Telstar TX5 Ghia & Mazda 626 Advice Needed

[XRated]

Hey all,

My girlfriend is looking more seriously at purchasing her first car. We've been around to a few car yards to look at what's available etc and what she likes.

Originally we started looking at TX5s and 626s (1992-1995) from private sellers as car yards are charging through the roof. Today we took a test drive in a manual V6 TX5 which was very smooth and tight. They're a very lovely car, the interior is comfy and pretty spacious and has all the gadgets and gizmos one could want (this one included an electric two-way sunroof ).

However, we are facing a few dilemmas:
Most of the models in my g/f's price range ($6.5k-8k) have pretty high kms ie. 170+k kms. Is this when lots of common and expensive problems arise? We are aware a major service is required at 180k kms that costs in the vicinity of $450+.

How problematic are these once they pass the 200k km mark?

Fuel economy in the six-pot is almost as bad as a Commodore/Falcon. How much better is the smaller four-pot?

I just don't want my g/f to be caught out forking hundreds of dollars every couple of months to repair a 10 year old car with expensive parts. Afterall, it is her first year of Uni and we all know part time jobs don't get you much revenue...

We have also been looking at 323s (Astinas etc) which is probably a smarter choice (later model, fewer kms etc). But that is another topic in its own.

Cheers for any constructive advice!