Hello, let me start by saying I really appreciate any help given.. the car I am thinking of buying is a 1999 protege with 138k miles.. the issues that I'm worried about are, he said the water pump might need replaced soon and that it might be leaking just a tad.. there is a pulley that is making a lot of noise, enough that I couldn't tell what the engine was doing, so, I opened the oil cap and exhaust came bursting out, it seemed excessive to me, I have never had a car that did that.. it was about the same pressure that comes out of a tail pipe.. I can't find anything on-line concerning that, and the only two things I can think of is some sort of emissions problems or a blown head gasket.. it wasn't very peppy but I don't know if had lost any power since I have never driven one. it had a small leak in the exhaust manifold I think, but I only heard it when we were driving, it almost sounded like a knock.. also, it sort of dropped idle a bit at one point when I held the brake.. so, I'm curious what all that could be.. the oil did seem thin but it was clean as far as I could tell.. there was also a bit of noise coming from the area of the rear shock tower.. any help appreciated, if it's nothing major I am going to buy it tomorrow for $1500
Thanks
Thanks
have a good one.. and thanks