the thing i notice is that it is tweaked by the hood latch

I really have to disagree with this statement. My '89 626 looked great the day I sold it back in 2003, and it was never garaged a day in it's life. Other than some very slight pitting, the paint held up very well. Better than most cars I've seen, and certainly better than anything domestic.



My '88 T2 is still wearing the original paint today, and doesn't look all that bad, other than the few dings and scratches.

in 89ish mazda introduced a new paint process called "high reflex" it had something to do with the car spining while it was being painted. basically the upshot is that the whites liked to peel, an then later they got the red and silver to chip really badly



it also matters what kind of soap you use on it. if you're using dish soap, its much worse than anything else.

The 626 was white, and it didn't peel at all. I wasn't fanatical about washing it, but it got a good wax job (I usually used Nu-Finish) at least once a year. There may have been a time that I used dish soap to wash it, but most often used a product like Armor-All Car Wash.



It could be that auto finishes are more durable and require less care today, but I think the older finishes could hold up pretty well with only a minimal amount of attention.

yeah, i noticed that as well.



Could you perhaps give me advice on how I would go about arranging for a mechanic to look at it? Should I just drive over with the owner before I buy?

Clutch master /slave troubleshooting : Look in the master clutch resevoir, (take the lid off) . Is the fluid all black ? If so its likely the master cylinder seals deteriorating. If u reach back to the bellhousing, pushing on the slave cylinder, if it moves back, (and/or if fluid is bubbling up in the master cylinder) then you have a bad master. If it doesnt move it could just be a bad slave cylinder. The master was 100 bucks from Standard auto in Baltimore, the rebuild kits are under 20 bucks.



My car was hit in the front also, if the fram isnt damaged its fixable. The radiator support is no big deal. Drive the car see if it tracks straight. The gears will grind until the clutch hydralics are dealt with. There is also an adjustment under the dash (on the pushrod that goes from the pedal) that you can use to see if its just a question of too much freeplay.



I suggest unless its outrageously priced, purchase the car. Its a classic.

car seemed to track straight from the test drive. They're asking 4500 for the car after they have bled the clutch.

I'd walk away from this car and find some other one. These aren't 69 camaros. There are still plenty of them around.



I bought my car 4 years ago. It was my first car. I didn't know anything about working on cars at all. Just a typical magazine person. Having said that I would've held out longer for a mint one.



From what I know is that the previous owner understeered into a dump truck in the rain. I can see bad bondo work and bad repair job. I put it into the ditch once.



The body work will come back and haunt you. It is very hard to fix. I have tried to get it fixed many times. Have not had luck myself or paying shops too.



I disagree on the paint. I have a 89TII. It's original paint except for the bumper skin and the passenger fender. No rust. No peeling nothing. It all depends on hwo the owner looked after it.



The hydrualics are definitly fuc'd. You can't bleed back back to life. The shifter is an easy fix. Hold out till you find a mint one. Pay good moeny for a mint one too! I would pay upwards of 8000 USD for a mint white S5TII I had to do it again. I paid about 5000 USD 4 years ago.



Hold out till you find one u like. And always buy from an older more mature person. Not a bunch of teenagers

if it hasnt been said befor i would take it to a fram shop and get htem to look at it they can tell you for sure. i had to replace my core support and get mine straightend after a lady ran out in front of me. and the spacing looks a little off but that could be because of the angle of hte pics.

Can you buy that rad support from brand new?