Suggestions for a 1995 Mazda 626 ...

[emaili...@yahoo.com]

Here is my situation:

I would like to give away my 95 Mazda 626 (manual transmission) to a
college student. It has 165K miles on it and he will have to spend
$1100 on new tires, brakes, replacing a bad rim, and to fix an exhaust
leak. I got the car visually inspected by my regular mechanic and he
says there are no other defective mechanical parts, no excessive rust,
the engine also is in good shape with no leaks etc. I have faced only a
few minor problems with the car in the last two years/30K miles that I
have owned and used it daily. It has mainly highway miles on it and has
been very reliable so far. I want to avoid a situation where the
student pays $1100 and then faces a major expense like a transmission
problem or something similar. Is 165K miles already too much for the
transmission? Assuming it has been well maintained all throughout and
there are no existing problems, is the tranmission likely to last
another 25-30K? For $1100, he is happy if the car lasts him another two
years/25K miles without major trouble.

Any suggestions on what other things should be checked for before
spending $1100 on this car? Much thanks for your inputs.