I bought this car on April 6, 2008 for $1,000:

Both tail lights were cracked & replaced them already.

Top is in rough shape. The window was bad so the previous owner replaced it with a thin piece of Plexiglass and silconed it in along with some archaic stitching around the zipper. Yeah...it's going to get replaced fast.

Missing the gauge bezel. The steering wheel is missing a horn button so we'll be replacing the whole steering wheel.

You can still see the original Mariner Blue paint in the door jamb. The previous owner decided to try navy blue for his first ever paint job.

Engine...Doesn't look too bad (bay is clean) but has a leak underneath. We pulled off the shroud to find it all gunked up underneath the oil pan. Going to have to work on that.

Back deck. Carpeting looks either in really good condition or it has been replaced at some point.

Her lights were stuck in the up position. We thought the motors might have been bad. Ended up...The buttons were missing for the hazards & pop ups. We replaced it & the lights came back to life. Previous owner had broke the switch & left it.

Seats are in pretty good condition except the bolster on the driver's side is torn which seems very common. I, also, have recently learned they are supposed to be black and not gray.

The wrong radio installation kit was used so it will not fit behind the console panel. It will be replaced since this one is just pushed into the hole.

So far...
- It appears to have the short crank issue where it doesn't show hardly any power until about 3-4k RPMs. We will try the "loctite fix" until we can locate another engine to replace it with.
- Carfax said it's last reported mileage in June 2005 was 212k miles. My odometer says it has 122k miles on it. Obviously, someone rolled it back at some point and our best guess is it's pushing 300k miles.
-It needs a new top and I am in the process of locating a used one until I can afford a new one.
- Brakes aren't the best so it might need new calipers.
- The suspension seems to be shot. We will end up replacing all the bushings with urethane ones and probably shocks, etc.
- It is a base model so nothing is powered...Manual windows, door locks, mirrors, even steering. Depending on what we can find for it, we are going to try to upgrade to power-assist steering.
- The seats will be replaced when we can do it.
- The ashtray cover is missing, so we will probably replace it with the cupholder cover since we aren't smokers.
- The front fenders, trunk lid, and driver's door all have bad Bondo patches on them (Bondo was applied & not sanded & painted over) so they will need replacing.
- The paint sucks so it will be revived in Mazda Laser Blue. I think the color will be fitting since I am not a fan of the Mariner Blue and think the Laser Blue will do it justice.
- The front marker lights are missing and I'd like to replace them with Front Marker Air Intakes. I think those look awesome.
- The gauge bezel is missing so I am trying to locate a used one since new ones are so darn expensive.
- I'm also looking for some used stock floor mats along with a spare tire, jack, crowbar, and the trunk carpeting. There is also a hole in the trunk that looks like it came that way, but looking for whatever was originally there to cover the hole.

All in all, it wasn't a bad deal for a project car. All the work will be posted here as the project progresses on.