars, and look out for bubbling creeping out from behind the rub strips on the doors.